Top-notch Iranian films will be shown at this year’s Iranian Film Festival, which runs at Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson in Brooklyn, Tshwane, from 22 to 26 February. After its Brooklyn premiere, the festival will move to other Cinema Nouveau sites at the Rosebank Mall from 29 February to 4 March and V&A Waterfront, Cape Town from the 7 to 11 March.
Following its successful run last year, the Iranian Film Festival will showcase a stunning assortment of Iranian films, which highlight the spiritual and cultural aspects of the Iranian community.
The films chosen for this festival have garnered some of the world’s coveted accolades and have been presented in prestigious world festivals such as the Berlin Film Festival.
“Our main aim is to highlight the arts of culture of Iran, as per our agreement with the South African government,’ says Ali Purmarjan, Head of Culture at the Iran Embassy. “This festival will showcase the highest level of film production to come out of Iran and the Middle East.’
DirectorMasoud Abparvar will be present during the screening of his movie “Sa’at-e 25”, which will complete the overall festival experience.
All films will be shown in original language, with English subtitles. Free tickets to the festival will be available at the box office on the day of the screening.
This year’s selection includes the following seven films from contemporary Iran, exploring diverse and sometimes controversial subjects with a very spiritually-based perspective:
Title: “THE END OF THE ROAD”
Writer & Director: Afsaneh Monadi
SYNOPSIS
Father is in a terrible condition. His daughter and two sons, who live in Tehran and are busy with daily life, get together to drive to the north of Iran where father is hospitalized. Along the way, they find the chance to know each other more with talking over their problems, and share their feelings about life…
Title: “HAYAT”
Director: Gholam-Reza Ramezani
SYNOPSIS
Hayat is a 12 year-old girl who lives with her family in a beautiful village in Iran. For the past month, she has been preparing hard for an exam, scheduled to take place in the school of the village. The night before the exam, her father falls gravely ill and is taken to the hospital.
Hayat is forced to look after her infant sister on the most important day of her life. Good Samaritans try to help Hayat take the exam at school, but to no avail. After all, Hayat is not the kind of girl who quickly gives up…
Title: “PARADISE IS SOMEWHERE ELSE”
Writer & Director: Abdolrasoul Golbon
SYNOPSIS
Dreaming of a place more interesting than his native village with its simple and unchanging routines, 17-year-old Eidok is planning to travel to the Emirates in spite of his parents’ objections. He appoints Gol-Mohammad, an Afghan young immigrant, to take his place as the village shepherd. But his father is killed just before he sets out on the journey and Eidok is exposed to pressure from his relatives to take revenge according to the tradition. He finally suspects that staying put requires the same amount of courage as leaving, and cutting oneself off from one’s roots isn’t as easy as running away from oneself.
Title: “Sa’at-e 25”
Director: Masoud Abparvar
SYNOPSIS
After many years in Iraq prison, Taha sets free and gets back to the country. When getting home, he learns that his wife has re-married, and Mani, his son, is the only one he knows.
Title: “SHRAPNEL IN PEACE” (“Tarkesh-ha-ye Solh”)
Writer & Director: Ali Shah-Hatami
SYNOPSIS
To earn money and send it for his family in a nearby city, Jomeh, a young boy, and a group of a border town inhabitants collect the metal wastes remaining from the wartime. When a suitor asks for Jomeh’s sister’s hand, he decides to provide dowry for her and volunteers to pass through a minefield to collect more scrap metal.
Title: “NOORA” (Noora)
Writer & Director: Mahmood Shoulizadeh
SYNOPSIS
Noora, the small girl in a family of forest-dwellers, becomes paralyzed from waist down in an accident. Her family decides to take her to the nearby city for medical treatment, but they have difficulty to prepare the required money. Noora’s brother, Niaz, who feels responsible for the accident, makes up his mind to restore his sister’s health and undertakes a strange and unbelievable venture.
Title: “BEHIND THE CURTAIN OF FOG”
Director : Parviz sheikh tadi
Synopsis
Morteza, a deaf boy, lives with his mother in a beautiful village in the north of Iran and studies at a boardinghouse. When the new superintendent comes to the boardinghouse, some misunderstandings come up.
Entry to the Iranian Film Festival is free, and tickets are available at Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson box offices an hour before each show. For details of screening times visit www.sterkinekor.com
