A Tribute to Ebrahim Golestan
Iranian writer, photographer, translator, publisher, and filmmaker,
with a career spanning half a century was born in 1922 in Shiraz. He
went to Tehran to attend the University of Tehran, then the only
secular college in Iran. He studied law at the university but was
attracted to socialist ideas. In 1944 he joined the Tudeh, Iran’s most
important Marxist political party. In the ideological debates that
splintered the party following the Azerbaijan Crisis, Golestan sided
with the reformists led by Khalil Maleki and joined him and other
dissidents in resigning from the Tudeh in early 1948. That same year
his first collection of short stories, Azar, mah-e akhar-e payiz (Azar,
the last month of autumn), was published. Although he continued to
write stories, in the early 1950s his main occupation became
filmmaking. During a twenty-year period, Golestan wrote the scripts
for, directed, and produced several films. His movie A Fire was the
first Iranian film to receive an international award, winning a bronze
medal at the 1961 Venice Film Festival.
In 1958 Golestan met and hired for his film studio the poet Forugh
Farrokhzad. Because he was married and a father, his eight-year
relationship with her was controversial. In the mid-1970s Golestan
moved to Britain in Sussex, where he resettled permanently. He
continued to write short stories in the 1980s and 1990s. In 2003 his
son, photojournalist Kaveh Golestan, was killed by a land mine while
covering the U.S. war in Iraq. His daughter Lili Golestan is a
translator, owner and artistic director of the Golestan Gallery in
Tehran. His grandson, Mani Haghighi, is also a film director.
Filmography: Yek
atash (1961), Moj, marjan, khara (1962), Khesht va Ayeneh (1965, Brick
and Mirror), Asrar ganj dareheye jenni (1974, The Ghost Valley's
Treasure Mysteries)
Brick and Mirror
Director: Ebrahim Golestan, 1965, Iran, 133 minutes, Cast:
Taji Ahmadi, Zackaria Hashemi, Parviz Fanizadeh, Manuchehr Farid,
Mohamad Ali Keshavarz, Jamshid Mashayekhi, Akbar Meshkin, Jalal Moghadam
THE BRICK AND THE MIRROR is as fabled for its significant thematic and
technical breakthroughs. Moody realism conveys a stark poetry in this
tale of a cab driver stuck with an abandoned baby in his back seat.
Moral quandaries and social fears vie with eroticism when the driver
and a lonely woman spend the night with the baby as the phantom
facsimile of a family. The film’s finale, set in an orphanage, is a
stunning, haunting piece of social realism that was to send ripples of
influence through the next four decades of Iranian cinema.
Zurkhaneh – The House of Strength
Director: Federico Spinetti [In Person], 2010, Italy/Canada, 105 minutes, Music: Giuliano Belotti, Ali Reza Hojjati, Jamshid Tabardaran, Mehregan Gerami Haqiqi, Mohammad Aramesh
Zurkhaneh – The House of Strength is a feature documentary about the
traditional gymnasia where a unique form of Iranian martial arts is
practiced to the accompaniment of drumming, sung poetry and expressions
of Shi’a devotion. Based on extensive ethnographic research, the film
journeys from the Iranian diaspora in Canada, across urban Iran, to the
first international Zurkhaneh Olympic tournament in South Korea in
2008. Music and martial arts performances are woven into encounters
with vivid human experiences as athletes, musicians and experts reveal
a variety of subjectivities, perceptions and struggles within the
religious, ethical and social world of Zurkhaneh. What emerges is the
integration, but also the tensions, between the ethical and competitive
aspects of Iranian martial arts, between Sufi-inspired mysticism and
the religiously-inflected nationalism of post-revolutionary Iran,
between grassroots community engagement and Olympic aspirations.
Federico Spinetti
Federico Spinetti - a native of Bergamo, Italy - is currently Assistant
Professor of Music at the University of Alberta, Canada. He has
travelled extensively in Central Asia and Iran conducting ethnographic
research on the musical cultures of Persian-speaking people. His
academic publications have focused on the anthropology and political
economy of music, particularly in Central Asia, and on musical
relations across the Mediterranean. An active ethnographic filmmaker,
he has completed three short documentaries and a documentary feature
film.
