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Iranian movies at Munich Filmfest

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A lineup of Iranian movies will go on screen from June 23rd to July 2nd in various sections of the 34th Filmfest München.

Asghar Farhadi’s acclaimed drama “The Salesman” will be shown in the CineMasters Competition. The social drama won awards for best screenplay and best actor at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in May.

Two other highlights will go on screen in the International Independents section: “Avalanche” by Morteza Farshbaf and “Yahya Didn’t Keep Quiet” by Kaveh Ebrahimpur.

The festival is also presenting a retrospective of Bahman Ghobadi’s work with films like “A time for drunken horses” (2000), “Turtles can fly” (2004), “No one knows about Persian cats” (2009), and “Rhino season” (2012).

Bahman Ghobadi is an Iranian film director of Kurdish ethnicity born in 1969 in Baneh, near the Iraqi border. He belongs to the “new wave” of Iranian cinema. His first feature film “A time for drunken horses” won the Camera d’Or in Cannes in 2000.

Iranian film “No one knows about Persian Cats” by Bahman Ghobadi (2009)
Iranian film “A time for drunken horses” by Bahman Ghobadi (Zamani barayé masti asbha, 2000)
Iranian film “Avalanche” by Morteza Farshbaf (Bahman, 2015)
Iranian film “Rhino season” by Bahman Ghobadi (Fasle Kargadan, 2012)
Iranian film “The Salesman” by Asghar Farhadi (Forushande, 2016)
Iranian film “Yahya didn’t keep quiet” by Kaveh Ebrahimpour (Yahya sokoot nakard, 2015)

Source: Filmfest München | Iranian Films, Tehran Times

Tehran was turned again into an art gallery (Photos)

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Tehran hosted for its second consecutive year “A Gallery as big as a City”, an art event that turns the Iranian capital into a city-wide gallery where large-scale reproductions of hundreds of well-known artworks – both Western and Iranian – hang randomly along the city’s main arteries.

800 copies of artworks by artists across the world have been put on display on 2000 billboards in Tehran. Some of the billboards are dedicated to pictures of objects of cultural heritage, such as reproductions of traditional Persian miniatures, carpets and calligraphy but other also to paintings of Iranian artists like Jafar Rouhbakhsh.

Two-third of the works are from Iran and the rest have been selected from the world’s major artists, some of which may be famous enough to be recognized by nearly half of the population, such as Van Gogh’s The Starry Night or Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Other international artists included are Americans Jackson Pollock and Andy Warhol, Austrians Egon Schiele and Joseph Anton Koch, Belgian René Magritte, British Lucian Freud, French Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse, Germans Käthe Kollwitz and Caspar David Friedrich and Paul Klee, Italians Leonardo da Vinci (The last supper), Giorgio de Chirico, Japanese Gyokusen (artist name: Gyokkei) and Katsushika Hokusai and Spanish Pablo Picasso.

Related article: The other Iran | Photos compilation: A gallery as big as Tehran

Sources: kojaro.com, IRNA, shahrekhabar.com, Tehran Picture Agency, Payvand Iran News 1, Payvand Iran News 2, Hamshari Photo Agency, Iran Economist, Etemad Online, zibasazi.ir 1, zibasazi.ir 2, zibasazi.ir 3, zibasazi.ir 4, zibasazi.ir 5, zibasazi.ir 6, Tehran Times, sothebys.com

 

Iran’s Fajr International Theatre Festival: Performances

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Fajr International Theater Festival (FITF) is a golden opportunity to enjoy theatre projects from other cultural backgrounds. This year over 300 plays from Japanese, Hungarian, Spanish, German, Norwegian, Polish, French as well as Iranian artists were presented on all theater stages as well as some outdoor public spaces in Tehran.

The members of the jury panel for the international section – Stefan Schmid from Germany, Jerzy Limon from Poland, Oleg Loevski from Russia and Iranians Masoud Delkhah and Farrindokht Zahedi – honored “Hamlet” with two awards; German director Thomas Ostermeier received the Grand Prix of the festival and Lars Eidinger won the Best Actor Award. The play had three completely sold-out performances.

