Episode 390: Shabnam Tolouei — Art Without Borders

On this edition of Roqe, Jian Ghomeshi welcomes Iranian-French actress, playwright, and director Shabnam Tolouei. In a conversation spanning both English and Persian, Shabnam reflects on her new short film One Thousand and One Hundred, her journey from Tehran to Paris and now the U.S., and her decades of work amplifying women’s voices and minority experiences through theatre and film.

The interview explores exile, faith, censorship, and the inner negotiations of an artist who refuses to stop creating. Along the way, Jian and Shabnam also discuss Autumn Dance, Dust-Flower-Flame, and her collaborations with Shirin Neshat and Sepideh Farsi.

This episode also features an update on the upcoming Roqe Live 5 event on October 2nd at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts.

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