The 2015 Zurich Film Festival (September 24- October 4) is hosting Iranian films in the New World View section of the festival.

Every Year, in the out-of-competition section, the Festival has dedicated the New World Section to films from a foreign country. In the past years, films from India (2014), Brazil (2013), Sweden (2012) and Turkey (2011) have been selected for this section. This year ZFF is hosting films from Iran.

A total of 11 films from Iran will be screened: “13” by Houman Seyyedi, “Fish and Cat” by Shahram Mokri, “Atomic Heart” by Ali Ahmadzadeh, “Bright Day” by Hossein Shahabi, “I am not Angry” by Reza Darmishian, “Nahid” by Ayda Panahandeh, “Profession Documentarist” by Shirin Barghnavard, “Paradise” by Sina Ataian, “Acid Rain” by Behtash Sanaiha, “What’s the Time in Your World” by Safi Yazdanian and “Wednesday May 9” by Vahid Jalilvand.

Source: tavoosonline.com

On the last Wednesday of every month, Docunight screens a documentary about, around, or made in Iran or by Iranians in various cities throughout the US and Canada. ‘The Glass House’ by Hamid Rahmanian (2008, 92min) will be  on October 28th.

Docunight is a monthly program, focused on screening Iran-related documentaries that began in San Francisco and has grown to screen films in other cities including New York, Los Angeles, Washington, San Diego, Minneapolis, Washington, Vancouver and Toronto.

Organized by efforts of Ahmad Kiarostami in collaboration with NIAC in the US and ECUPC in Vancouver, the program aims to create an opportunity for cultural exchange and to provide proper grounds for foreign audiences to better understand the Iranian society.

For information on upcoming screenings please visit:
www.docunight.com or Facebook | Docunight

These are the documentaries that have been shown so far:
– Trucker and the Fox (2014, 78min, Dir: Arash Lahooti)
– Abbas Kiarostami: A Report (2013, 82min, Dir: Bahman Maghsoudlou)
– Iranien (Iranian) (2014, 105min, Dir: Mehran Tamadon)
– Going Up the Stairs (2011, 52min, Dir: Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami)
– Behjat Sadr (2006, 46min, Produced by Marjaneh Moghimi, Dir: Mitra Farahani)
– Monir (2014, 54min, Produced by: Leyla Fakhr, Dir: Bahman Kiarostami)
– Caged (2013, 52min, Dir: Tala Hadavi)
– Street Sultans (2011, 38min, Dir: Paliz Khoshdel, Zeinab Tabrizy)
– Before The Revolution (2013, 60min, Dir: Dan Shadur & Barak Heymann)
– Molf-e Gand (2009, 53min, Dir: Mahmoud Rahmani)
– I Saw Shoush (2002, 8min, Dir: Bahman Kiarostami)
– Infidels (2004, 40min, Dir: Bahman Kiarostami)
– Pilgrimage (2005, 52min, Marjaneh Moghimi for Butimar Production, Dir: Bahman Kiarostami)
– The Bathhouse That Wanted To Keep On Being A Bathhouse (2010, 52min, Dir: Mehdi Shabani)
– Park Mark (2010, 42min, Dir: Baktash Abtin)
– “Mory” Wants A Wife (2009, 42min, Dir: Baktash Abtin)
– Be Like Others (2008, 74min, Dir: Tanaz Eshaghian)
– The Law In These Parts (2011, 90min, Dir: Ra’anan Alexandrowicz)
– My Name Is Negahdar Jamali And I Make Westerns (2012, 65min, Directed by Kamran Heidari)
– Lady of the Roses (2008, 52min, by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb)
– Back Vocal (2004, 40min, by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb)
– Kahrizak, Four Views (2012, 86min, Dir: Rakhshan Bani Etemad, Mohsen Amiryoussefi, Bahman Kiarostami, Pirooz Kalantari)
– Bassidji (2009, 114mins, Directed by Mehran Tamadon)
– Red Lines and Deadlines: Life behind the scenes of the Iranian newspaper Shargh (2004, 5-53min, Filmed, produced and directed by Taghi Amirani)
– Statues of Tehran (2008, 60min, Dir: Bahman Kiarostami)

Sources: docunight.com, Tavoos Online

The 2015 edition of Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) has awarded Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya during a ceremony held in Brisbane, Australia. She received the event’s Special Mention for the Best Performance by an Actress for her portrayal of a nurse in ‘Avalanche,’ directed by Iranian filmmaker Morteza Farshbaf.