34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hamlet – Germany
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hamlet – Germany

Photos: “Hamlet” directed by Thomas Ostermeier, Germany

Norway participated with a powerful performance of Henrik Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” by Visjoner Teater, founded by Juni Dahr in 1988. The play was staged at a house and not at a theatre to allow the site specific artistic concept of this production. The shows were sold out, thus an extra performance was organized. Actress and artistic director Juni Dahr won in 2014 the Jury’s FITF Special Prize for “Ibsen Women”.

34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hedda Gabler – Norway
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hedda Gabler – Norway
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hedda Gabler – Norway
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hedda Gabler – Norway
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hedda Gabler – Norway
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hedda Gabler – Norway
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Hedda Gabler – Norway

Photos: “Hedda Gabler” by Visjoner Teater, Norway

“The Shadow Game” written by Koichiro Iizuka and directed by Tatsuya Hasegawa from Japan’s Dazzle Dance Company took the stages by storm with four sold out shows at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, leaving the audience breathless long after the actors have left the stage.

The play, about the clash between positive and negative energy to highlight the effects of the natural disasters in Japan, used a magnificent combination of street dance, electronic music, theater, elements of video games and anime plot with Japanese commentary all wrapped up in street and contemporary dance styles choreographed by Hasegawa himself. In 2012 Hasegawa’s “Misty Mansion” won the FITF Best Play Award.

34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – The Shadow Game – Japan
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – The Shadow Game – Japan
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – The Shadow Game – Japan
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – The Shadow Game – Japan

Photos: “The Shadow Game” directed by Tatsuya Hasegawa, Japan

Hungary’s “Becoming Butterfly – Conspiracy” written and directed by Zsófia Bérczi, has taken the audience through an existential journey on the wings of imagination and visual aesthetics. There was something universal and deep about the play that made it connect with the audience no matter from which country and culture. “Human beings are not the most beautiful creation on earth, but they are the most beautiful dream of all creations on earth.” Bérczi also staged Living Surface at this year’s festival.

34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Living Surface – Hungary
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Living Surface – Hungary
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Living Surface – Hungary

Photos: “Living Surface” and “Becoming a Butterfly – Conspiracy” directed by Zsófia Bérczi, Hungary

“Peregrinus” from Poland’s KTO Theater is a performance without dialogue, illustrated by music that depicts a single day in the life of an individual of the 21st century. The contemporary “Everyman”, whose life is “suspended” between home and work for a corporation, identifies his or her “pathway through life” as a “pathway to work”. Homo Peregrinus is a formatted human being, stripped of emotionality, predictable and bereft of individual characteristics. Perigrinus’s belongings can be packed in one piece of hand luggage.

34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Peregrinus – Poland

Photos: “Peregrinus” from KTO Theater, Poland

“Katastrophe” and “A House in Asia” were presented by Agrupación Serrano, a Spanish theatre company that creates original productions based on stories drawn from contemporary times, blending stage performance, text, video, sound, and scale models to stage stories about discordant aspects of today’s human experience.

The FITF international section also included “Dance of Death B La La”, a joint Iranian-German production by Iranian director Yaser Khaseb from Crazy Body Group, “Body Revolution” by Belgium based Iraqi director Mokhallad Rasem, the monologue “Monsters” by Laurent Fraunie from France, Georgian “Me-Medea” written and directed by Salome Joglidze and more.

34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Body Revolution – Belgium
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Me-Medea – Georgia
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Monster – France
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Dance of Death B La La – Iran-Germany
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Dance of Death B La La – Iran-Germany
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Dance of Death B La La – Iran-Germany
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Dance of Death B La La – Iran-Germany
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Dance of Death B La La – Iran-Germany
34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran – Dance of Death B La La – Iran-Germany

Photos: 34th Fajr International Theater Festival in Iran

Sources: Mehr News Agency (MNA) 1, MNA 2, MNA 3, MNA 4, Tehran Times 1, Tehran Times 2, srserrano.com, na-weekly.com, fitf.theater.ir, tiwall.com | 34th FITF (in Persian), tiwall.com | Dance of Death B La La (in Persian), teatrktro.pl, Honar Online, swr.de, Facebook | Visjoner Teater, Instagram @crazybodygroup, IRNA, Facebook | Teatr KTO

‘Gate of Words’ by German artist Philipp Geist is lighting up the Azadi Tower in Tehran, Iran (Photos)

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A performance consisting of projections of light titled ‘Gate of Words’ by German artist Philipp Geist is taking place at Tehran’s landmark Azadi Tower until October 5th.

