"Reading Lolita in Tehran," the film adaptation of Azar Nafisi's bestselling 2003 memoir about women secretly reading banned Western literature in post-revolutionary Iran, July 24, at Salem Cinema.

It is one of only two Oregon theaters screening the film on opening weekend, according to Oregon ArtsWatch's FilmWatch Weekly column published Wednesday, July 23. The other is Living Room Theaters in Portland.

Directed by Eran Riklis with a screenplay by Marjorie David, the film stars Iranian-born actress Golshifteh Farahani as Nafisi, alongside Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Mina Kavani.

Like the author, some of the actors are exiled from Iran. The film won the Audience Award and a special jury prize at the 2024 Rome Film Festival.

The story spans from Nafisi's return to Iran just after the 1979 Islamic Revolution through her firing from Tehran University for refusing to wear the government-mandated hijab, to the clandestine book group she started in 1995.

In that group, Nafisi and seven female students read banned Western classics including Nabokov's "Lolita," "The Great Gatsby," "Madame Bovary," and "Pride and Prejudice."

"This is not a political fight. This is an existential one," Nafisi told NPR's Scott Simon on July 11. "Our identity as human beings, as women, has been taken away from us."

Salem Cinema, the three-screen independent theater at 1127 Broadway St. NE, has specialized in art, foreign, and independent film since opening at the Pringle Parkade in 1990. It moved to its Broadway Street location on April 17, 2009.

The film is not rated and runs 1 hour, 47 minutes. Salem Cinema's scheduled showtimes run through Wednesday, July 30:

  • Friday, July 24: 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, July 25: 1:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
  • Sunday, July 26: 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.
  • Monday, July 27: 3:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, July 28: 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, July 29: 4:00 p.m.
  • Thursday, July 30: 1:45 p.m.

For tickets and information, call 503-378-7676 or visit salemcinema.com.

Upcoming at Salem Cinema

  • Saturday, August 1: Art House Theater Day
  • Saturday, August 15: National Theatre Live: The Playboy of the Western World
  • Saturdays, August 22 and August 29: Surprise Cinema screenings