Filmography: 2010 Zurkhaneh – The House of Strength, 2005 Wedding, 2004 Dushanbe, 2004 South
Ardavan Mofod
There
will be a live demonstration by the stage actor Ardavan Mofod, an
expert on the art of Siahbazzi and Naghali after the screening of
Zurkhaneh.
Ardavan Mofid was born to a traditional theatrical
family. His father was the first to utilize traditional storytelling
(Naghali) in a theatrical presentation with his founding adaptation of
Shahnameh. His older brother, Bijan Mofid, was the founder of the
contemporary folklore theatre ‘Novin’ that produced and performed the
famous Shahr-e ghesseh, a form of traditional theatre using animal
fables and fairy tales. Ardavan Mofid is an entertainer with over 40
years of writing, directing and acting experience from theatre,
television and radio productions. At the present time, Ardavan performs
many adaptations of traditional storytelling accompanied by musical
performances. He tours nationwide and internationally performing the
epic history of Iran - the Shahnameh.
About Nice After
An Exclusive Screening
Directors:
Costa-Gavras, Abbas Kiarostami, Parviz Kimiavi, Catherine
Breillat,Claire Denis, Raymond Depardon, Pavel Lungin, Raoul Ruiz,
France, 100 minutes, Cast: Bernard Benassayag, Thierry Saïd Bouibil, Jérôme Chabreyrie, Grégoire Colin, Laura del Sol, Arielle Dombasle
This French anthology is a tribute to a classic documentary, A Propos
de Nice, that took a poetic and sometimes satirical look at life in the
French Riviera town. This version blends fact and fiction to chronicle
life in modern-day Nice and is comprised of seven vignettes, each
directed by an internationally renowned filmmaker. Only one of the
episodes, "Reperages," from Iranian directors Abbas_Kiarostami and
Parviz_Kimiavi, stays close to the style of the original film by Jean
Vigo as it chronicles the experiences of a filmmaker who came to Nice
to do research on Vigo for his upcoming documentar
Photos: Abbas Kiarostami, Costa-Gavras, Parviz Kimiavi
Iran (1971)
Special Screening
Director: Claude LeLouch, 1971, France/Iran, 19 minutes, Music: Francis Lai
Far more than a travelogue with pretty pictures, this little-known film
won six international awards shortly after its release. 'Iran' consists
of spectacular geographical and archaeological footage interspersed
with "slice of life" shots, evidencing best juxtapositional editing
we've ever seen.
This is a buried masterpiece from the director of 'A Man and a Woman',
'Happy New Year', and 'And Now My Love.' Lelouch reportedly shot six
miles of footage to make this film, which apparently was sponsored by a
multinational petroleum pipeline construction firm.
Screening with Permission
Claude Lelouch
Claude Lelouch (born 30 October 1937) is a French film director,
writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Born in the 9th
arrondissement of Paris to a Jewish family of Algerian origin, his
father gave him a camera to give him a fresh start after his failure in
the baccalaureate. He started his career with reportage - one of the
first to film daily life in the U.S.S.R., the camera hidden under his
coat as he made his personal journey. He also filmed sporting events
like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Tour de France. Lelouch is known
for making movies based heavily on improvised dialogue. His famous film
A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme) won the Palme d'Or at the
1966 Cannes Film Festival, as well as two Oscars including Best Foreign
Language Film.
He has collaborated on no fewer than 28 occasions with the composer
Francis Lai. They scored a great hit with the piece 'chabadabada' for
the film A Man and a Woman sung by Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh,
and more than 300 versions of the song exist.
Flamingo No. 13
Director: Hamid Reza Aligholian [In Person], 2010, Iran, 78 minutes, Cast: Rasoul Younan, Baran Zamani, Saeed Alipour, Abdollah Amir Atashani, Alireza Ghader
Set in a small mountain village in Iran, where the villagers live
quietly in the majestic landscape of nature. A man obsessed with
illegal flamingo hunting, the woman he loves, and another man who
envies their love. The director's first work portrays the allegorical
triangular relationship through surreal, beautiful imagery.
