NPR untangles the mystery of Shirin Neshat and her new film, Women without Men:
Most recently, Neshat has embraced cinema as a way to reach out to popular culture — a public that might not go to see her work in a gallery or museum. Her directorial debut, Women Without Men, retains the characteristic of her still photography: It shows Iranian women as strong despite oppression.
Refusing to limit herself to a particular medium, Neshat has mastered photography, video and, most recently, filmmaking to tackle the issue of gender inequality in the Islamic world, and the identity struggle that results from exile.