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Iranian-French performer Golshifteh Farahani accepted Locarno Film Festival’s Excellence Award Davide Campari on Wednesday night during the 78th edition’s opening ceremony in Switzerland, a celebration that set a reflective tone for the ten-day event. The honor, presented on the Piazza Grande, recognizes careers that shape contemporary cinema; recent laureates include Mélanie Laurent and Ethan Hawke.

In an emotional address Farahani called cinema “a refuge in this dark world,” dedicating the prize to “everyone searching for light,” and evoking the destruction still unfolding in Gaza. Festival artistic director Giona A. Nazzaro praised her “charismatic and multifaceted” work, saying her performances “leave a deep mark on the eyes and hearts of film lovers.”

The Tehran-born actor first broke through at 14 in Dariush Mehrjui’s The Pear Tree and later appeared in titles ranging from Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies to Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson. Exiled since 2008 after clashing with Iranian authorities,...

It was a very emotional Locarno opening night as Iranian female power, Gaza, and Armenia got the spotlight on the first night of the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival on Wednesday. Iran-born actress Golshifteh Farahani received a big and cordial Swiss welcome and the Excellence Award Davide Campari on the picturesque lakeside town’s Piazza Grande square. And in a special surprise, she was handed the award by fellow Iranian actress Zar Amir.

“I thought this prize should go to you, to all of us, to us, in this obscure, dark world,” Farahani told the Locarno crowd in an emotional acceptance speech. “We still believe in art and culture. We take refuge in cinema. We watch movies, movies in which everyone is included. We feel love, anger, jealousy, no matter which side of the frontier we live on, no matter which God we believe in, no matter where we pray,...

Golshifteh Farahani will receive the Locarno Film Festival’s prestigious Excellence Award Davide Campari on Aug. 6, 2025.

Farahani will present her recent film, Julia Ducournau’s “Alpha,” which premiered this year in competition at Cannes. She will also take part in a public conversation with the festival audience.

Born in Tehran in 1983, Farahani’s got her breakthrough role in Dariush Mehrjui’s “The Pear Tree” back in 1998. Since then, she has appeared in Abbas Kiarostami’s “Shirin,” Asghar Farhadi’s “About Elly,” Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson,” Ridley Scott’s spy thriller “Body of Lies” or even in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, starring in “Dead Men Tell No Tales.”

In 2017, she came to Locarno to present the Rajasthan-set “The Song of Scorpions” on the Piazza Grande.

“Sometimes you can separate yourself from the character, and sometimes you can’t. The character’s curse can capture you and you’re a...

Golshifteh Farahani will be feted at Locarno with the Excellence Award Davide Campari.

Farahani will be handed the award on August 6. She will also present her latest film, Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, at the festival.

Born in Tehran in 1983, Farahani’s breakthrough role was in Dariush Mehrjui’s The Pear Tree (1998), which won her the Best Actress award at the Fajr International Film Festival.

Since then, she has appeared in films like Abbas Kiarostami’s Shirin (2008), Asghar Farhadi’s About Elly (2009), Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson (2016), Ridley Scott’s spy thriller Body of Lies (2008), and Extraction (2020).

Previous honorees include Susan Sarandon, John Malkovich, Willem Dafoe, Michel Piccoli, Anjelica Huston, Carmen Maura, Isabelle Huppert, Gael García Bernal, Charlotte Rampling, Giancarlo Giannini, and Edward Norton. In 2024, Mélanie Laurent and Guillaume Canet were handed the gong.

“Golshifteh Farahani is a key figure in contemporary cinema,” Giona A. Nazzaro, Artistic Director of the Locarno Film Festival,...

Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani will receive the Excellence Award Davide Campari at the 78th edition of the Locarno Film Festival.

She will be presented with the honor on the opening evening of the fest Wednesday, Aug. 6. Farahani will also present her most recent film, Julia Ducournau’s Alpha, which premiered in the competition at Cannes this year, and will take part in a public conversation with the festival audience.

“Renowned for her captivating performances and fearless artistic choices, Golshifteh Farahani has established herself as one of the most influential voices in contemporary cinema,” Locarno organizers said. “Born in Tehran in 1983, Golshifteh Farahani’s passion for acting emerged at an early age, leading to her breakthrough role in Dariush Mehrjui’s The Pear Tree (1998), which won her the best actress award at the Fajr International Film Festival. Since then, she has appeared in a remarkable array of films, both in Iran...

With the rise of avant-garde filmmakers in the 1960s, Iran’s New Wave emerged, marked by the works of pioneers like Ebrahim Golestan, Farrokh Ghaffari, Hajir Darioush, and Forough Farrokhzad.

Later, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the cinematic contributions of Dariush Mehrjui, Sohrab Shahid-Saless, Arby Ovanessian, and Nasser Taghvai breathed new life into Iranian cinema. These filmmakers rejected the commercial, formulaic productions of the mainstream industry, instead embracing a more authentic portrayal of social realities.

At a time when Iran was on the brink of revolution and political tensions were high, the New Wave stood in stark contrast to the escapist, dreamlike narratives of studio films, which were often inspired by Indian, Turkish, and Egyptian cinema, paying little attention to the country’s sociopolitical landscape. Key to the New Wave were two elements: modernist narrative structures influenced by European cinema and a focus on social issues, informed by socialist realism and leftist ideologies.

Backed by the inspirational voices of his cinematic heroes such as Asghar Farhadi, Abbas Kiarostami and Dariush Mehrjui, Iranian Canadian writer-director Amir Zargara bravely takes the action into the squared circle with his heart-wrenching socio-political slugfest that bares the hearts and minds of a young generation at odds with a government threatening to snuff out their freedom. The work is partly inspired by the tragic true story of Navid Sangari, a wrestler who was wrongfully sentenced to death during the 2018 Iranian protests.

The picture begins with bricklayer Arash (Sia Alipour) laying the foundations of a simple everyday man who enjoys recreational wrestling after his nine-to-five. But as his fame grows, the Olympic hopeful suddenly realises he has the platform to criticise the system that constantly rejects the needs of his people. When a heartfelt tribute to his fallen sister (a victim of a political rally) and involvement in political rallies...

Iranian critic Ehsan Khoshbakht’s personal essay about a man’s smizdat film print collection shows the lengths cinephiles will go to to protect the art form

The passion of cinephilia is the subject of this absorbing personal essay movie from Iranian critic and film historian Ehsan Khoshbakht, now co-director of the Il Cinema Ritrovato festival in Bologna, Italy, who narrates the film in a style that reminded me a little of Mark Cousins and also perhaps Werner Herzog.