Story takes place in a neighborhood of legends in an Exile located in a
mountain. One of the exile, Solaiman, who hunts a flamingo is known as
a legend in the village who is spending his period of exile. Solaiman
is torn between the love for Tamai and the obsession for hunting of
flamingos. Even after his marriage with Tamai, he still can't give up
the thought of hunting that bird. The obsession eventually leads to his
disappearance. People in the village believe Solaiman is dead but Tamai
doesn't agree with them.
Hamid Reza Aligholian
Hamid Reza Aligholian (Born first of July in 1980 in Tehran, educated
from civil aviation technology university and after that learned cinema
directing and non-linear editing , during some film making courses at
SOOREH university, and ABBAS KIAROSTAMI workshop.
His first feature film (FLAMINGO NO.13 – 2010) participated in Tokyo
international film festival 2010 (competition section). He has made
some short films: The Lust, Gray (based on Jacques Pervert Poem),
miracle and The Rain.
He has also made some 3D animation for some companies and several
advertising teasers, and music videos shown on TV and international
satellite channels.
Bonjour Monsieur Ghaffari
Director: Parviz Jahed, 2011, UK, 62 minutes, Cast: Farokh Ghafari, Ebrahim Golestan
Bounjour Monsieur Ghafari paints a portrait of the life and experiences
of Farrokh Ghafari the veteran Iranian film critic, the founder of
Iranian Film Archive and one of the forerunners of the Iranian New Wave
Cinema in the early 60s.
Ghafari was a familiar figure not only to Iranian cinephiles, but to
French film society whether as a film critic writing for the “Positive”
film magazine or working with Henri Langlois in running the
Cinematheque Francaise in Paris in the early 1950s.
In this film we see Ghafari talking passionately about his first
encounters with cinema, his life and his arrival as a stranger in Paris
at the age of 11, fascinated by silent films of the time and grow up
parallel to the development of cinema in France and around the world,
and the events leading to his exile and eventual death away from home
all in his own words.
Farrokh Ghafari Filmography:
Director: 1975 The Falconet, 1965 Shabe ghuzi, 1959 Which Is the Bride?, 1958 South of the City [Joonoob e shahr]
Actor: 1979 O.K. Mister [as William Knox D'arcy], 1971 Samad va fulad zereh div, 1965 Shabe ghuzi
Writer: 1979 O.K. Mister (dialogue), 1975 The Falconet
Self: 2006 Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution (TV documentary), 2004 Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque (documentary)
Parviz Jahed
Parviz Jahed is a film critic, journalist, filmmaker and lecturer in
film studies, scriptwriting and film directing. He is the author of a
number of books and essays on Iranian cinema and his critical works on
Iranian and world cinema published in various publications and journals
in Iran and the UK. Jahed is also a regular contributor to the BBC
Persian website and Television as a film critic and reviewer.
Parviz made a number of documentaries and short films. Maria: 24 hour
peace picket, his last documentary film and Ta'zieh, Another Narration
his long documentary film on a traditional performance and ritual play
in Iran have been screened in film festivals, art galleries,
universities and on Television in Iran and the UK.
David
Director: Joel Fendelman, 2011, USA, 80 minutes, Cast: Maz Jobrani [In Person], Muatasem Mishal, Binyomin Shtaynberger, Dina Shihabi, Gamze Ceylon, Michael Golden
“David” tells the story of Daud, an eleven year old Muslim boy growing
up in Brooklyn. As the son of the Imam of the local mosque, he has to
juggle his father’s high expectations, the dynamics of a conservative
family, and being different – even from his peers in the Muslim
community. Through an innocent act of good faith, Daud inadvertently
befriends a group of Jewish boys who mistake him for being Jewish and
accept him as one of their own. When the Jewish boys discover that Daud
has lied to them, his world is shattered, and he is left alone,
struggling to come to terms with his place in the world.