The installation artistically visualizes the topics of freedom, peace, space and time in different languages. During the performance Azadi Tower is to become a three-dimensional light sculpture that can be crossed by visitors.

‘I tried to illustrate words one by one to make the reader pay more attention to them. Sometimes, words are legible and sometimes not. Using this method, I make great attempts to make each and every reader have his/her own interpretation of the subject,’ said the German artist.

Facts about Azadi Tower
– It is one of the most familiar landmarks of Tehran.
– The builduing includes a cultural centre with a library, a museum and several art galleries.
– The entrance of the tower is directly underneath the main vault and leads into the Azadi Museum on the basement floor.
– The main display is occupied by a copy of the Cyrus Cylinder (the original is in the British Museum).
– The monument acts as a grandiose gateway to the Iranian capital, and is surrounded by a large plaza (approx. 50,000 m²).
– Built in 1971 in commemoration of the 2,500th anniversary of the Persian Empire, this “Gateway into Iran” was named the Shahyad Tower, meaning “Kings’ Memorial”, but was dubbed Azadi (Freedom) after 1979. It is 50 meters (164 ft) tall and completely clad in cut marble.

Sources: Mehr News Agency, ISNA, IRNA, Borna News, Instagram @videogeist, Tavoos Online, Wikipedia | Azadi Tower

‘The President’, a film by awarded Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf

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Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 2014, Georgia, /France/UK/Germany, 105 minutes,
Cast: Misha Gomiashvili, Dachi Orvelashvili
Festivals: Venice Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Warsaw International Film Festival

More info about director Mohsen Makhmalbaf: click here

Persian Film Festival Australia Iran Sidney Movie Trailer The PresidentPlot: In an imaginary village in the Caucasus, a President is on the run with his five-year-old grandson following a coup d’état. The two travel across the lands that the President once governed. Now, disguised as a street musician to avoid being recognized, the former dictator comes into contact with his people, and gets to know them from a different point of view.

The President and his family rule their land with an iron fist, enjoying lives of luxury and leisure at the expense of their population’s misery. When a coup d’état overthrows his brutal rule and the rest of his family flees the country by plane, The President is suddenly left to care for his young grandson and forced to escape. Now the country’s most wanted fugitive with a bounty on his head, The President begins a perilous journey with the boy, criss-crossing the country to reach the sea where a ship waits to bring them to safety. Posing as street musicians and traveling together with the people who suffered for years under the dictatorship, the fallen President and the innocent child will be exposed first hand to the hardships that inspired unanimous hatred for the regime.

Trailer:

Sources: http://www.iranianfilmfestival.org/all-date-list/the-president/ , Youtube

Iran wins 3rd place in FIVB U19 Volleyball World Championship 2015 in Argentina

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An incredible tournament-high production of 40 points from Iranian star Rasoul Aghchehli ejected the Asians to a remarkable bronze medal as they won over previous champions Russia 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-16, 25-23).

Iranian captain worked at their maximum and he completed 36 spikes and 4 blocks, to break all previous records. Rasoul was escorted by Mirbabak Mousavigargari and Aliasghar Mojarad, with 13 and 12 points respectively. On top of that, Rasoul won a terrific battle of opposites over powerful Russian Dmitry Yakovlev, who led his side with 26 tallies. Yakovlev had in middle-blocker Aleksandr Melnikov his best supporter with 13 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Iranian machinery.

 

Iran finished second behind Poland on the group stage, winning against Germany on the round of 16 and although they were only a few inches away from elimination, Iran resurged from ashes and achieved a spectacular return to rule out Italy 3:2 (17:25, 22:25, 25:20, 25:20, 15:11) and move to semifinals, where they lost against champion Poland 3:1.

Iran improved his previous run with the step onto the podium, as they were left out on the very verge of it on Mexico 2013, finishing fourth. Russia fell out of the top, as the gold medal will now change hands.

Iran U19 national volleyball team
Iran’s youth team have won seven gold medals and a silver medal – the best record in this age group in the Asian region. Last year, the team earned the qualification ticket to the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship in Argentina after an unbeaten run in the continental championship. The result is the product of a long-term project of Iran to serve as a farm of talents for the senior men’s team. In the World Championship, Iranian youth have been a consistent force in the final, finishing with a gold medal in 2007, two silver medals in 2001 and 2009, a bronze medal in 2003, and a fourth place finish in the last edition.