Khoshbakht grew up in post-revolutionary Iran where he developed a love of movies and of moving images generally, even the sternly meagre output on national TV. I laughed out loud at Khoshbakht’s entranced description of the TV’s humble colour test card: “As exciting as an MGM musical!” Khoshbakht (daringly) started a film club as a teenager, digitally projecting foreign movies videotaped from TV. He got into serious trouble for...

The Independent Iranian Filmmakers Association (Iifma) has written to AMPAS to protest the omission of murdered director Dariush Mehrjui from the In Memoriam segment of the Academy Award on Sunday night.

As per Oscar tradition, the Academy paid tribute to a select group of 51 film and entertainment figures who had died over the previous year, including actor Matthew Perry, director William Friedkin, actor-performer Jane Birkin and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto in a short In Memoriam segment.

Mehrjui was named instead on the Academy’s In Memoriam page on its website, alongside 279 recently deceased figures related to the film world, including the 51 people feted at the ceremony.

The director was stabbed to death alongside his screenwriter wife Vahideh Moahmmadifar in their home outside Tehran last October.

The unsolved killing came just months after he posted an online video blasting the Iranian government’s suppression of the film industry, raising suspicions that his...

Starting with a packed house on the night of October 13 and concluding right after Thanksgiving, MoMA showcased “Iranian Cinema before the Revolution, 1925–1979,” the largest retrospective of Iranian cinema ever held inside or outside of Iran. With close to 70 films covering the pre-revolutionary period, there were works from Iran’s most famous filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami; the most famous film of this era, the late Dariush Mehrjui’s The Cow; and repertory favorites like Ebrahim Golestan’s Brick and Mirror, Bahram Beyzaie’s Downpour and Forough Farrokhzad’s The House is Black. But, significantly, there were also films by lesser-known but just as vital […]

The post “The Grandest Orphan Cinema”: Ehsan Khoshbakht on MoMA’s “Iranian Cinema before the Revolution, 1925–1979” Series first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Starting with a packed house on the night of October 13 and concluding right after Thanksgiving, MoMA showcased “Iranian Cinema before the Revolution, 1925–1979,” the largest retrospective of Iranian cinema ever held inside or outside of Iran. With close to 70 films covering the pre-revolutionary period, there were works from Iran’s most famous filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami; the most famous film of this era, the late Dariush Mehrjui’s The Cow; and repertory favorites like Ebrahim Golestan’s Brick and Mirror, Bahram Beyzaie’s Downpour and Forough Farrokhzad’s The House is Black. But, significantly, there were also films by lesser-known but just as vital […]

The post “The Grandest Orphan Cinema”: Ehsan Khoshbakht on MoMA’s “Iranian Cinema before the Revolution, 1925–1979” Series first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSWe’re thrilled to introduce Notebook’s email newsletter, the Weekly Edit: a mix of our latest essays, interviews, and festival coverage, with a few archival gems to boot. Learn more and sign up here.REMEMBERINGThe Cow.This weekend brought devastating news that Dariush Mehrjui, the landmark Iranian filmmaker, and his wife and screenwriting partner Vahideh Mohammadifar were found murdered in their home. A lifelong enemy of state censorship, Mehrjui helped kick off the Iranian New Wave with his second feature, The Cow (1969), which was denied an export permit when it was originally completed. “Despite the fact that the film was funded by the Ministry of Culture and Arts, the Pahlavi regime preferred not to have the film’s portrayal of rural Iranian village life color the nation’s desired image of modernity on the world stage,...

Mehrjui’s 1969 film The Cow is considered one of the most important films of the Iranian New Wave of the 1960s and 70s.

Director Dariush Mehrjui, one of the most prominent members of Iran’s New Wave movement, has been stabbed to death alongside his wife at their home outside Tehran.

According to the local news agency Irna, Mehrjui and Vahideh Mohammadifar, a screenwriter and costume designer, were discovered with knife wounds to their necks by his daughter Mona Mehrjui.

Local reports said four people have been connected to the crime, although no motive has been indicated. Mohammadifar recently posted...

Iran’s most prominent filmmakers Dariush Mehrjui and his wife were found dead. The 83-year-old and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar were found with stab injuries in their home near the capital, Tehran, on Saturday evening, Iranian authorities say, reports bbc.com.

Mehrjui was considered as one of the founders of Iranian new wave cinema. Four people have been identified in connection to the deaths, according to local media reports.

According to chief justice Hossein Fazeli, Mehrjui had invited his daughter to come over to his home in the city of Karaj for dinner on Saturday night.

As she arrived, she is said to have found the bodies of her parents. Mohammadifar, a screenwriter and costume designer, had reportedly complained recently that she had been threatened and that the house had been burgled.

Iranian actor and director Houman Seyedi was among those who took to social media to react to the...

Iran’s most prominent filmmakers Dariush Mehrjui and his wife were found dead. The 83-year-old and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar were found with stab injuries in their home near the capital, Tehran, on Saturday evening, Iranian authorities say, reports bbc.com.

Mehrjui was considered as one of the founders of Iranian new wave cinema. Four people have been identified in connection to the deaths, according to local media reports.

According to chief justice Hossein Fazeli, Mehrjui had invited his daughter to come over to his home in the city of Karaj for dinner on Saturday night.

As she arrived, she is said to have found the bodies of her parents. Mohammadifar, a screenwriter and costume designer, had reportedly complained recently that she had been threatened and that the house had been burgled.

Iranian actor and director Houman Seyedi was among those who took to social media to react to the...

Dariush Mehrjui, the pioneering Iranian director behind films such as “The Cow” and “The Pear Tree,” has reportedly been murdered at the age of 83. The news was broken by Iranian state media outlet Irna, which indicated that Mehrjui and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar were discovered at their home with neck wounds indicating that they had been stabbed to death.

Born in Iran in 1939, Mehrjui rose to prominence in the 1960s as a leading contributor to the Iranian New Wave filmmaking movement. His 1969 film “The Cow,” which depicts an Iranian man’s alienation from society when the pregnant cow that serves as his sole possession is killed, became an international sensation after screening at the Venice International Film Festival. He remained a beloved presence on the international festival circuit throughout his life, earning acclaim for films such as 1998’s “The Pear Tree” and 2002’s “To Stay Alive.” His naturalistic films offered nuanced depictions of human discontent,...

Celebrated Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and his wife have been found dead in their home in Karaj, Iran, The New York Times reported Sunday.

Their bodies were found Saturday night by their daughter Mona, and Mehrjui’s assistant Hanif Soroori told the outlet their throats were cut and there were signs of forced entry.

Mehrjui, 83, was known as one of the forefathers of new-wave cinema in Iran. His wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, was a screenwriter and costume designer.

In an interview with the Iranian student news agency Isna, the Alborz police chief Hamid Hadavand said a possible motive is currently unknown.

Before the 1979 Iranian Revolution, Mehrjui filmed Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini while he was in exile in France. His work after the revolution explored themes like art, money, religion and marriage.

