Cry My Way to Heaven (working title) is an audiovisual research project that critically examines Iranian state propaganda through the culture of Muharram mourning ceremonies and the figure of the Maddah, a central media instrument of the Islamic regime. Drawing on extensive online found footage, the film adopts the voice of a fictional teenage boy deeply devoted to these male-only rituals, revealing how faith, desire, masculinity, and power intersect through enforced emotional performance. Combining irony, intimacy, and poetic narration, the project reframes propaganda material to expose its affective mechanisms and hidden violences. As part of the ongoing series eXiled.ir, the work continues a long-term practice of transforming state imagery into fictional narratives that function as political critique and personal testimony from exile.
Saleh Kashefi (aka Filmsaaz) is a Tehran-born audiovisual artist and researcher working with found footage, sound, and fiction.