“David” is first and foremost a story of friendship between two boys.
It is not a political or religious movie, but, after watching it, these
topics will inevitably seep into the conversation. The film questions
the boundaries of our cultures and religions, and looks at how static
and yet fluid these boundaries can be.
Joel Fendelman
It all started with his trick skates and a video camera. More recently,
Joel Fendelman has been in New York producing and directing award
winning films. His feature debut documentary “Needle Through Brick”
surveys the quickly vanishing art of traditional Kung Fu through the
eyes Kung Fu Masters that fled China over the last 100 years. The film,
which he shot in Malaysia, won the Silver Palm award from the Mexico
International film festival. It is currently attracting interest for
distribution in the European Market. In only 5 years, Joel has directed
a number of award winning short films that have been accepted and shown
at prestigious film festivals, including Cannes, Chicago, Miami,
Woodstock and IDFA. Joel won the Chipotle Commercial Competition in
2009 and continues to produce commercial contents. Joel also works as a
film editor, editing episodes of Watching the Detectives for the
A&E Network, The Artist’s Den for PBS, Total Makeover for Allure
and does ongoing portrait profiles for American Express. He holds a BFA
in Film and television from the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Crossroads of Civilization
An Exclusive Screening ~ Not Seen Over 35 Years
Producer: David Frost, Director: Anthony Mayer, 1976, UK/Iran, 104 minutes, Music: Ahmad Pezhman
The Crossroads of Civilization
is an eight-part history of the Ancient Persia which dramatized battles
and sieges on a Hollywood scale, but carried out on the remote original
locations. This was a project that needed panache as well as creativity.
Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco
is proud to have discovered and will show this jewel, which was made in
Iran with a budget of 2.5 million dollars in 1976 by Sir David Frost.
It will have its world premiere after 35 years to give a sense of
Persian history and a unique opportunity to see this lost and forgotten
documentary for the first time.
We
thank Sir David Frost for the opportunity to show this documentary at
the 4th Annual Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco.
Sir David Frost
Born in Tenderden, Kent, Englan, 7 April 1939. Attended Gillingham
Grammar School; Wellington Grammar School; Gonville and Caius College,
Cambridge, M.A. Married 1) Lynne Frederick in 1981 (divorced 1982); 2)
Carina Fitzalan-Howard in 1983; children: Miles, Wilfred and George.
Served as presenter of Rediffusion specials, 1961; established name as
host of That Was the Week That Was, 1962-63; later gained reputation as
an aggressive interviewer on The Frost Programme and other shows;
co-founder, London Weekend Television; chair, David Paradine group of
companies , since 1966; served on British/U.S. Bicentennial Liaison
Committee, 1973-76, and has hosted shows on both sides of the Atlantic;
interviewed Richard Nixon for television, 1976; helped launch TV-am
commercial breakfast television company, 1982. LLD, Emerson College,
Boston, Massachusetts. President, Lord's Taverners, 1985, 1986. Order
of the British Empire, 1970; knighted, 1993. Recipient: Golden Rose of
Montreux (twice); Royal Television Society Silver Medal, 1967; Richard
Dimbleby Award, 1967; Emmy Awards, 1970, 1971; Guild of Television
Producers Award, 1971; TV Personality of the Year, 1971; Religious
Heritage of America Award, 1971; Albert Einstein Award, 1971. In 2005,
he was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship, their highest honor. And in 2009
in New York he received the International Emmy Founders Award, which is
their highest honor. Sir David Frost’s activities during his career
have been so diverse that he has been described as a “one man
conglomerate”. It is easy to see why: host and co-creator of That Was
the Week That Was, producer of countless television programs from A
Gift of Song: The Music for UNICEF Concert to the Spectacular World of
Guinness Records; author of 17 books; producer of eight films
(including “Rogue Trader” with Ewan McGregor and Anna Friel);
publisher, lecturer, impresario and the joint founder of London Weekend
Television and TV-am. Not to mention the fact that he is perhaps the
best known television interviewer in the world. Sir David’s regular
current affairs series on Al Jazeera English “Frost Over The World” is
now in its fifth year, having already completed more than 150 weekly
editions.