Upon his return to Iran in 1985, Mehrjui spoke about battling censorship in the country. In the book “Dariush Mehrjui, Critique of...

A murder investigation has been launched after the filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, were found dead in their home in Zibadasht, outside Tehran, last night.

Dariush Mehrjui Photo: Armin Karami

The grisly discovery was made by the couple's daughter, Mona, during a routine visit. When no-one answered the door as expected, she let herself in and found that they had both been stabbed in the neck. She immediately alerted the police, who confirmed the time of death within two hours and began pursuing leads, though their most recent statement has confirmed that at this point it remains unclear who was responsible or whether one or multiple people were involved.

The Iranian media have speculated on the possibility that the attack was linked to an Instagram post in which an unknown person threatened to stab Mohammadifar.

83-year-old Mehrjui received international acclaim during his lengthy career as a film director,...

Famed Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui (The Cow, The Pear Tree) was murdered, along with his wife, in a stabbing attack by an unknown assailant at their home in Iran, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.

The official Irna news agency quoted Hossein Fazeli, a judiciary official, as saying that Mehrjhi and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, were discovered dead at their home with knife wounds in their necks. Fazeli said the bodies were discovered by the director’s daughter, Mona Mehrjui, at the couple’s home in a suburb outside the Iranian capital Tehran.

Mehrjui, 83, was best known for his neo-realistic films from the early 1970s that helped launch a new wave of Iranian cinema. He was a favorite on the international festival scene since The Cow, his second feature, won the Fipresci International Film Critics Award at the 1971 Venice Film Festival. Other honors included the Un Certain Regard award...

Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui, whose 1969 “The Cow” opened up a new era in Iranian filmmaking, and his wife have been found stabbed to death in their home outside Tehran, Iran’s state media reported on Sunday.

Iran’s official Irna news agency quoted judiciary official Hossein Fazeli as saying that Mehrjhi and his wife, Vahideh Mohammadifar, were found dead with knife wounds in their necks by the director’s daughter, Mona Mehrjui, when she went to visit her father Saturday night at their home home in a Tehran suburb.

The Irna report said the assailant was unknown but that authorities are investigating alleged knife threats to the victims made on social media in recent weeks.

Mehrjui , 83, attended the film program at the University of California, Los Angeles, in the early 1960s and during the early 1970s became known as co-founder of Iran’s new wave of social realism thanks to...

Fans of the celebrated Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui have woken to the shocking news of his murder at home by an unknown assailant. He was 83.

State media reported Sunday that Mehrjui and his wife Vehideh Mohammadifar were both stabbed to death inside their home in a suburb west of the country’s capital Tehran.

The Irna news agency reported that the director’s daughter Mona Mehrjui made the terrible discovery when she went to visit her father’s home on Saturday evening. Both victims were reportedly found with knife wounds in their necks. While the investigation is ongoing, it has emerged that Mohammadifar had complained on social media about a knife threat she had received in recent weeks.

Fans of Mehrjui’s work have been quick to express their sadness on social media and remember his work as a co-founder of Iran’s film new wave in the early 1970s.

Cinema in Iran began to blossom in the 1950s and 1960s, kicking off what was to become one of the world's most celebrated national cinemas. What was coined the Iranian New Wave more or less includes films beginning in the 1960s all the way through the early 2010s, which encompasses the bulk of Iranian film history. Filmmaking shifted but did not stop after the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when many artists went into exile and more extreme censorship was imposed. Today, Iranian cinema that reaches the global market has a particular character to it, characterized by directors including Asghar Farhadi and Jafar Panahi, who have received international acclaim for their grounded features depicting the nuances of Iranian society. As such, this list reflects films of this nature.

In chronological order, we examine 6 Iranian films from 6 different Iranian directors that trace the diversity of these movies through the years, examining stories that have...

Iranian filmmaker is producer of Dariush Mehrjui’s ‘A Minor’.

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian has been barred from travelling to the International Film Festival of India (Iffi) by authorities – the latest in a series of sanctions that have sparked the creation of a new protest organisation.

Dormishian had been due to attend the world premiere of Dariush Mehrjui’s A Minor in Goa, a film on which he is producer and is playing in competition at Iffi. However, Dormishian was not granted a permit to leave Iran, his passport was confiscated at the airport, and he was referred to a court of law for prosecution.

Click here to read the full article.

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian was preparing to attend the International Film Festival of India (Iffi) last week to debut a new film he produced when he was stopped at the Tehran airport by authorities and told that he was barred from leaving his home country. The director’s passport was then confiscated and he was referred to an Iranian court for prosecution. It remains unclear what charges he may face.

Representatives for Dormishian say they believe he was detained because of his recent posts to Instagram voicing support for those speaking out during Iran’s ongoing, nationwide protests. He has been especially vocal in his criticism of the government’s crackdown on filmmakers, expressing solidarity with imprisoned directors Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof.

Dormishian was due to attend the Iffi in Goa in support of fellow director Dariush Mehrjui’s A Minor, which...

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian was set to accompany “A Minor,” a new film that he produced, to the International Film Festival of India this week, but he was stopped at the airport and barred from leaving his home country by Iranian authorities. His passport was confiscated was referred to courts for criminal prosecution. The film, which was directed by Dariush Mehrjui, went on to play at the festival on Thursday and Friday.

In a statement sent to IndieWire, representatives for Dormishian attributed his detainment to a recent series of Instagram posts that he made criticizing Iran’s government. He was particularly critical of the regime’s crackdown on filmmakers, expressing solidarity with Jafar Panahi and Mohammad Rasoulof, both of whom have been imprisoned for speaking out against injustices in Iran. Rasoulof was arrested in early 2022, and Panahi was arrested and sentenced to a six year prison sentence after visiting his...

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian has been barred by Tehran from travelling to the International Film Festival of India in Goa, where ‘A Minor’, a film he produced was due to play in competition, reports ‘Variety’.

Dormishian is the latest member of Iran’s film community to be sanctioned by the Iranian regime for expressing anti-government views. He had been invited by Iffi to accompany the film that was directed by Dariush Mehrjui. The Iranian authorities did not grant him a permit to leave Iran. The film played on Thursday and Friday this past week.

‘A Minor’ tells a story of a woman who is torn between her free-thinking daughter, who wants to study music, and her more conservative husband.

When Dormishian went to the airport, his passport was confiscated. “He was referred to a court of law for prosecution,” sources close to the filmmaker informed ‘Variety’. It is not clear...

Iranian filmmaker Reza Dormishian, producer of Dariush Mehrjui’s A Minor, which is set to have its world premiere in competition at the on-going International Film Festival of India (Iffi) in Goa, has not been granted a permit to leave Iran, so is unable to attend the event.

