Istanbul: In their work studio in Istanbul, Iranian couple Nafise Motlaq and Saeed Nasiri are trying to access news from Iran, as Tehran presses an internet blackout in a crackdown on ongoing protests. Many hours have passed since the couple has last been in touch with friends and relatives in their home country. "It's not about filtering or controlling the internet, they just shut it down," says Saeed as he looks at a webpage which fails to load. "Sooner or later, they're going to fall," believes Nafise. "Because of this uprising, or because of the next one (which will happen) very soon."

"What bothers me the most is that people do not know how diverse Iran is. We've always been categorised and stereotyped because of what our regime or our opposition are portraying us," Nafise said.