Bahá’í Faith • Academic Freedom • Human Rights in Iran • Religious Persecution • Censorship • State Repression • Underground Education • Youth Activism • Political Prisoners in Iran
Date of Completion: 2025 | Run Time: 81 & 52 minutes | Languages: English and Farsi with English subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Nauzanin Knight | Producers: Mitra Knight, Penn Badgley, Ford Bowers, Bonnie Thompson, Neda Armian, Habib Zargarpour & Setareh Samandari
In Iran, higher education is an impossible dream for Bahá’ís, the country’s largest religious minority. Denied access to universities, they risk everything to study in secret. THE FORBIDDEN UNIVERSITY is a visually striking documentary that reveals the underground world of the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) - a hidden network of teachers and students who defy persecution in pursuit of knowledge.
Blending intimate interviews and painterly rotoscope animation, the film follows former BIHE students now living in exile. Niknaz fought for BIHE accreditation at Berkeley but can never return home. Tolou was sentenced to prison for teaching biology. Shakib endured solitary confinement in Evin Prison. Neda studied in makeshift basement labs under constant threat of raids. And Iqan survived years of imprisonment and torture simply for wanting an education.
Their stories reveal the resilience of a community that transforms kitchens into classrooms, smuggles textbooks across city lines, and risks imprisonment to learn. At once a thriller and a meditation on the cost of knowledge, THE FORBIDDEN UNIVERSITY is a powerful testament to the courage of those who struggle for education.