Dormishian’s passport was confiscated at the airport and he was referred to an Iranian court of law for prosecution. Throughout the current nationwide protests in Iran, Dormishian has been sharing posts on his Instagram account to show support for the protestors.

Born in 1981 in Tehran, Dormishian is a screenwriter, director, documentary filmmaker and producer, with credits including Hatred, I’m Not Angry!, A Minor and No Choice, which have screened at major film festivals and won several awards. His movies have often criticized aspects of Iranian society and have been subject to heavy censorship and lengthy bans in his home country.

Filmmaker Reza Dormishian has been barred by Iranian authorities from traveling to the International Film Festival of India in Goa, where “A Minor,” a film he produced was due to play in competition.

He is only the latest member of Iran’s film community to be sanctioned by the Iranian regime for expressing anti-government views.

Dormishian had been invited by Iffi to accompany the film that was directed by Dariush Mehrjui. However, the Iranian authorities did not grant him a permit to leave Iran. The film played on Thursday and Friday.

“A Minor” tells a story of a woman who is torn between her free-thinking daughter, who wants to study music, and her more conservative husband.

When Dormishian went to the airport his passport was confiscated. “He was referred to the court of law for prosecution,” sources close to the filmmaker report. It is not clear if Dormishian was arrested...

The International Film Festival Of India (Iffi) has announced the 15 films that will screen in competition at this year’s edition of the annual event, including recent festival favourites such as Maha Haj’s Mediterranean Fever and Lav Diaz’ When The Waves Are Gone, and three Indian films, including recent Busan premiere The Storyteller.

The selection of 12 international titles also includes Syrian filmmaker Soudade Kaadan’s Nezouh; Next Sohee, from South Korea’s Jung Ju-ri; Red Shoes, from Japan’s Toshiro Saiga; Cold As Marble, from Azerbaijan’s Asif Rustamov; Seven Dogs, from Argentina’s Rodrigo Guerrero; Ursula Meier’s The Line (La Ligne); Valentina Maurel’s I Have Electric Dreams, and two Iranian films – Dariush Mehrjui’s A Minor and Nader Saeivar’s No End.

South Asia is also represented by Maarya: The Ocean Angel, about a group of fishermen disturbed by a sex doll they find in the sea,...

“Subtraction,” from idiosyncratic Iranian helmer-writer Mani Haghighi is a tense Hitchcockian thriller set in Tehran, where a heavy, non-stop rainfall signals a lingering malaise. There, a young couple come across their doppelgängers. The film premiered at the Toronto festival.

The idea for the plot grew out of the helmer’s long-ago trip to Southwest Iran to look at places where the Iran-Iraq war took place.

“It was a hot summer day and I wandered into a local mosque to cool down and get some rest,” Haghighi says. “The people who ran the mosque had put on an exhibition of photographs from the war years. I was casually looking at these pictures and I was suddenly transfixed by one of them. It was a picture of me, in military uniform, badly wounded in the neck, being carried by two other soldiers. As one of the characters says in ‘Subtraction,’ ‘It’s...

Reza Dormishian was born in 1981 in Tehran. He studied English Language and in 1997 started writing as a film critic for several newspapers. He was an assistant to some prestigious Iranian filmmakers, including Dariush Mehrjui and worked as a screenwriter. He started making short films in 2002. His first feature film, “Hatred”, has been selected in Montreal and Venice Film Festival. His next movies are all selected and awarded in international festivals.

Fatemah Motamed-Arya was born in Tehran, Iran in 1961. From her very young age, she participated in theater dramas and muppet shows in Kanoon-e-Parvaresh in Tehran. She is a graduate of the Tehran Art Academy. She has won more than 30 acting awards. She has won more than any other Iranian actress and earned recognition as Best Iranian Actres ever. She apparead in more than 45 long features under supervision of people such as Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Abbas Kiarostami or Bharam Beyzai…...

Close-Up is a feature that spotlights films now playing on Mubi. Dariush Mehrjui's The Cow is exclusively showing January 8 – February 6, 2020 in Mubi's Rediscovered series.The silhouette of a four-legged creature emerges over an indistinct horizon. As it moves, it splits apart and merges together a few more times, revealing itself to be a man and his cow. This sequence, presented in a series of black-and-white negative images, comes at the start of Dariush Mehrjui’s pre-Iranian Revolution landmark The Cow—the story of a man whose beloved beast dies suddenly, and who subsequently goes insane, imagining himself to have become a cow. (And not just any cow—his cow.) An adaptation of “Gav,” by writer and playwright Gholam-Hossein Sa’edi, it’s a film of unstable, amorphous identity, for which that suggestive overture soon becomes emblematic. But given its ever-shifting borders, this portentous, almost phantasmic image also carries a different,...

Helping create the new Iranian Film Festival New York, which has its inaugural edition January 10 – 15 at the IFC Center, was the realization of a long-held dream. My initial encounter with Iranian cinema came at the first festival of post-Revolutionary Iranian films held in New York, at the Walter Reade Theater in the fall of 1992. Discovering the work of directors such as Abbas Kiarostami, Dariush Mehrjui, Bahram Beyzai, and many others was literally a life-changing experience for me; I began writing about Iranian cinema at every opportunity and made a number of trips to Iran to study the subject up close.

In 2017, my friend Ahmad Kiarostami invited me to go to Tehran and speak at a memorial for his father, Abbas, who died the previous year. The event was held in conjunction with Iran’s annual Fajr International Film Festival. While there, I met Armin Miladi, who distributes Iranian films in the U.

When one mentions Iranian cinema, the names that most often come to mind are such directors as the late Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, and Asghar Farhadi. More knowlegedable aficionados may also be able to mention such filmmakers as Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Dariush Mehrjui, Mohammad Rasoulof, and Samira Makhmalbaf (daughter of Mohsen). However, there's another acclaimed filmmaker that well deserves to be in the illustrious company of the directors I've mentioned above, but is undeservedly far less known. His name is Mehrdad Oskouei, a documentarian who's been making films since the late 1980s, and has won numerous awards for his work at home and abroad. His films since the 2000s have incisively interrogated Iran's patriarchy, poverty, and stark class differences, with a fine visual style that matches...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

One of the most interesting collisions of the public perception of Iran’s Islamic state and its reality is how, out of an apparently repressive state hostile to the creative arts, Abbas Kiarostami became the essential free filmmaker. “Freedom” is always a relative term when it comes to cinema, which, like politics, unfortunately runs on money. But it’s easy to spot the genuinely free filmmakers when they come along. Despite their varying struggles to get their movies made, the work that results is directly personal and unbound by prevailing cultural trends and diktats. They range from Jean Vigo to Kidlat Tahimik, Pedro Costa to Shirley Clarke, Stan Brakhage to Jose Luis Guerin. Kiarostami was the free filmmaker par excellence, since he managed to find his ever-developing acute approach to modernism through whatever system in which he might find himself working.

