Cinema was first introduced in Iran in 1900. The first film to feature a woman in a prominent role was released in 1933. The film was Dukhtar-i Lur (The Lor girl), the first Persian-language sound feature, co-directed by Abd al-Husain Sepanta and Ardashir Irani. Sepanta is said to have had much difficulty finding an actress who would agree to play the female character. Finally Ruhangiz Saminazhad, the wife of one of the employees of Imperial Studio, the production company that made the film, agreed to take on the role. Even though she …