The Voice of Dust and Ash (2022) on Netflix

Plot summary

Music and performance are banned across Iran after the ayatollah takes power, and instruments and records become contraband. Artists are exiled, imprisoned or executed. The singer Mohammad Reza Shajarian confronts the regime while basic human rights and self expression are crushed. His lifelong pursuit is equality and free speech, and his hymn Morghe Sahar, the Bird of Dawn, closes every concert he gives and is widely taken as an unofficial anthem for Iranian freedom. The documentary follows his life and lyrics alongside the watershed moments of Iran's modern history, using that song as its animated frame, and adds an original song, Dust and Ash.