Read More: Abbas Kiarostami, Palme d’Or-Winning Director Of...

Read More: New Book Explores Contemporary Iranian Cinema Having pointed the spotlight on the cinema of Turkey, Sweden, Brazil and India in previous editions, the Zurich Film Festival continued its traditional "New World View" section by focusing on the recent work of Iran's young talent. Iranian cinema conjures many indelible images and notable filmmakers: Abbas Kiarostami's documentary-fiction hybrids, Jafar Panahi's militant neorealist beginnings, Mohsen and Samira Makhmalbaf's rebellious tales of an upset population, Asgar Farhadi's provocative moral conundrums, and the political symbolism of Dariush Mehrjui. In other words, it opens up an incredibly rich history of filmmaking whose constant potency — especially given the country's severe restrictive policies on culture – make it one of the major epicenters of Middle Eastern cinema. Under constant threat of state censorship, Iranian filmmaking has shown little signs of waning, but it continues to battle an oppressive...

Hamoun

Written by Dariush Mehrjui

Directed by Dariush Mehrjui

Iran, 1990

Hamoun, playing at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday 28th March, was voted the best Iranian film of all time in 1997 within film critic circles in Iran. It was directed by Dariush Mehrjui, the Tehran-born giant of Iranian cinema, and one of the co-founders of the most modern end of Iranian New Wave cinema.

Middle-class professional man Hamid Hamoun is floundering around in life after news that his wife Mahshid wants to divorce him. He is an elegant wastrel, struggling to finish his PhD on the ancient and holy tale of Abraham and his sacrifice: one of the first scenes in Hamoun shows the pages of his academic work being blown around by the breeze, helplessly, landing everywhere and nowhere. The film employs Fellini-esque flashbacks and dream sequences, a fitting mode of narrative which sees Hamid chase the past and...

In the political discourse, when a country addresses another, whether in positive or negative terms, such statements often fail to differentiate between said country’s government and its people, between the government’s policies and the people’s unheard sentiment towards these.

While useful in the theoretical realm in which politics take place, these generalizations create a distorted image of the foreign nation fed by assumptions and dangerously insensitive stereotypes. It’s much easier for rulers to justify their actions if the adversary is made out to look like an irredeemable villain. Sensationalism and ignorance are weapons far more destructive than missiles, because once the smoke dissipates hatred remains.

On that note, it should be clear that the Iranian people are not the Iranian government. Their rich cultural history is not reflected in the actions of those in power, but in the prevailing elegance and allure of their artwork. Remarkable poets, musicians, painters, and, what we are mostly concerned with here, filmmakers.

The history of Iranian cinema is vast and has survived the many transitions and troubling periods the country has experienced. Even more impressive is the fact that as masterfully as Iranian filmmakers and actors understand the medium, they have never watered down their individuality for the sake of mainstream international success. Instead, they’ve managed to create their unique cinematic language that aligns with their idiosyncrasies and that is not silenced despite the hardships they face, but finds a way around censorship or defies it altogether.

Certainly not a definitive list, the following collection of films aims to be an introduction to the compelling and diverse voices within this captivating national cinema and to encourage you to seek out other films in the future. There are films here that are concerned with rural and working class lifestyles, others that focus on the traditions of ethnic minorities, those that deal with the modern middle class, and also several works denouncing the country’s political situation and the oppression that comes with it.

There are also some films that are note worthy even if they don’t easily fit within the parameters of what an Iranian film is.

Special Mentions:

-Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour and her outstanding Farsi-language debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” a visually striking vampire story set in a fictional Iranian town.

-American filmmaker Till Schauder and his documentary “The Iran Job,” which follows Kevin Sheppard, an American professional basketball player in Iran, and uses his experience to build cultural bridges between the two countries.

-Farhadi’s “The Past,” which though is not precisely an Iranian story, continues to show the director’s specific talent for greatly written, puzzling narratives both in his home country and abroad.

-Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's “Chicken with Plums,” a gorgeously whimsical and darkly comedic love story set in pre-revolutionary Tehran starring Mathieu Amalric.

Lastly, in honor of Nowruz or Persian New Year, which is a peaceful celebration of renewal and rebirth that takes place from March 20-24 in Iran and Iranian communities around the world, let’s remember the deeply moving and wise words that Asghar Farhadi gifted us during his acceptance speech on Oscar night a few years back. No one could have said it better than him.

“At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but because at a time in which talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people that respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.” –Director Asghar Farhadi after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for “A Separation” on February 26, 2012

1. "About Elly" (2009)

Dir. Asghar Farhadi

In Farhadi's tense psychological drama a casual trip to the sea evolves into a subtly plotted mystery. The director's depiction of the Iranian middle class in such a fascinatingly unexpected story connected with both local and international audiences earning him awards at home and abroad, among them Berlin's Silver Bear.

*The Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2015

2. "Baran" (2001)

Dir. Majid Majidi

Taking a look at the diverse ethnic groups that coexist in Iran, the film follows a love story between a man and a young Afghan woman who must pretend to be a man in order to work. Eliciting truly naturalistic performance from his cast Majidi gives voice to his almost silent protagonist, a woman caught up in a system designed by men.

*Available on Netflix Instant Watch

3. "Children of Heaven" (1997)

Dir. Majid Majidi

Iran's first ever Academy Award nominated film is also Majidi's most renowned work. Innocence permeates this sweet story about two siblings from a working class family trying to find a pair of missing shoes. Their adventure delivers valuable life lessons that are at once heartwarming and profound. Unquestionably a classic.

*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Lionsgate

4. "Closed Curtain" (2013)

Dir. Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi

In this enigmatic observation on repression and surveillance an anonymous screenwriter, played by co-director Kambuzia Partovi, hides with his dog in a secluded location. Eventually, as other surprising characters appear, the film becomes a complex dance between reality and fabrication. Both filmmakers had their passports confiscated by the Iranian government due to the subversive content of the film.

*Available on Amazon Instant Video

5. "Close-Up" (1990)

Dir. Abbas Kiarostami

In one of the greatest examples of reality and fiction blending in almost seamless ways, Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork poses complex questions about identity. When a film buff impersonates his favorite director, who happens to Mohsen Makhmalbaf , a series of events unravel as he plans his next, fake, film. Surreally enough the film is based on a true story and stars the actual people involved. It's all brilliantly meta.

*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Criterion

6. "The Color of Paradise" (1999)

Dir. Majid Majidi

Though rejected by his father, a young blind boy rejoices in nature’s beauty and tries to understand the meaning of his struggles with the help of a mentor with the same condition. Showcasing Iran’s visually stunning rural landscapes and delicately embedding with philosophical concerns, Majidi’s poetic film delivers wisdom in wondrously unassuming ways.