The Wind Is Blowing On My Street
Director: Saba Riazi [In Person], 2010, Iran/US, 15 minutes, Cast: Rahman Houshyar, Music: Mohsen Namjoo
A young girl in Tehran gets left on the street with no head scarf and
must interact with a neighbor in an environment where her mishap equals
trouble.
Festivals: 2011 Sundance
Saba Riazi
Born in Iran in 1982, she was raised in Tehran. She pursued her
education in Theater Directing in Art university of Tehran, and at the
same time she made short films and started working professionally as
assistant editor for feature films in There. She won the award of
UNESCO ASHBERG BURSARIES FOR YOUNG ARTISTS and a residency for 6 months
in Marseille for Media Arts in 2004. Saba got in to very competitive
Film and TV production program at New York University (Tisch) for her
MFA in 2008 and has been making films ever since with her fellow
classmates from all around the world.
The Accordion
Director: Jafar Panahi, Iran/France/Brazil/Italy/Switzerland, 2010, 9 minutes
This film shot in Tehran, recounts the adventures of two young street
musicians who play the accordion and tablas in order to earn their
living. Two young street musicians in Tehran, a boy and a girl, have
their accordion confiscated as the result of an incident while playing
next to a mosque.
“The Accordion is the story of humankind’s materialistic need to
survive in a pretentious religion. In it, a boy is prevented from
playing for reasons of religious prohibition, which he accepts in order
to survive. But the main character of the film is the girl or, perhaps,
in my view, the symbol of the next generation. In her ideal world she
realizes man’s need for survival and decides to avoid the violence and
share her small income with someone else who is also in need.” -- Jafar
Panahi
Jafar Panahi
Jafar Panahi, born 11 July 1960, in Mianeh, Iran, is one of the most
celebrated Iranian and international artists compresses his
storytelling and reflections in a short film that not only captures
Tehran today, but also serves as a metaphor on violence, tolerance and
hope. It was, in fact, Jafar Pahani’s vitality and courage here that
sparked our passions most. However, the director would not have
conceived this splendid “short story” were it not for backing from the
wonderful utopia that is the omnibus film Then and Now, dedicated to
overcoming barriers and differences and produced by Art for the World
with support from the United Nations.
Selected Filmography:
1. This is Not a Film – In Film Nist (2011)
2. The Accordion (2010)
3. Offside (2006)
4. Crimson Gold - Talaye sorkh (2003)
5. The Circle - Dayereh (2000)
6. The Mirror - Ayneh (1997)
7. Ardekoul (1997)
8. The White Balloon - Badkonake sefid (1995)
9. Friend - Doust (1992)
10. The Last Exam - Akharin Emtehan (1992)
11. Kish (1991)
12. The Wounded Heads - Yarali bashlar (1988)
The Other
Director: Mehdi Rahmani, 2010, Iran, 84 minutes, Cast: Mohammad Reza Foroutan, Merila Zaraie, Milad Moradi Nasab, Mehran Rajabi, Mohammad Ali Miandar, Sirous Hemmati
A young boy is forced to go on a trip to the capital city, Tehran, with
his soon to be step-father. Their relationship dramatically changes
during their inevitable trip. The Other is a beautiful coming of age
story that follows this little boy with his potential step-father as
they embark on a forced trip to sell a van. Their journey takes them to
various cities and villages as they learn about each other and
eventually create a strong father - son bond.
The Other is a conventional road movie with an odd couple in the front
seats. As the story progresses these two come to see each other in a
different light and successfully bond. In this case the point of
connection between the boy and the man is the frustration they both
carry inside them of not possessing any control over their own lives.
To live in a society that requires little boys to act as men and
shoulder the weight of entire households while at same time having all
the important decisions taken over their heads. This and the memory of
the father bring the characters closer and set them against a common
adversary, the boy’s older uncle who has chosen another man for his
mother to marry.
