Film Dubbing before 1979: Played an important role in the development and popularity of cinema in Iran before the Islamic Revolution.  Dubbing ironically had its roots in the silent era and the dilmaj or film commentator who would accompany screenings.  Experimentation with live ‘voice-over’ translation continued into the 1940s. The recording to film of alternate Persian-language dialog (and song) did not take place until the Second World War, with the first screenings of dubbed features appearing in Iranian cinemas shortly after the war. The dubbing of foreign films made cinema more accessible to a new and fast-growing domestic audience.  Film dubbing became a launching pad for homegrown production studios as well as talent both in front of and behind the camera. Most domestic productions during the post-war decades leading up to 1979 continued to incorporate post-synchronous sound and some voice-over artists became as famous as their on-screen Dubbing domestic productions continued to be standard operating procedure and dubbing artists sometimes became as famous as their on-screen counterparts.