*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics

7. "The Cow" (1969)

Dir. Dariush Mehrjui

Considered a turning point in the nation’s cinematic history, this black-and-white work revolves around a man’s devotion for his cow and how its disappearance drives him into madness. While seemingly simple in its conception, Mehrjui manages to compellingly highlight the country’s traditional lifestyles.

*Available on DVD from First Run Features

8. "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006)

Dir. Asghar Farhadi

Intimate conflicts in the Iranian middle class are Farhadi’s expertise and this domestic drama, set fittingly during the celebrations prior to the Persian New Year, is no exception. When a soon-to-be bride in need of money for her wedding gets a job cleaning a family’s house, their secrets begin to unravel through their interaction and confrontations.

*Available on DVD from Facets

9. "Gabbeh" (1996)

Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Taking its name from a type of Persian carpet, this stunningly evocative fable is adorned with mysticism and magical realist elements that shine through its colorful visual palette. Gabbeh, a young nomadic woman who is likely the incarnation of one of these traditional rugs, falls in love with horseman, but her community follows beliefs that hinder her desire.

*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video

10. "The Green Wave" (2010)

Dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi

Told through striking animated sequences, interviews and footage from the protests, this documentary constructs a bold portrait of the 2009 Green Movement following Ahmadinejad’s reelection. The regime's strong grip over its citizens is exposed, but the spirit of the Iranian people demanding change is even stronger.

*Available on DVD from Strand Releasing

11. "Hamoun" (1990)

Dir. Dariush Mehrjui

Underscored by subdued comedy and poignant dream sequences, Mehrjui’s visionary drama centers on the decaying relationship between Hamoun, a businessman with hopes of becoming a writer, and his wife Mahshid, a painter. Insanity takes over him when she decides to divorce him because of his angry outbursts. A series of drastic occurrences ensue.

*Available on DVD from First Run Features

12. "Kandahar" (2001)

Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf

Despite being set in Afghanistan, this Iranian production is a powerful achievement that unveils the unjust treatment of women, not only under the Taliban’s control, but also in the entire region. Nafas, an Afghan women living in Canada, decides to return to her homeland to find her depressed sister. Through this dangerous journey she discovers much more about life in the war-torn country than she expected.

*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video

13. "Leila" (1997)

Dir. Dariush Mehrjui

Starting famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami in one her earliest roles as a married woman unable to have children, this conjugal drama explores the role of women within Iranian society. Leila’s husband, Reza (played by “The Past” star Ali Mosaffa), loves her, but his mother wants him to get another wife that can give him a son. The title character is divided between her happiness and what others think is best for her marriage.

*Available on DVD from First Run Features

14. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (2013)

Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof

Rasoulof’s brave and searing political statement was shot illegally going against the20-year-ban from filmmaking imposed on him by the Iranian government. It denounces the terrifying lack of freedom of expression via the thrilling story a pair of writers risking it all to protect an incendiary manuscript that authorities are eager to destroy.

*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber

15. "Marooned in Iraq" (2002)

Dir. Bahman Ghobadi

Highlighting the rich Kurdish culture, both in Iran and Iraq, Ghobadi’s film is set in the aftermath of the ravaging Gulf War. Marooned is an elderly man who must travel across the mountainous landscape that divides the two countries to find his ex-wife. While portraying the horrors of war in an affecting manner, the film is also a life-affirming work that finds hope in the most surprising places.

*Available on DVD from Wellspring

16. "My Tehran for Sale"

Dir. Granaz Moussavi

Devastating and current, this debut feature from renowned poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi is a hard-hitting critique on the blatant criminalization of artists in Iran. An actress banned from her profession questions whether she should remain in the country or flee. Getting to safety means leaving everything she knows behind. There are no easy options for her.

*Available on DVD from Global Lens

17. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009)

Dir. Bahman Ghobadi

Music as the banner of freedom is the focus of Ghobadi’s film about the underground rock scene in Tehran. Secular music is essentially forbidden, and playing in public is considered a criminal act punished with prison. Crafted between reality and fiction, this quasi-documentary takes a look at a group of young musicians desperate to express themselves through their art.

*Available on DVD from Mpi Home Video

18. "Offside" (2006)

Dir. Jafar Panahi

Attending sporting events is prohibited for women in Iran, but that doesn’t stop many of them who go as far as to dress like men to get in. Panahi’s touching and insightful film takes place during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, and follows several girls who despite being excluded cheer for their team as joyfully as any fan would.

*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics

19. "Persepolis" (2007)

Dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud

Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this French-language marvel is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel by the same name. With eye-popping hand-drawn animation, the film revisits the director’s childhood and teenage years in Iran during the events leading up to the Islamic Revolution. It’s a love letter to the bittersweet memories of the Iran Satrapi knew.

*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics

20. "A Separation" (2011)

Dir. Asghar Farhadi

Dealing with a marriage in turmoil facing the country's peculiar judicial system, Farhadi’s masterpiece is the most acclaimed film in the history of Iranian cinema and earned the country's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for its enthralling thriller-like narrative that grips the audience until its unnerving conclusion. A must see!

*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics

21. "The Song of Sparrows" (2008)

Dir. Majid Majidi

When Karim (played by Berlin’s Silver Bear Winner Reza Naji), an ostrich farm worker, is forced to find a new job in the city to pay for his daughter’s hearing aid, Iran’s rural and urban realms collide. Thanks to the captivating grace that characterizes Majidi’s films, poverty and misfortune are observed here not with pity but with an optimistic and undefeated perspective.

*Available on DVD from E1 Entertainment

22." Taste of Cherry" (1997)

Dir. Abbas Kiarostami

This quiet and minimalist meditation on death and the simple joys of its antithesis is the first and only Iranian film to have won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Kiarostami follows a man who has decided to commit suicide and is looking for someone to help him achieve this. However, those he recruits along the way come with their own views on the meaning of our existence and attempt to persuade him to reconsider.

*Available on DVD from Criterion

23. "Ten" (2002)

Dir. Abbas Kiarostami

A female cabbie drives through the streets of Tehran picking up an array of characters that via their casual conversations shine a light on the Iranian society’s expectations of women. Constructed of ten individual scenes in which the only constant is the driver, this heavily improvised and peculiarly shot cinematic experiment is a work of fiction embedded with truth in every frame.

*Available on DVD from Zeitgeist Films

24. "This is Not a Film" (2011)

Dir. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi

In an effort to tell his story despite being banned from filmmaking and under house arrest, filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes his frustration and ingeniously turns it into a courageous visual statement. Whether is shooting video with his cell phone or blocking an imaginary scene in his living room, his passion for storytelling is resilient even when confronting such suffocating censorship.

