Tag Archives: Movie

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

‘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

4th Persian Film Festival in Sydney, Australia, from September 3rd to 6th, 2015

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The 4th Persian Film Festival is on from September 3rd to 6th at Palace Norton Street Cinemas, showcasing the best of Iranian cinema and the Persian speaking world. Over four days the festival offers its viewers a great line-up of 22 films including features, documentaries, short films and animations, and Q&A sessions with filmmakers from Iran, USA and Australia.

The festival is hosting a free screening of a number of award winning short films and animations from across Iran and from Iranian filmmakers in Australia, including the screening of Oscar nominated Simorgh by Meghdad Asadi, and current official selection at MIFF 2015 The Phoenix by Nora Nasiri, as well as, Sydney based filmmaker’s How Can Be Both by Saeed Sourati.

The displayed Movies and their directors are:

The President by Mohsen Makhmalbaf
A Few Cubic Meters of Love by Jamshid Mahmoudi
Block 9 Exit 2 by Alireza Amini
The Ride (Darbast) by Ali Khameparast Fard
I Want To Be A King by Mehdi Ganji
Impression-xps160 by Tiyam Yabandeh

Other films are:

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Ranging in subject matter and style, the films offer short glimpses into contemporary and important social and cultural issues.

Opening Film: The President by Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Opening Film: The President by Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Other posts about Iranian cinema and its stars: click here

Sources: Persian Film Festival, Persian Film Festival | Free sessions, Persian Film Festival | Directors, Persian Film Festival | Movies

The Fish & I: Awarded Iranian short film by Babak Habibifar

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The Fish and I is an Iranian short film directed, written and acted by Babak Habibifar that recounts the story of a blind man trying to save his fish. The film, screened at the 2015 Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival (Young Audience Program), has won several international honors:

  • Young Jurors Prize; 20min|max Internationales Short Film Festival Ingolstadt, Germany (June, 2015)
  • Special Audience Award; 12th CLAM International Film Festival of Solidarity in Navarcles, Spain (May, 2015)
  • Best Short Film; 6th Skepto International Film Festival in Cagliari, Italy (April, 2015)
  • Honorable Mention; 11th Rengo International Film Festival, Rengo, Chile (February 2015)
  • Special Jury Mention, Young Jury Prize for the Best International Short Film and Mediterranean Diet Award (a cash prize dedicated by a Spanish Institution); 16th International Short Film Festival “City of Soria” in Soria, Spain (November, 2014)
  • Jury Grand Prize and Audience Award; Short Short Story Film Festival in Providence, USA (November, 2014)
  • Most Original Film; Uhvati Film Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia (September, 2014)

About Babak Habibifar
Babak Habibifar is an Iranian writer and director. His short fictions include The Fish and I (2014), After seventeen hours (2013), Somewhere up there (2013) and After fifteen years (also known as Crossword puzzle, 2012). This last film was highlighted by the Jury at the 2013 Strawberry Shorts Film Festival in Cambridge, England. Besides directing, Habibifar has worked as an actor and is also a gifted photographer, having won several photography awards in national competitions.

Sources: Mehr News Agency | News, Art Film Festival | Portfolio | Babak Habibifar, Green Film Festival in Seoul | The Fish and I, NacióDigital.cat | CLAM Festival, Skepto International Film Festival 2015 | Awards and Special Mentions, Rengo International Film Festival, Heraldo.es | Noticias, Press TV | News, Merging Arts Productions | SSS Film Festival, Uhvati Film Festival | Awards, The House of Films | News, 20min|max Film Festival, Odense Film Festival (OFF15), indiehometv.festhome.com (all awards and screenings)

Iranian film “My Name Is Negahdar Jamali And I Make Westerns” by Kamran Heidari

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“My name is John Ford and I make westerns” this is how John Ford introduced himself at the American Film Directors’ Association gathering. Negahdar Jamali, an Iranian from Shiraz introduced himself the same way when I first met him without knowing John Ford that well.

“MY NAME IS NEGAHDAR JAMALI AND I MAKE WESTERNS” he introduced himself with self-confidence and without any weakness in his statement; not in the Monument Valley or in the Grand Canyon but in Shiraz and the deserts surrounding the city. He has been making Western films continuously for the past 35 years under hard conditions, and this film is about the struggle with his family, friends and society to make what he likes the most in his life “Western Movies”.

While “My Name is Negahdar…” might begin as an oddity it soon evolves into a moving tribute to a man who will let nothing separate him from his art. “I almost fell into the trap of making a social documentary but then I realised that with this film cinema is the only thing that matters,” said Heidari.

“It is about a man and his love for cinema and for making cinema. His love for cinema is just so pure. He doesn’t want to make money out of them, he just wants to make these films and he puts everything he has into it,” he said. “It’s inspiring and a lot more honest to just tell his story.”

My Name Is Negahdar Jamali And I Make Westerns (trailer):

Director: Kamran Heidari
Cast: Negahdar Jamali
Movie type: Documentary
Photography: Kamran Heidari
Editor: Bahman Kiarostami
Sound recorder: Sasan Kaveh
Sound mix: Kamyar Behbahani, Farshid Zarmehr
Music selection: Ennio Morricone, Hamid Saeed
Production Manager: Tahereh Alavizadeh
Producer: Mehrdad Monavarian
Color, SD-Video, 16:9, 65 min, 2012, IRAN

Sources: Iranian Film Festival in Germany, The Daily Star Lebanon, My name is Negahdar Jamali and I make westerns (Photos), Kamran Heidari Official Site | Films

Awarded film “13” by Iranian director Hooman Seyedi will be screened on Tiburon International Film Festival in California, USA

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Struggling to deal with his parent’s divorce and constant abuse at school, thirteen-year-old Behmani lashes out. He finds solace in a group of older street kids. They treat him as an adult and as one of their own. He soon gets in over his head when he becomes entangled in their own complex lives. Not truly understanding the consequences of his involvement within the group and their affiliates, Behmani finds himself stuck amid a murder. The film is a burst of youthful rage and an indictment of modern adolescence.