Source: 2015 U19 FIVB Men Volleyball Championship | News, FIVB | Press releases, 2015 U19 FIVB Men Volleyball Championship | Iran

German guitarists joined tar virtuoso Keyvan Saket in Tehran concert

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Seventeen guitarists led by conductor Helmut Oesterreich and supported by German’s Goethe Institute joined Iranian tar and setar virtuoso Keyvan Saket to give a fusion concert at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.

The program was composed of three sections, the first contained compositions from the Baroque and Renaissance eras. In the second part Keyvan Saket accompanied the group as a soloist. The fusion concert “Meeting East and West in Mirror of Tar and Guitar” had Keyvan Saket, the orchestra and the guitarists performing together on the third section.

Other Germany related articles: https://theotheriran.com/tag/germany/

Sources: Tehran Times | News, Mehr News Agency | Photos, Honaronline.ir | News (in Persian)

30th Fajr International Music Festival in Iran – Photo gallery (part 2)

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Some of the performers shown in the photo gallery below were covered earlier in this blog. To get some back ground and more photos or videos, please click:
https://theotheriran.com/tag/music/

Click on a photo to open in original size, and navigate through the gallery.

Sources:
IRNA| Photos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
ISNA | Photos 1, 2, 3
Tasnim News | Photos 1, 2

German artist Otto Piene’s “Rainbow” exhibited in Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art in Iran

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A collection from the “Rainbow” series by German artist Otto Piene is currently being showcased at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art.

Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art is hosting a collection of artworks by the German painter, printmaker and environmental artist, as well as the founder of the influential European postwar movement Group Zero Otto Piene.

This is the fourth time this museum hosts German artists’ artworks. But this is Piene’s first ever exhibit in the Middle East which opened at Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art on Tuesday evening, revealing a variety of artworks ranging from paintings to light sculptures, smoke and fire paintings, and beautiful environmental “sky art.”

Sky art is a term he coined in 1969, which allowed him to use landscape and cities themselves as the focal point of his work.

Most of Piene’s works have been inspired by nature and based on the four elements of ‘light, fire, air and earth’ which points to the philosophical viewpoint of this avant-garde artist.

The first galleries of the museum is dedicated to his rainbow works and silkscreen prints. Then his other works are put on display which are the combination of grids with sources of fire (candles, gas-burners) producing smoke-traces and fire paintings, in which the paint was burnt.

One of his works in particular is said to have been specially made for Tehran exhibition. It is the light sculpture inspired by tile works of Imam Mosque which has been created from glass.

With much regret, Piene passed away in July 2014, and did not get the chance to attend the exhibition in Tehran.

He always sought a better world in his dreams and believed his most brilliant work was to light up the dark sky.

The exhibit of this German artist will be running until April 17 at the museum located on North Kargar St., next to Laleh Park.

Sources: Deutsche Welle | Farsi, Deutsche Welle, Mehr News Agency

German animation “Virtuoso Virtual” wins in Tehran International Animation Festival 2015

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The 9th Tehran International Animation Festival was held from March 8 to 12. Over 130 works from across the globe were screened at the event.

German animation “Virtuoso Virtual” directed by Thomas Stellmach and Maja Oschmann has won the top prize in the International section of the 9th Tehran International Animation Festival, the organizers announced on Thursday.

“Virtuoso Virtual” shows some modest drawings that seem to come from nowhere. Following a secret choreography, they take on characteristics and moods of the music and narrate a story that appears to be laid out in the music.

The second prize went “All the Winters I Haven’t Seen”, Iranian animator Omid Khoshnazar’s acclaimed anti-war animation.

It tells the story of a pregnant woman in New York City who discovers that her fetus suffers severe physical defects. Totally unaware of the problem, the mother finds that she has been exposed to chemical weapons, a matter entirely absent from her medical records.

“Coda” directed by Irish animator Alan Holly received the third prize. “Coda” is about the afterlife. It shows some exotic experiences and the possibility of forgiveness.

Iranian animator and writer Mehdi Alibeygi was presented with the special jury award for his surreal short film “Changeover”.

“My Mom Is an Airplane” directed by Yulia Aronova from Russia was crowned best film in the About Children Section.

