Film Screening: Cinémanuscrit—Persepolis

Announcing AF-Chicago’s 2026/2027 film series, Cinémanuscrit: an exploration of cinematic adaptions of Francophone literature featuring films from the four corners of the French-speaking world.

Join us as we kick off the series with a screening of Iranian and French comic book author, film director, and children’s book author Marjane Satrapi’s award-winning 2007 biographical drama Persepolis, based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novels published between 2000 and 2003.

Persepolis, austere as it may look, is full of warmth and surprise, alive with humor and a fierce independence of spirit. – A. O. Scott, reviewing for The New York Times

The film will be presented by Norma Claire Moruzzi, Professor of Political Science and Gender & Women’s Studies and Director of the International Studies Program at the University of Illinois Chicago. Prof. Moruzzi will also lead a post-screening discussion.

Guests will enjoy a complimentary glass of Louis Jadot Bourgogne and the chance to win a $50 gift certificate to the Sofitel Magnificent Mile’s très chic Le Bar.

Doors at 6:00 pm. Program at 6:30 pm. Please enter via 54 W Chicago Ave. Non-alcoholic options will be available.

About the Film

Based on her autobiographical graphic novel, Marjane “Marji” Satrapi recounts her adolescence during the 1979 Iranian Revolution and her departure from Iran to Austria, where she studies at a French lycée in Vienna. As she grows up, Marji struggles to find her identity and is torn between her Iranian heritage and the political and religious upheaval she witnesses. 

Originally published in French, the graphic novel has won numerous awards and was ranked 48th out of the 100 best books of the 21st century by The New York Times in 2024. Persepolis marked a watershed moment for the graphic novel as a means of discussing political movements such as the Arab Spring, as well as a form for memoirs.

Satrapi, who was also a notable film director, adapted and directed Persepolis and was the first woman to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards. An “emotionally powerful, dramatically enthralling autobiographical gem,” it was awarded the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and Best Adaptation and Best First Feature Film at the César Awards.

the Author & Director

Marjane Satrapi

Marjane Satrapi was a widely recognized and celebrated Iranian and French author and film director best known for her autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis and its film adaptation. She is one of the most widely read Iranian authors in the world. Her co-direction of the film Persepolis led to her becoming the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. After her death in 2026, numerous public figures paid tribute to her and her work, including writer Margaret Atwood, President Emmanuel Macron, human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, and actresses Rosamund Pike, Catherine Deneuve, and Golshifteh Farahani.

About the Presenter

Norma Claire Moruzzi

Norma Claire Moruzzi is Professor of Political Science and Gender & Women’s Studies, and Director of the International Studies Program at the University of Illinois Chicago. She is an Associate Editor for the journal Iranian Studies and former board member of the journal Middle East Report (MERIP). Prof. Moruzzi’s research and teaching address the politics of social identity, with particular emphasis on the intersection of gender, religion, and nationalisms. Her book Speaking through the Mask: Hannah Arendt and the Politics of Social Identity won the 2002 Gradiva Award. Her book Tied Up in Tehran: Women, Social Change, and the Politics of Daily Life in Postrevolutionary Iran, based on ten years of field work in Iran, is available from Cambridge University Press (October 2025).

Getting Here

The Alliance Française de Chicago is one block from the CTA Red line stop at Chicago Ave. Best bus routes are the 22 on Clark St and the 66 on Chicago Ave. A Divvy station is located in front of the 54 W Chicago Ave entrance.

Parking Information

$10 for 12 hours at 100 W Chestnut St. Validation is available at reception.

Please be advised that students, members, and attendees at cultural events or programs may be photographed, and these images may be used for marketing purposes.