Mehdi Rahmani
Born in 1979 in Esfahan, Iran, graduated in film making from I.R.I.B.
University in 2005; member of Iranian young cinema society; member of
Iranian photographer's society; member of Iranian documentary
filmmakers' society; member of European documentary filmmakers'
society; jury of Children and Young People International Film festival
in Esfahan; the head of students juries at 10th Tehran International
Short Film Festival (2005).
Filmography: 2010
- The Other (Digari) is his first feature film, and winner of the Best
Children's Feature Film award in the 2010 edition of the Asia Pacific
Screen Awards. Short Films: The Boys of Autumn / The Bridge's Ballads /
The Moonlight Prayer / Smell of Tresses / Border Zone
Original ‘Certified Copy’
Director: Hamideh Razavi, 2011, Iran, 32 minutes, Cast: Abbas Kiarostami, Juliette Binoche, William Shimell
A look at the team working from behind the scenes of Abbas Kiarostami’s “Certified Copy”
Hamieh Razavi
Hamieh Razavi began film making by attending Abbas Kiarostami’s
workshops and has made several short films since. She recently made
“Taste of Shirin” which is a short documentary about the making of
Kiarostami’s Shirin.
Filmography: Carpet
to Celestial Heavens 2008 [IFF 2010], Taste of Shirin 2008, Capricious
woman 2009, Flare 2010, Camera Lucida 2010, The wind blows you away
2010 [IFF 2010], 50% Sale 2011, Classified 2011, Original Certified
Copy 2011
My Iranian Paradise
Directors: Annette Mari Olsen & Katia Forbert Petersen, Denmark, 2009, 78 minutes
One of the directors of this film [Annette Mari Olsen] was raised in
Iran. Her father was a Danish engineer and her mother a survivor from
one of Stalin’s Gulag camps. In this film, the life of a family is
reflected in the history of Iran from the 30s and onward to the Islamic
Revolution, until oil began tearing the world apart. The film
differentiates perceptions of enemy images and political
generalizations. With the eyes of ordinary people we experience how any
given person’s fate can change from one day to the next, when politics
and leaderships change. Through an understanding of its past,
contemporary Iran is uncovered.
Annette Mari Olsen & Katia Forbert Petersen
Annette Mari Olsen:
Born in Denmark, grew up in Iran and England. Film director, Master of
Arts from the Polish Film School, Lodz, 1973. Until 1977: worked as
film director in Poland. Resident in Denmark since then. Taught at the
National Film School of Denmark, 1983-84. Internationally taught
direction to master classes for professional documentary filmmakers.
Media consultant for Danish Refugee Council, 1986-88. Several periods
as an interpreter of English, Farsi (Persian), Polish, French, and
Danish, work which provided the basis for a range of award-winning
films about ethnic minorities in Denmark. Establish Sfinx Film/TV in
1988 together with partner and cinematographer Katia Forbert Petersen.
Katia Forbert Petersen:
Cinematographer. Polish born. Resident in Denmark since 1969. She has
shot some 150 films, including a number of features. She has worked as
a camerawoman for ZDF and the Canadian Film Board. Danish
Cinematographers Association's Annual Award 1992. Special Prize - Best
Photography at the ITVA festival in Copenhagen in 1997 and 1999.
International award for best photography at the ITVA festival in New
Orleans, USA 1998. Danish Film Academy Award "Robert" for co-direction
of Best Short Documentary of the year 2007.
I Was Worth 50 Sheep
Director: Nima Sarvestani, 2010, Sweden/Afghanistan/Iran, 72 minutes
“I Was Worth 50 Sheep” is the story of a brave girl, Sabere, and her
struggle for life. Through the prism of her family this heart-rending
and thought-provoking film brings the tragedy that is Afghanistan
vividly to life. Sabere, has a price on her head. When she was just ten
years old she was sold to a man forty years her senior. After seven
years of confinement and abuse she escaped to find temporary refuge in
a women’s sanctuary. Now she again has a price on her head as her
husband will kill her on sight. The camera picks up Sabere at the point
where she has re-made contact with her family. She faces the decision
of whether to stay in the safety of the sanctuary or whether to rejoin
her family. They try to mount a “sting” that would simultaneously
capture her husband and free Sabere from his clutches. But for it to
work, Sabere will have to meet her husband. And all the while the
family dreads receiving the telephone calls that will seal the fate of
Sabere’s ten-year-old sister.
