Forbidden University

What would you risk for the right to learn? In Iran, Bahá’ís—members of the country’s largest religious minority—face systemic discrimination, including a government-sanctioned ban from higher education. In response, they established the Bahá’í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE), a secret, informal university operating through a vast underground network of volunteer teachers and makeshift classrooms.

The Forbidden University is a visually rich, emotionally charged feature documentary that uncovers the hidden world of BIHE through the voices of its alumni and global educators. Told in three acts, the film explores the brutal reality of state persecution, the creation and operation of the underground university, and the lives of students now thriving in exile.

Through intimate interviews and painterly rotoscope animation, we meet Niknaz, who secured BIHE’s recognition at Berkeley and now speaks at the UN; Tolou, imprisoned for teaching biology; Iqan, sentenced to five years in Evin Prison; and others who turned living rooms into lecture halls and smuggled course materials across provinces. Their stories unfold in a symbolic movie theatre setting, where participants reflect on their past as their memories play out on screen—a metaphor for surveillance turned into global witness.

At once a thriller and a moving testimony, The Forbidden University sheds light on a powerful form of constructive resistance. Despite repeated raids, arrests, and intimidation, BIHE continues to operate, its alumni now studying and teaching at top institutions around the world. The film reveals a unique educational movement built on volunteerism, hope, and spiritual conviction in the face of cultural erasure.

In addition to testimony, the film features insights from scholars like Dr. Mina Yazdani and Dr. Forouzan Golshani, who contextualize BIHE’s importance within the broader campaign of cultural genocide faced by Iran’s Bahá’ís. Through vibrant visuals inspired by Iranian protest art, and a color palette evoking Persian traditions, the documentary offers a cinematic meditation on sacrifice, identity, and the power of education.

As sanctions, surveillance, and authoritarianism continue to impact civil society in Iran, The Forbidden University captures a remarkable case study of resilience. It celebrates the educators and students who refused to be erased—and whose stories now echo far beyond Iran’s borders.