New Film 'Desert Dancer' Smears Iranian Government in the Name of Dance, Premieres April 10

The right of self-expression may seem self-evident, but all around the world artists are persecuted for making their craft an outright statement. This is the basis for the upcoming dance drama, Desert Dancer, and the Iranian government, thus, is in that realm of censorship.

Set in modern-day Iran, the fact-driven dance flick follows Afshin Ghaffarian (Reece Ritchie) whose innate talent and penchant for dance is undercut by his oppressive government. However, as the trailer indicates, this does little to dissuade his passion.

As their cover is imminent to be blown, Afshin must flee his country to avoid persecution. Once he has been arrested, though, his drive to pursue his creative dreams is only fueled further, starting a one-of-a-kind performance in a remote desert location (get it now?).

Ultimately the choreography is aggregated from timeless legends that span all cultural divides, such as Michael Jackson, Gene Kelly and Rudolf Nureyev.

And as Slash Film put it, sadly, Ghaffarian is far from the last person to suffer for daring to express himself. It was just last year that a group of young Iranians were arrested for making a viral video of themselves dancing to Pharrell's "Happy."

Directed by Richard Raymond, the movie is set to premiere April 10.

So check out the trailer below until then.