“I Was Worth 50 Sheep” is a moving story of one family’s struggle to
survive. “I Was Worth 50 Sheep” was filmed over a period of two years
in Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan, by award-winning Iranian director Nima
Sarvestani.
Festivals: 2011 Gothenburg International Film Festival
Nima Sarvestani
Nima Sarvestani started his career as a journalist in Iran and has been
concentrating on documentary filmmaking since moving to Sweden in 1984.
Focusing on social and political issues, he is inspired by those who
fight passionately for their cause. He has directed “Dead Man’s Guest”
(2003), “Naked and Wind” (2002), “Many Years Later” (1999) and “The
Evil Cycle” (1998). Iranian Kidney Bargain Sale (2006), “ On the Border
of Desperation” (2008) and “I Was Worth 50 Sheep” is his latest
production.
A Beautiful Snowy Day
Directors: Mahaya Petrossian & Amir Toodehroosta, 2010, Iran 32 minutes, Cast: Mahaya Petrossian, Atila Pesyani, Sadegh Safaei
This film is about a critical day in a woman and her kid's life, in
which she is going to make an important decision
.
Mahaya Petrosian & Amir Toodehroosta
Mahaya Petrosian
graduated from Tehran University in performing arts. She is a well
known actress in Iran, and has performed in more than 24 films. She has
been awarded several times for her performances. She has written a few
movie scripts. This is her first directorial debut.
Amir Toodehroosta
started his professional work as a director in 1997 and since then has
made more than 14 short films and 3 documentaries. His works have been
awarded prizes in many international festivals.
Filmography:
Match (1998), The hidden corner of life (1999), Incarcerate time
(1999), Cinema varite (2000), Hi Mr. Evil (2000), Red (2001), Holy
Wednesday (2002), Chocolate Burglar (2003), Shiva (2004), The shining
(2005), Black, White (2006), Radiography of a portrait (2009), A
beautiful snowy day (2010).
Delete
Director: Kazem Mollaie, 2011, Iran, 11 minutes, Cast: Mohamad Abbasi
A man is doing an experiment on deleting his life.
Kazem Mollaie
Kazem Mollaie: Born in 1981 in Sabzevar – Iran. Member of the “Iranian
Young Cinema Society” - 1998. Start film making with a short film named
“From game to ... " 1999. A bachelor graduate in the field of Cinema
Directing from the university of " Sooreh Tehran " – 2005. Member of
"Iranian Short Film Association" - Khane Cinema – 2009.
Filmography:
1) From game to…/2000/short film/14 min 2) Tel/2000/short film/20 min
3) The wind is blowing in the Alley/2002/Fiction/40 min 4) Akbar,For
God Sake, don't die before me!/2003/Fiction/38 min 5) Carmen Funebre
/2005/Short-documentary/21 min 6) Please stay away from the red
line/2008/Short Film/30 min 7) Minus/2009/Short Film/23 min [Iranian
Film Festival, 2010] 8) Delete/2011/Short Film/11min
Plastic Bag
Director: Ramin Bahrani, USA, 2009, 18 minutes, Voice: Werner Herzog
In a not too distant future, a Plastic Bag goes on an epic journey in
search of its lost Maker, wondering if there is any point to life
without her. The Bag encounters strange creatures, brief love in the
sky, a colony of prophetic torn bags on a fence and the unknown. To be
with its own kind, the Bag goes deep under the oceans into 500 nautical
miles of spinning garbage known as the North Pacific Trash Vortex. Will
our Plastic Bag be able to forget its Maker there?