Kirin Kiki won the award for Best Performance by an Actress for her role in “An” from Japan while the award for Best Performance by an Actor went to Jung Jaeyoung for his role in “Right Now, Wrong Then” from South Korea.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand received the best film award for “Cemetery of Splendor” and Alexey German Jr. from Russia won the best director award for “Under Electric Clouds”. The award for best cinematographer went to Mark Lee Ping-bing from Taiwan for his collaboration in director Hou Hsiaohsien’s “The Assassin”.

The 2015 APSA International Jury was presided by South Korean filmmaker Kim Dong-Ho. He was joined by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh), Zhang Xianmin (China), U-Wei Bin HajiSaari (Malaysia), Alexei Popogrebsky (Russia) and Negar Javaherian (Iran). Javaherian won the UNESCO Award at the APSA in 2013 for her performance in Maziar Miri’s “Painting Pool”.

Established in 2007, APSA is an international cultural initiative to honor and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of the Asia-Pacific region, under the auspices of UNESCO and FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

About Fatemeh Motamed-Arya
Born in 1961, Fatemeh Motamed-Aria is one of the most significant Iranian actresses, who has won numerous national and international awards, including the Best Actress Prize of the 2011 Montreal Film Festival in Canada and the Prix de Henri-Langlois award of the 2012 Vincennes International Festival in France. ‘Once Forever’ (1993), ‘Blue-Veiled’ (1995), ‘Gilaneh’ (2004) and ‘Here Without Me’ (2011) are among the films she has performed in so far.

Sources: Tehran Times, Payvand, asiapacificscreenacademy.com, Instagram | apscreenawards, taghato.net

The winners were announced during the closing ceremony of Tehran’s 32nd Short Film Festival held at Andisheh Hall.

The jury members of the International Competition Section were Andrzej Bednarek from Poland, Matthias Flügge from Germany, Seigo Tono from Japan, Gipsy Chang from Hong Kong and Alireza Shoja Noori from Iran.

“A Warm Spell” by Toshimichi Saito from Japan received the Grand Prix of the festival. Best Fiction Film was awarded to “It Will Be Alright” by Patrick Vollrath from Austria. “Songbirds’ Shop” by Anatoliy Lavrenishyn from Ukraine won the Best Animation Award. Best Documentary was awarded to “Touch of Freedom” by Sardar Arshad Khan from Poland.

Jessica Dürwald from Germany received the Best Experimental Award for “Eat My Dream”, “Survival” by Masoud Hatami from Iran won the Special Jury Prize, “Electronic Town” by Tony Mullen from Japan was chosen as the Best Film from Asian Countries. Saeed Nejati from Iran received the Best Film from Islamic Countries Award for “Prohibition” and “Angelus Novus” by Aboozar Amini from Netherlands won the Best Anti-Violence Film Award.

Sources: Tavoos Online, Tehran International Short Film Festival, Fars News, ISNA 1, ISNA 2, Tasnim News, Mehr News

Mehrdad Oskouei’s ‘Starless Dreams’ (Royahaye Dame Sobh) along with ‘Fuocoammare’ (Fire at Sea) by Gianfranco Rosi have won the Amnesty International Film Prize at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Rosi’s documentary film about the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean off the Italian island of Lampedusa, won also the Golden Bear prize for Best Film.

Oskouei, one of Iran’s best documentary filmmakers, explores in ‘Starless Dreams’ the anguish and joys of girls in a juvenile correctional facility on the outskirts of Tehran. His small, all-male crew spent 20 days talking to the young women who gave them surprising access to their lives and feelings. The film won in Iran the Best Documentary Director Award at the 34th Fajr Film Festival earlier this year.

The German branch of Amnesty International has awarded the Amnesty International Film Prize for the first time at the Berlinale 2005. The aim of the prize is to draw the attention of audiences and representatives of the film industry to the theme of human rights and encourage filmmakers to tackle this topic. German actress Meret Becker, Swiss film maker Dani Levy and Markus Beeko, Director of Campaigns and Communications for Amnesty International Germany were the members of this independent jury at the Berlinale 2016.

Iranian filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei (1st R) and Italian director Gianfranco Rosi (2nd L) with Jury members Dani Levy (1st L) and Meret Becker (2nd R) in Berlin – Feb 20, 2016. Photo credits: Henning Schacht / Amnesty International

About Mehrdad Oskouei
Oskouei, an independent producer, filmmaker, photographer and researcher, was born in Tehran, Iran in 1969. He has a B.A. in film direction from the University of Arts, starting in the theatre in 1981 and the film world in 1988. In 2010, Oskouei received the Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands.