Award Title Winner Country
1 Golden Statue for the best animation Virtuoso Virtual Thomas Stellmach and Maja Oschmann Germany
2 Silver Statue for the second animation All winters that I haven’t seen Omid Khoshnazar Iran
3 Bronze Statue for the third animation Coda Alan Holly Ireland
4 Golden Statue for the best animation on the theme of children and young adults My Mum Is an Airplane Yulia Aronova Russia
5 Golden Statue for the best student animation Carn Jeff Le Bars France
6 Golden Statue for the best TV production Kung Fu Bunny (Kitchen War) Zhiyong Li China
7 Golden Statue for the best commercial animation Venice / Massi Simone Icaro Massi Italy
8 Special Statue of the jury Change over Mahdi Alibeigi Iran
9 Special Statue of the director of the festival —- Alexander Petrov Russia
10 Honorary diploma Green Fields Benjamin Vedrenne France
11 Honorary diploma Indah Citra Pierre-Antoine Naline, Sarah Feruglio, Maxime Orhnial, Anthony Oliveira France

Sources: Payvand News, Tehran International Animation Festival, TIAF | Photos

Italian jazz pianist Stefano Battaglia performed in Iran

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The two-part rendition by the famous Italian pianist Stefano Battaglia and the renowned German clarinet player Ulrich Drechsler saw music fans fill the hall leaving no vacant seats.

The duet, performed Saturday night, in the international section of the festival at Tehran’s Rudaki Hall, had the audience mesmerized for the high quality musical by the two virtuosos, IRNA reports.

Read more what Ulrich Drechsler said about Iran and Iranians here

Sources: Italian Embassy Tehran, Financial Tribune, IRNA | Photos

 

Austria-based German clarinet virtuoso Ulrich Drechsler: “I like Iranians for their kindness, politeness, and hospitality.”

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Austria-based German clarinet virtuoso Ulrich Drechsler attended the 30th Fajr International Music Festival in Iran.

Austria based German clarinet virtuoso Ulrich Drechsler

Austria based German clarinet virtuoso Ulrich Drechsler

“I am addicted to food. When I came to Iran and a friend took me to a restaurant in northern district of Tehran and had kebab with a taste of saffron, I was in high spirits,” Ulrich Drechsler told the Persian service of ISNA on Sunday.
“Pomegranate juice and saffron ice cream, these are incredible and awesome. You make use of a variety of spice and vegetables in your food. I think I would own a restaurant in Iran if I could come back to this world once again,’ he exclaimed.

He continued that this is his second trip to Iran and hoped to return again in spring or summer.

“I have only stayed in Tehran during these days and have got to know only a little part of your culture. My friends have shown beautiful places like the Music Museum of Iran, and I was surprised to see such numbers of Iranian musical instruments,” he stated.

“I must say that the main thing in my life is my family, then food and after that music. I have fallen in love with Iranian life and the Iranian mentality,” he stated.

Drechsler also noted that he has got familiar with Iranian traditional music through works of Kayhan Kalhor, the famous Kamancheh (knee fiddle) player, and is a big fan of his works. He believes that music in Iran comes from the heart of the players so the factor of emotion “is so prominent in it.” Coming for the second time to Iran, he said, “I like Iranians for their kindness, politeness, and hospitality.”

Ulrich Drechsler and Italian jazz pianist Stefano Battaglia have given two performances at the festival, which will come to an end on February 20.

The Iranian audience was highly entertained by a series of lullabies that Ulrich Drechsler performed at his concerts during the festival.

All posts about Music and foreign musicians in Iran on this blog:
https://theotheriran.com/tag/music/

Sources: Financial Tribune, Tehran Times

German Jazz pianist and composer Joja Wendt performed in Iran

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German Jazz pianist and composer Johan Wendt aka Joja Wendt performed in Iran at the 30th Fajr International Music Festival.

Joja Wendt surrounded by Iranian fans
Joja Wendt surrounded by Iranian fans
Joja Wendt in airport of Tehran, Iran
Joja Wendt practicing in Vahdat Hall
Joja Wendt performing in Vahdat Hall
Joja Wendt at the Bazaar
Tomb of Iranian poet Hafez in Shiraz
Goethe was inspired by Hafez in his “West-östlicher Diwan”

Check out the other performances in the Fajr International Music Festival here (lots of interesting photos)

Sources: Tehran Times, jojawendt.com, imdb.com, German Embassy in Tehran, IRNA | Photos