Festivals: Venice Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, New York Film Festival
Ramin Bahrani
Ramin Bahrani was born March 20, 1975 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
to Iranian parents. He received his BA from Columbia University in New
York City. His first feature film, Man Push Cart (2005), premiered at
the Venice Film Festival (2005) and screened at the Sundance Film
Festival (2006). The film won over 10 international prizes, was
released theatrically around the world, and was nominated for three
Independent Spirit Awards. Bahrani’s second film Chop Shop (2007)
premiered at the 2007 Director’s Fortnight of the Cannes International
Film Festival, and then screened at the Toronto International Film
Festival (2007) and the Berlin International Film Festival (2008)
before being released theatrically to wide and universal critical
acclaim. Bahrani was awarded the prestigious 2007 Someone to Watch
Independent Spirit Award. In 2008, he was nominated for Best Director
Independent Spirit Award. Ramin’s third film Goodbye Solo was premiered
at the Tiburon International Film Festival.
The Other Side
Director: Esmaeel Monsef, 2010, Iran, 19 minutes, Cast: Naser Ja'fari, Reza Eesapoor, Zhila Shahi
The letters a young girl receives from her fiancé living on the other
side of the border, until we find out that he is not the one who is
sending the letters.
Esmaeel Monsef
Born in 1976 inIran. Graduate of Behandish Cinema School - Iran. Member
of the Iranian Alliance Motion Picture Guilds-Khane Cinema
Member of Iranian Short Film association. Founding member of
Independent movie makers association of Iran(N.G.O) (1999-2005).
Editing of more than 30 short films, documentaries and features: Where
is the Leyli? (by:Mohamad Shirvani), Dreams Garden (by:Jamshid
Bayrami), Royahaye dame sobh (by:Mehrdad Oskouee) and...
Filmography: OYAN-2010
(received the best short film of 58th Trento international film
festival – 2010). Official Selection of Tiburon International Film
Festival
Bani Adam (Human Beings)
Director: Noureddin ZarrinKelk, 2011, Iran, Animation, 10 minutes
The need for global peace and understanding, this film brings together
world leaders to recite a poem by 13th-century Persian poet Sa’adi
about our common humanity.
Noureddin ZarrinKelk
Noureddin ZarrinKelk was born into a family of traditional Persian
painters and calligraphers. In fact his last name means “Golden Pen” in
Persian. But Noureddin, affectionately called Noori, also had a daring
eye for adapting modern subjects, and perhaps it was also his fate to
reimagine this 13th-century art form in a new light, as Noor means
“light.”
He started his career at 16, drawing caricatures for Iranian magazines.
After earning a Ph.D. in pharmacology, he worked as an illustrator
trying to change the long-held tradition of imageless textbooks in
Iran. While working at Iran’s Institute for the Intellectual
Development of Children and Young Adults, Noori saw how animated film
can engage young audiences. He went to Belgium to study animation with
Raoul Servais and was soon making films for children. He has since
advanced Iranian animation almost singlehandedly by founding the
country’s first animation school in 1974 and Iran’s branch of the
International Animated Film Society in 1987.
Noori possesses a special humor which exists in all of his work. In The
Mad, Mad, Mad World (1975), he portrays each continent on the globe
transforming into a variety of animals barking or squawking at
neighboring countries. But Noori is hesitant to speak about Iranian
politics. Instead he works to encode profound political and social
messages in his films, while sharing the culture and history of his
country with a worldwide audience. His films express the need for
global peace and understanding. In his latest film, Bani Adam (2011),
he brings together world leaders to recite a poem by 13th-century
Persian poet Sa’adi about our common humanity.
Throughout his career, Noureddin ZarrinKelk has helped to find a
distinct place for animation and graphic art in the broad field of
painting. And Iranian artists are increasingly recognized and received
with great respect worldwide, in large part because of Nouredddin’s
persistence and hard work. His creativity in animation and graphics is
interwoven with powerful peculiarities of Iranian art and soul, making
him one of the most renowned representatives of his country. At the
same time, his art, with universal values, designates him as an artist
of the world.
“1 in 10” Music Video
Director: Cameron Rafati, 2010, USA, 4 minutes
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