13 (Sizdah) / Dir: Hooman Seyedi / 2014 / Iran / Drama / 90 min
Cast: Amir Jafari, Azadeh Samdi, Rima Raminfar, Amir Jadidi, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Vishka Asayesh, Yasna Mirtahmasb

Venue: Tiburon Playhouse Theater, 40 Main Street
Showtime: Saturday, April 11, 2015 @ 08:30 PM

Awards
– 2014 Busan International Film Festival: New Currents Award
– 2014 Warsaw International Film Festival: NETPAC Award

About director Hooman Seyyedi
Born in 1980 in Rasht, Hooman Seyedi holds diploma in Graphics. He has made few short films and tele-movies. 13 is his debut feature film.

Sources: Payvand News of Iran, Tiburon Film Festival

The directors of Iran’s most popular movies of the year are all women

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“The City of Mice 2”, “Ceasefire 2”, and “Track 143”, three movies produced by Iranian women directors, were on top of the list of Iran’s most popular films of the year. The list was announced during a ceremony held by the Cinema Organization of Iran at Tehran’s Eivan-e Shams Hall on Monday to honor the directors of the movies.

Marzieh Boroumand’s “The City of Mice 2”, a puppet show movie in the children genre, stands high on the top of the chart. A sequel to her 1984 hit “The City of Mice”, the movie was warmly received by children, it also drew a large number of adult cinemagoers as well.

“Ceasefire 2” by Tahmineh Milani was the second movie on the list. “Ceasefire 2” is about the encounter of a young educated couple with their former family counselor after some years, during which the couple reviews their lives and some of the dramatic events that happened over the past years.

Narges Abyar’s acclaimed drama “Track 143” took the third place. The film, which was widely acclaimed at the 32nd Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran earlier in February 2013, is about the great maternal sacrifice during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

About Tahmineh Milani
Please check out this article

About Marzieh Boroumand
Marzieh Boroumand is an Iranian actress, puppeteer, screenwriter and director of TV series and films. She is best known for Alo!Alo! Man joojoo-am (1994), Barbershop Ziba (1989) and City of Mice (1985). She began her career in cinema by playing in The Cycle directed by Dariush Mehrjui.

About Narges Abyar
Born in Tehran. Narges Abyar studied in Persian Literature and received her B.A. in this field. So far she has devoted most of her time to writing, which had led to the publication of 30 story and fiction books for children, young adults and also the adults. She has made several short and feature-length documentaries: -Kind Dead-End (fiction-15min-2006), – One day after the 10th day(documentary-25min-2007)

All posts related to Iranian women on this blog: The other Iran | Women

Sources: IMDb | Narges Abyar, Wikipedia | Marzieh Boroumand, Payvand News of Iran

Taraneh Alidoosti: Awarded Iranian actress, blogger and writer

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Taraneh Alidoosti is a Crystal-Simorgh winning Iranian actress. In a poll conducted among 130 film critics by Sanate Cinema magazine, she was voted the best Iranian actress of the decade. In 2012, a similar poll by the Film Monthly also chose her as the best actress of the decade.

Her father, Hamid Alidoosti, is a former member of the Iranian national football team and currently a football coach in Iran.

Career as actress
She began her acting career at age 17 with the leading role in Man, Taraneh, panzdah sal daram (I Am Tarane, Fifteen Years Old), (Rasul Sadr Ameli, 2002). Critics praised her performance as a defiant 15 year old girl who after a failed relationship is determined to rear a child on her own, while struggling with poverty and social stigma. She won the Bronze Leopard for Best Actress from Locarno International Film Festival in 2002, as well as the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress from the 20th Fajr Film Festival, becoming the youngest ever to do so. Shortly after she set another record, getting nominated three consecutive times for the best actress prize at the Fajr Film Festival for her first three films. Since then she has maintained a steady but selective work flow in both theatre and cinema. She is mostly known for her choosy criteria in accepting challenging, dramatic roles, as exemplified by her long collaboration with Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, making her one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation.

Blogging/Writing
In addition to her acting career she is also known for her writing as featured in her personal weblog . Additionally, her short stories and commentary pieces have been widely published in magazines and daily newspapers such as Shargh. In 2010, a piece written in support of director Asghar Farhadi, defending his comments in support of dissident Iranian artists, caused her weblog to be closed by government officials. Her new weblog however is active now. A collection of stories by Canadian author Alice Munro collected and translated by Taraneh Alidoosti, was published in 2011. It received the prize for best fiction translation at annual Book of Season Awards. She is fluent in English and German.

Awards
Bronze Leopard for Best Actress from Locarno International Film Festival in 2002
Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress from the 20th Fajr Film Festival (youngest actress to win the prize with 17 years)
Best fiction translation at annual Book of Season Awards

Filmography
2002: Man Taraneh, Panzdah Sal Daram (I Am Taraneh, Fifteen Years Old)
2004: Shahre Ziba (Beautiful City)
2006: Fireworks Wednesday
2008: Canaan
2008: Shirin
2008: Tardid (Doubt)
2009: Darbareh Elly (About Elly)
2010: Whatever God Wants
2011: Life With Closed Eyes
2011: At the End of 8th Street
2012: Modest Reception
2013: The Shallow Yellow Sky
2014: The Life Wedlock Mr Mahmoudi & Banoo

Sources: wikipedia | Taraneh Alidoosti, Bing Image Search