Iran was labeled as a third member of what President Bush termed the “Axis of Evil,” but the UCLA Film and Television Archive believes there is a need for understanding the country before drawing such conclusions.

“Often Americans have very sophistic ideas about Iran since the Revolution and the Iran hostage crisis,” said David Pendleton, programmer at the archive.

The 13th Annual Celebration of Iranian Cinema will attempt to show Iran from the inside out, for good or for bad, starting today at the James Bridges Theater.

The overtures to war that are currently taking place in the Middle East may justify why some have rather presumptuous thoughts toward Iran. Iran, like its neighbor Iraq, is thought to be harboring terrorist networks and building a nuclear weapons program, according to Secretary of State Colin Powell.

In addition to its tarnished international image, Iran has a history of repressing political dissidents and censoring its filmmakers. The film celebration will help bring light to Iranian cinema and issues. In Manijeh Hekmat’s “Women’s Prison,” four starving women must face roaches and lice-infested blankets in an Iranian prison in 1984.

Another Iranian film that deals with women is “Ten,” which is directed by prominent filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami. “Ten” tracks the life of a middle-class woman as she runs errands using her car in present-day Tehran, facing problems as mundane as finding parking to complex ones like marriage and parenting.

While only one of the Iranian films – “Runaway” – is a documentary, the purpose of these other films is equally as educational.

“Don’t think of these films as entertaining Hollywood films. Look at them as basically documentary films, (as an introduction) to Iranian cinema and issues in Iran,” said Latifeh Hagigi, professor of Near Eastern languages and cultures.

Though it at first may seem strange for a festival of Iranian films to find an audience half way across the world, it’s not quite so strange considering Los Angeles’ large Iranian population.

“The Iranian population in Los Angeles is larger than any cities in Iran except for (its capital) Tehran,” Pendleton said.

For more info, call (310) 206-FILM or log on to www.cinema.ucla.edu.