Sources: Tavoos Online, Berlinale, Hollywod Reporter, Reuters, Wikipedia | Starless Dreams, Fajr Film Festival (in Persian)

The Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) is a film festival in the United States held in Atlantic City, New Jersey which showcases over 150 independent films annually. Three Iranian movies won awards at the 14th GSFF held this year from March 31st to April 3rd.

“Oblivion Season” by director Abbas Rafei and “Ashes” by Alan Coulson from the UK shared the International Narrative Feature Award. The movie “Oblivion Season”, starring Sareh Bayat and Pejman Bazeghi, is about an ex-prostitute who starts a new life by marrying her lover but leaving the shadow of her dark past turns out not to be as easy as it had seemed beforehand.

“Lima” by Afshin Roshanbakht and Vahid Jafari received the International Animated Short Film Award. Lima repeats old memories trying to remember his lost father until he himself gets old.

“Blue-Eyed Boy” directed by Amir-Masoud Soheili won the International Narrative Short Film Award. The film tells the story of a young boy suffering from an unusual type of color blindness that causes him to see the world in blue.

Sources: Tehran Times, Wikipedia | Garden State Film Festival, Mehr News Agency, imdb, gsff.org

A wide range of movies, documentaries and shorts by directors from around the globe were screened this April during the 34th Fajr International Film Festival.

Fifteen featured films competed in the official section, including “Guaraní” by Luis Zorraquín (Argentina, Paraguay), “1944” by Elmo Nüganen (Estonia, Finland), “El Clásico” by Halkawt Mustafa (Iraq, Norway), “Norfolk” by Martin Radich (United Kingdom) and “The Treasure” by Corneliu Porumboiu (Romania, France), the winner of the Prix Un Certain Talent prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. (Details: FIFF 2016 | International competition | Featured films)

This section also included eighteen short films from Argentina, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Iran, Ireland, Russian Federation, Sweden, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom and Venezuela. (Details: FIFF 2016 | International competition | Short films)

Directors Majid Majidi and Nasser Taqvai from Iran, Chinese filmmaker and producer Tian Zhuangzhuang, Spanish director José Luis Guerín, producers Ivo Felt from Estonia and Zeynep Ozbatur Atakan from Turkey and Canadian writer Emmanuel Prevost were the official competition’s jury members.

Eastern Vista, a segment dedicated to films from Asian and Muslim nations, included “Solomon” by Zaza Khalvashi from Georgia and “My Sister, the Pig Lady” by Jang Moon-il from South Korea. A jury formed by Iranian actress Golab Adine, Afghan filmmaker Sahra Karimi, Indian actor and producer Jaaved Jaaferi, French-Moroccan director Ismael Feroukhi and Italian writer Teresa Cavina selected the winners of Best Asian Film and Best Asian Director from a total of sixteen movies from twelve different countries. (Full list: FIFF 2016 | Eastern Vista)

Directors Andrew Lau from Hong Kong, Alexander Sokurov from Russia and French journalist and critic Jean-Michel Frodon attended the festival. Special Screenings, a section focusing on documentaries, presented Sokurov’s new feature, Francofonia and Jia Zhang-ke by Brazilian director Walter Salles, writtern by Salles and Frodon. (Full list: FIFF 2016 | Special screenings)

Ten films were screened outside competition, including “The Assassin”, a martial arts drama by Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien and “Lamb” by American director Ross Partridge. (Full list: FIFF 2016 | Festival of Festivals)

The festival highlighted French cinema, as one of its side section programs, screening “The Fear” by Damian Odoul (2015), “Rabid Dogs” by Eric Hannezo (2015), “The Little Prince” by Mark Osborne (2015), “The Measure of a Man” by Stéphane Brizé (2015), “The Clearstream Affair” by Vincent Garenq (2014) and “Anton Chekhov 1890” Rene Feret (2015).

A restored version of Dariush Mehrjui’s acclaimed 1969 drama “The Cow” was screened along with “The Lover’s Wind” by French filmmaker Albert Lamorisse (1978) and “The Country of Lion and Sun: Persia” by Vladimir Erofeev (1935). A photo exhibition with selected scenes of “The Cow” and “The Lover’s Wind” was also held at Charsou Cineplex.

A number of top Iranian cineastes, including Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi , actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, actor Reza Kianian and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Majid Majidi, have held a series of workshops on the sidelines of the festival. Over 100 students from Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Iran attended the six-day workshop program entitled “Dar ul-Funun”, the name of the Iranian polytechnic established in 1851.

The 34th edition of Fajr International Film Festival was held from April 20th to April 25th, 2016 in Tehran’s Charsou Cineplex, under supervision of Iranian filmmaker, Reza Mirkarimi, current Managing Director of Khaneh Cinema, Iran’s Alliance of Motion Picture Associations.