*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Palisades Tartan

25. "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000)

Dir. Bahman Ghobadi

With the snow-covered Zagros Mountains as backdrop, Ghobadi’s debut feature tells the story of Ayoub, a young Kurdish boy who must provide for his siblings after their mother’s death. Added to the already difficult circumstances, his handicapped brother desperately needs a surgery. This pushes the heroic kid to persevere against all odds in the hostile environment.

*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber

26. "Turtles Can Fly" (2004)

Dir. Bahman Ghobadi

Commanding a cast made almost entirely of children Ghobadi sets his film in an Iraqi Kurdish refugee camp just before the American occupation of 2003. Making a living by clearing the hazardous minefields that surround them, a group of orphan children create a small community to survive. The atrocities of war are ever-present, but like in most of the director’s works, the triumph of the human spirit is at the film's core.

*Available on Amazon Instant Video

27. "The White Balloon" (1995)

Dir. Jafar Panahi

Written by Kiarostami and directed by Panahi this is another film set during the important Persian New Year celebrations. It centers on a little girl trying to convince her parents to buy her a goldfish and who gets in a couple mishaps along the way. With utmost innocence, the seemingly simple premise manages to be a charming delight that showcases family values and ancient virtues with a nice dose of humor. It’s an uplifting gem.

*Sadly the film is not curently availble in any format in the U.S. Hopefully Criterion or another distributor will fix this soon.

28. "The White Meadows" (2009)

Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof

While ethereal, almost otherworldly imagery achieved by cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori is reason enough to see this film, Rasoulof’s poetic storytelling elevates it to even greater intellectual heights. By using a barren coastal land and its inhabitant as a metaphor for the intolerance and injustice that many of his compatriots -creative people in particular - confront everyday, the filmmaker denounces these evils through melancholic beauty.

*Available on DVD from Global Lens

29. "The Willow Tree" (2005)

Dir. Majid Majidi

A writer, who had been blinded in an accident as a child, regains his vision as a middle aged adult only to be challenged by a world that has become foreign to him. At first, his miraculous new situation appears to be an answer to a prayer, but Majidi soon shows us how vision can become a curse in this spiritual drama about fate and regret. Exquisitely shot and sporting visceral performances, the film is both heart-rending and though provoking.

*Available on DVD from New Yorker Films

30. "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999)

Dir. Abbas Kiarostami

Taking the audience on a trip to an untainted region of Iran where tradition hasn’t yet been disrupted by modernity, the acclaimed director crafted another unforgettable experience. Sublimely executed, the film joins four journalists pretending to be engineers as they document the funerary rituals of the local Kurdish people. More than learning about them as researchers, their interactions force them to engage on a much more human level.

*Availble on Blu-ray and DVD from Cohen Media Group...

As the I for Iran series has taken the Tiff Lightbox by storm, with several sold out screenings and great press coverage, Sound on Sight has taken a moment to ask some questions on what has brought the series to Toronto and the greater impacts of Iranian cinema are within an increasingly globalized world.

Brad Deane, who is the Senior Manager, Film Programmes at Tiff, and the programmer for the series at Tiff Cinematheque.

Amir Soltani, a Toronto-based film critic and contributor to The Film Experience and Movie Mezzanine, who also writes and co-hosts a podcast about Iranian films at Hello Cinema. Amir Soltani will be introducing Hamoun, Dariush Mehrjui’s incisive, ironic, and finally dreamlike study of middle-class Iranian life, on Saturday, March 28 at 3:45pm.

Check out the rest of the series schedule Here

What has brought the I for Iran series from Fribourg International Film Festival to Toronto?...

Irrfan Khan continues to do Indian cinema proud all over the world.

Just when he is covering himself with another round of high encomium for his performance in Anup Singh's Qissa, news comes that Irrfan is all set to do another international project to be directed by the very talented Qissa director Anup Kumar.

In the film, Irrfan Khan will be paired opposite the stunning Iranian beauty Golshifteh Farahani.

Apart from her mesmerizing looks, the rebellious actress is known for her presence in internationally celebrated movies including Dariush Mehrjui's Santouri (The Santoor Player), Bahman Ghobadi's Half Moon (winner of the Golden Shell at the 2006 San Sebastian Film Festival), and the late Rasool Mollagholipoor's M for Mother (Iran's nominee for the 2008 Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category)

After posing nude for a French magazine Farahani was apparently banned from entering her home-land Iran.

Her coming...

Amir bringing you the weekend’s box office news. While awards season was in full swing this weekend with the DGA, BAFTAs and Grammys, Spongebob: Sponge Out of Water swept in and wiped off its competition while entering the top five best selling February releases of all time. This is one those films that totally slid below the radar for me; then again, the Venn diagram of people who care about this film and people who care about DGAs and BAFTAs is two separate circles. The weekend’s far buzzier title for cinephiles was Jupiter Ascending, the new visualeffectsapalooza from the Wachowski siblings. It is predictably visually stunning with incoherent plotting and confusing editing etc. etc. Like Cloud Atlas, this was mostly a failure, financially speaking, and you have to wonder how long it will be before they stop getting bankrolled for their strange visions. Finally, Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges’ Seventh Son also bombed,...

Hyena

The full line-up has been announced for this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival, which runs from Wednesday 18th to Sunday 29th June. In total, 156 features from 47 countries will be screened, with 11 world premieres, 7 European premieres and 95 UK premieres.

The festival opens with the world premiere of British drug trafficking thriller Hyena from writer-director Gerard Johnson, starring Peter Ferdinando, Stephen Graham, Neil Maskell, and MyAnna Buring. The closing night gala is the international premiere of romantic comedy We’ll Never Have Paris, directed by husband and wife team Jocelyn Towne and Simon Helberg (best known for The Big Bang Theory). Written by and also starring Helberg, it features Melanie Lynskey, Maggie Grace, Zachary Quinto, and Alfred Molina in its cast.

We’ll Never Have Paris

The American Dreams strand highlights cutting-edge new works from American independent cinema. Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring featured last year, and now Gia Coppola...

Highlights include Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, and Abel Ferrara’s controversial Dsk feature Welcome To New York.

The full line-up of the 68th Edinburgh International Film Festival (Eiff) has been revealed this morning by artistic director Chris Fujiwara at Edinburgh’s Filmhouse.

This year’s festival, which runs from June 18-29, will comprise 156 features from 47 countries, including 11 world premieres, eight international premieres, seven European premieres and 95 UK premieres.

New titles announced today include Anton Corbijn’s A Most Wanted Man, starring the late Philip Seymour Hoffman in one of his final performances that was first shown at Sundance in January.

