Event

"The Dawn Is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life" — a 55-min. documentary shares the complex personal and social histories that have brought Iranians to the San Francisco Bay Area for more than fifty years.

Based on the stories of 8  individuals who live, work, and contribute to life and culture of the San Francisco Bay Area, "The Dawn Is Too Far" portrays the history of local Iranian Americans and the challenges they have faced as a group struggling to find acceptance and understanding in the long shadow of larger political and historical events. This film has an immediate connection with the larger Iranian American community in California and across the US, as well as other immigrant and diaspora groups. This film has the potential to spark urgent conversations about American identity in a time of growing fear and divisiveness.

This film explores the history, struggles, and impact of four generations of Iranian immigrants to the Bay Area, despite having been continuously "othered" by the tense relationship between the US and Iranian governments and negative media headlines since 1979. It captures the resilient and complex character of this immigrant community, its challenges and successes, as well as the ways it has contributed to the Bay Area's culture and communities.

Persis Karim is the Chair/Director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University where she also teaches Comparative and World Literature.