Sources: Tehran Times, Fajr International Film Festival, kinokultura.com, Mehr News Agency (MNA) 1, MNA 2, Young Journalists Club (YJC) 1, YJC 2, YJC 3, YJC 4, YJC 5, YJC 6, Azad News Agency (ANA) 1, ANA 2, Borna News Agency (BNA) 1, BNA 2, BNA 3, BNA 4, BNA 5, BNA 6, Fars News Agency (FNA) 1, FNA 2, FNA 3, FNA 4, IRNA 1, IRNA 2, IRNA 3, IRNA 4, IRNA 5, IRNA 6. IRNA 7, IRNA 8, ISCA 1, ISCA 2, ISNA 1, ISNA 2, ISNA 3, ISNA 4, ISNA 5, ISNA 6, ISNA 7, Tasnim News Agency (TNA) 1, TNA 2, TNA 3, TNA 4, TNA 5, TNA 6, TNA 7, TNA 8, TNA 9, Borna News Agency (BNA) 1, BNA 2, BNA 3, BNA 4, BNA 5, BNA 6, Tehran Picture Agency (TPA) 1, TPA 2, TPA 3, TPA 4, TPA 5

The closing ceremony of 34th Fajr International Film Festival was held at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall. 150 international guests from 20 countries attended the festival, watched films and participated at different sections of the six day long event.

In the main competition section, “Rams”, a humanist drama by Icelandic director Grimur Hákonarson, won the Golden Simorgh for Best Film and its protagonists, actors Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Theódór Júlíusson, shared the Best Actor award. “Frenzy” by Emin Alper from Turkey was awarded the Silver Simorgh for Best Director and Iranian actress Pantea Panahiha won the Best Actress award for her role in “Breath” by Narges Abyar.

Spanish film “Amama: When a tree falls” written and directed by Asier Altuna Iza won the Silver Simorgh for Best Script. “Arvand” by Iranian director Pouria Azarbayjani received the Special Jury Prize. “Seen” by Soheil Amirsharifi from Iran won the Best Short Film award.

In Eastern Vista Kazakh filmmaker Yerlan Nurmukhambetov received the Best Film Trophy for “Walnut Tree”. “Madam Courage” by Algerian director Merzak Allouache won the Best Director award. Iranian documentary “A157” by Behroz Nouranjipour received a Special Mention.

“Zemnaco” by Iranian director Mehdi Ghorbanpour won the Interfaith Award. “Hasti” directed by Kamal Parnak from Iran and “Love Marriage in Kabul” by Australian filmmaker Amin Palangi received a Special Mention Diploma. His film was the winner in the Muhammad Al-Ameen section.

“Dawn” by Latvian director Laila Pakalnina was awarded the Trophy for Best Film and “Figura” directed by Katarzyna Gondek from Poland received the   Trophy for Best Short Film in the Art and Experience category.

The 34th edition of Fajr International Film Festival was held from April 20th to April 25th, 2016 in Tehran’s Charsou Cineplex, under supervision of Iranian filmmaker, Reza Mirkarimi, current Managing Director of Khaneh Cinema, Iran’s Alliance of Motion Picture Associations.

Sources: FIFF 2016, Azad News Agency, Borna News, Fars News, IRNA, ISCA, ISNA, Mehr News Agency (MNA) 1, MNA 2, Tasnim News Agency, Young Journalists Club

Filmmaker Asghar Farhadi and actors Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti got an overwhelming welcome in Tehran after arriving home from the 69th Cannes Film Festival, where Farhadi won the best screenplay prize and Shahab Hosseini received the Palme d’Or for best actor.

The film, whose screenplay was also written by Farhadi, is about Emad (Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) who move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant dramatically changes the young couple’s life.

Shahab Hosseini and Asghar Farhadi had worked together in “A Separation“. The first Iranian film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. “A Separation” also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor (Shahab Hosseini and Peyman Moaadi), becoming the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. Farhadi’s “The Past” (Le Passé) had been nominated for a Palme d’Or in 2013.

Sources: Festival de Cannes, Tehran Times 1, Payvand Iran News, Wikipedia | A Separation, Facebook | Festival de Cannes – Page Officielle, Tehran Times 2, Mehr News Agency 1, ISCA, Tehran Picture Agency, Mehr News Agency 2,

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.

Source: Filmfest München | Iranian Films, Tehran Times

‘Inversion’, directed and written by Behnam Behzadi, won the Best Film Award at the 21st edition of MedFilm Festival, held in Rome.