Straight from its lively premiere in Cannes is Abel Ferrara’s controversial title Welcome To New York, inspired by the case of former Imf managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, starring Gérard Depardieu, which will receive its UK premiere at Eiff.

Other new titles added to the line-up include [link=nm...

Pacha, a Bolivian film by Héctor Ferreiro will open the first edition of the Kochi International Film Festival today. The festival that will run from December 16-23 will be inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy.

The festival will screen films from Latin America, Europe, Asia and USA, apart from films on the 100 Years of Indian Cinema and Centenary of Masters.

A total of 50 international films and 24 Indian films will be screened. Five films from Thailand, eight from Poland six films from Iran will be a part of the international section. While 18 Malayalam, one Tulu film and three Hindi films are in the line-up.

Line up of films:

100 Years of Indian Cinema

Malayalam Golden 10:

Elippathayam (The Rat Trap) by Adoor Gopalakrishnan

Chidambaram by G. Aravindan

Danny by T. V. Chandran

Amma Ariyan by John Abraham

Oppol by K. S. Sethumadhavan

Nirmalyam by M. T. Vasudevan Nair

Uppu by Pavithran

Olavum Theeravum by P.

The fifth edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival will hold retrospectives of Girish Kasaravalli and Jahnu Barua among others. Five of Kasaravalli’s films: Tabarana Kathe (1986), Kraurya (1996), Thaayi Saheba (1997), Dweepa (2003) and Hasina (2004)will be screened. While Barua’s Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai (1987), Banani (1990), Firingoti (1992) and Hkhagoroloi Bohu Door(1995) will be screened.

Besides, three other sections are dedicated to Indian cinema. Chitrabharathi – Indian Cinema Competition, Kannada Cinema (competition and screening of films in other dialects in Karnataka) and 100 years of Indian Cinema (screening of 14 films).

Complete line up:

Retrospective

Chan-Wook Park (South Korea)

1. J.S.A.: Joint Security Area (Chan-Wook Park/110/2000/South Korea)

2. Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (Chan-Wook Park/129/2002/South Korea)

3. Old boy (Chan-Wook Park/120/2003/South Korea)

4. Lady Vengeance (Chan-Wook Park/112/2005/South Korea)

5. Thirst (Chan-Wook Park/133/2009/South Korea)

Fatih Akin (Germany)

1. Short Sharp Shock (Fatih Akin/100/1998/Germany)

2. In July (Fatih Akin/99/2000/Germany)

3. Solino (Fatih Akin/124/2002/Germany)

4. Head On (Fatih Akin/121/2004/Germany/Turkey...

She was Iran's biggest film star. But when she bared her breast in a French video, she was banished from the country and became a lightning rod for the divisions in Iranian society

In January of this year the parents of the exiled Iranian actor Golshifteh Farahani took a call at their apartment in Tehran from a man who said he was an official of the supreme court of the Islamic Republic. He began shouting at her father, telling him that his daughter would be punished, that her breasts would be cut off and presented to him on a plate.

A few days earlier, Farahani had appeared in a short black-and-white video with 30 other "young hopes" of the French cinema to promote the Césars, the "French Oscars", where she had been nominated for her role in the winsome immigrant comedy Si Tu Meurs, Je Te Tue (If You Die, I'll...

The 12th Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival, New Delhi (27 July to 5 August 2012) will open with Japanese director Keiichi Sato’s “Asura” and close with Rituparno Ghosh’s “Chitragandha”.

Festival announced its competition lineup and highlights on Wednesday.

According to the official press release the festival will present 15 World premieres, 8 International premieres, 104 Indian premieres and 13 Asian premieres from China, Estonia, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Morocco and Algeria among other Asian and Arab countries.

Films In Competition

Asian & Arab

1. Death For Sale (Mort à Vendre)/Faouzi Bensaidi, Morocco, France, Belgium, United Arab Emirates

2011/India Premiere

2. Ex Press (Ex Press)/Jet Leyco, Philippines 2011/India Premiere

3. Headshot (Fon Tok Kuen Fah)/Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Thailand 2011/India Premiere

4. Highway (Autobahn)/Deepak Rauniyar, Nepal, USA 2011/Asia Premiere

5. Inside (Yeralti)/Zeki Demirkubuz, Turkey 2012/Asia Premiere

6. Mekong Hotel/Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand, UK 2012/India Premiere

7. Milocrorze: A Love Story (Mirokurôze)/Yoshimasa Ishibashi, Japan 2011/India...

Though not as well known outside Iran as Abbas Kiarostami or Jafar Panahi, writer-director Asghar Farhadi has been steadily building an impressive cinematic resume since graduating from Tehran University in 1998 with a degree in dramatic arts. After a stint developing stage plays and TV series for Iran’s national broadcasting corporation, Farhadi co-scripted Ebrahim Hatamikia’s post-9/11 political farce Low Heights, about a desperate man who hijacks a plane carrying his wife and handicapped son. He then moved into the director’s chair with Dancing in the Dust and Beautiful City, a social-issue film concerning the archaic custom of “blood money” (under sharia, the relatives of a murdered Muslim can accept payment for legal vengeance in lieu of capital punishment for the perpetrator) that screened at Film Forum in 2006. Three years later, Farhadi won numerous awards, including the Silver Bear at the Berlinale, for About Elly, a tense, character-driven drama...

Dariush Mehrjui

4th Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes) that will commence on December 15 will hold a special Retrospective of Iran’s Dariush Mehrjui, who is the guest of honour at the festival. The retrospective will include The Lodgers, Sara, The Pear Tree and The Music Man.

Biffes has announced a competition section for the first time and received about 40 entries. The films in competition include When We Leave by Feo Aladag, Invisible by Michal Aviad, Apartment in Athens by Ruggero Dipaola and Lucky by Avie Luthra among others.

There will be a Retrospective of Michael Cacoyannis of Greece featuring Our Last Spring, The Trojan Woman, Iphigenia, The Cherry Orchard and Sweet Country.

Theodoros Angelopoulos Retrospective comprises Landscape in the Mist, Eternity and a Day and The Weeping Meadow.

Taiwanese director Hsiao-hsien Hou’s Retrospective comprises Cafe Lumiere, Goodbye South Goodbye, Good Men Good Women, A Summer at Grandpa and Daughter of the Nile.

Bangalore, Dec 7: The fourth edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biff), starting Dec 15, will pay tribute to actor, producer and director Dev Anand, who passed away recently.

Narahari Rao, creative head of the Biff informed that South African Zulu language film 'Lucky', which features noted theatre personality and Rajya Sabha Member B. Jayashree, will be the inaugural movie at the fest, which will also pay homage to renowned cinematographer S. Ramachandra.

Internationally acclaimed Iranian film director Dariush Mehrjui will also be honoured during the inaugural function at the Jnanajyothi Auditorium.