Hannah Marshall directs a powerful new music video for Iranian artist Gola, using the film as a rallying call to anyone that has ever defied those who have told them 'no'. 

Gola had to leave her homeland in order to pursue a career in music, having been a member of Orchid, Iran’s first girl group, who were banned from releasing music and whose female-only concerts were heavily patroled by morality police, so attendees were not permitted to dance or sing along. Now Gola uses her voice to bring awareness to Iran and the power of women in her country. And Marshall says her visual concept was conceived “as an ode to female potency and empowerment. This individual and collective striving is central to the structure of the video." 

She adds: "I focused on three zones of the body, each corresponding to a different form of communication: eyes (the gaze), mouth (the voice), and hands (the touch). The clothing both impresses upon and provides gateways of expression for the body. The lived experiences of women are complex and the debates around their bodies often highly charged and politicised. Through the ritual of covering up and concealing what lies beneath, the intention is to present the hijab and veil as a self-contained source of power, an armour-like second skin that is loaded with life force and freedom.”

• i-D: Hannah Marshall on her Gola video