Nine films were competing for the “Amore & Psyche” Prize in the official section, ten documentaries for the “Open Eyes” Prize and twenty short films for the “Methexis” Prize. A total of eleven Iranian films, five feature and six short films, were screend in the section “New Iranian Cinema: Beyond Words”.

Inversion is Behnam Behzadi’s fourth directed feature film. It has previously participated in ‘Un Certain Regard’ section at Cannes and received a positive review. The title is a reference to thermal inversion, a meteorological condition causing air pollution. The drama centers around a woman, Niloufar (acted by Sahar Dolatshahi), who decides to take charge and find ways to better express herself in the smog-teeming metropolis of Tehran.

MedFilm Festival is the oldest international film festival in Rome and the first festival in Italy dedicated to the promotion of Mediterranean and European cinema. MedFilm Festival was established in 1995 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Cinema and the Barcelona Declaration. Based on the conviction that Diversity is a Value, it encourages relations, cooperation and the development of the film industry between neighbouring countries.

ABOUT BEHNAM BEHZADI
Behzadi was born in 1972 in Boroujen, Iran. He obtained a master’s degree in filmmaking in Tehran and directed over 20 feature films, short works, tv movies and documentaries. He has also written scripts, worked in editing and collaborated with various scriptwriters including Bahman Ghobadi with whom he was co-script writer for the film ‘Nive mang/Half Moon’.

His first short film ‘Retaliation gained an international success, winning the second prize of FIPA 2000 in France. In 2008 his first feature film ‘Before the Burial’ was awarded in several international festivals. In 2013 ‘Bending the rules’ won the special jury prize at the Tokyo Film Festival, the audience award at Nantes and the Special Prize at Mannheim. Behzadi teaches cinema at Tehran University of Art.

Sources: Mehr News Agency, MedFilm Festival | About, MedFilm Festival | Brochure (“Beyond Words”: p. 9-10 ), MedFilm Festival | Inversion, Persian Film Festival in Australia | B. Behzadi

A Man of Integrity (Lerd), a film that focuses on a goldfish farmer battling corporate oppression in Northern Iran, has won the top prize in the “Un Certain Regard” competition at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, the film stars Reza Akhlaghirad, Soudabeh Beizaee and Misagh Zare Zeinab. A Man of Integrity marks Rasoulof’s third attempt at the Un Certain Regard section, having previously had two of his other movies nominated including 2011’s Au revoir and 2013’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn, winning Best Director for the former.

Rasoulof’s win comes three months after another Iranian filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for his film The Salesman.

“Un Certain Regard” is a section of the Cannes Film Festival’s official selection. It runs parallel to the competition for the Palme d’Or. Introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob, this section presents works that have an original aim and aesthetic. The name literally means “a certain glance” but is understood by French speakers to mean “from another point of view.” In 2017 this section presented in competition 18 films hailing from 22 different countries.

Under the presidency of Uma Thurman (actress – United States), the Jury was comprised of Mohamed Diab (director – Egypt), Reda Kateb (actor – France), Joachim Lafosse (director – Belgium) and Karel Och (artistic director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival – Czech Republic).

Iranian short film “AniMal” (Heyvan), co-directed by Bahram and Bahman Ark, won the second prize of the 20th Cinéfondation Selection.  The Jury was headed by Cristian Mungiu (director – Romania) and included Clotilde Hesme (actress – France), Athina Rachel Tsangari (director, writer, producer – Greece), Barry Jenkins (director, script writer – United States) and Eric Khoo (director, writer, producer – Singapore).

La Cinéfondation, by the Cannes Film Festival, was created to inspire and support the next generation of international filmmakers. This year’s selection consisted of 16 student films, chosen out of 2.600 entries coming from 626 film schools around the world.

UN CERTAIN REGARD PRIZES
“Un Certain Regard” Prize: Lerd (A Man of Integrity) by Mohammad Rasoulof
Prize for Best Actress:  Jasmine Trinca for Fortunata by Sergio Castellitto
Prize for the Best Poetic Narrative: Barbara by Mathieu Amalric
Prize for the Best Direction: Taylor sheridan for Wind River
Jury Prize: Las Hijas de Abril (April’s Daughters) by Michel Franco

20th CINÉFONDATION PRIZES
First Prize: Paul est là (Paul is here) directed by Valentina Maurel / INSAS, Belgium
Second Prize: Heyvan (AniMal) directed by Bahram & Bahman Ark / Iranian National School of Cinema, Iran
Third Prize: Deux égarés sont morts (Two youths died) directed by Tommaso Usberti / La Fémis, France

Sources: Wikipedia, Festival de Cannes (Un Certain Regard), Festival de Cannes (Cinéfondation), silverscreen.in, instagram.com #lerd, purepeople.com