Approaching the last days of the Iranian calendar year of 1387 (March 2008-2009), here is a quick look at events Iran’s cinema went through over the year.
The number of the festivals indicates improvement of the cinema market and even in the last days of the year, there are still two festivals underway. Fajr Film Festival in February has always been the oldest and most important cinematic event of the country.
Other major festivals included the Urban Film Festival, the 6th Tehran International Animation Festival, Cinema Verite Festival, Police Film Festival and the Hamedan International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults.
The other good news was the establishment of Tehran’s Mellat Cinematic Complex in November, which was warmly received within the first few weeks of its opening.
The sad news was about Tehran’s Jomhuri Theater, which burned down on November 14. The first floor of the old theater hall was completely consumed by the blaze and parts of its second floor were also destroyed.
But the good side was the international awards Iranian films brought home. Asghar Farhadi won the Silver Bear for the best director for “About Elly” at the 59th Berlin film festival in February. Reza Mirkarimi’s family drama film “So Simple” won the Best Film Golden George at the 30th Moscow International Film Festival (MIFF) in June.
Iranian black and white “Over There” by Abdorreza Kahani grabbed the “Golden Alexander” at the 49th International Thessaloniki Film Festival, Greece in November.
Reza Naji of Majid Majidi’s “Song of Sparrows” received the prize for Best Performance by an Actor from the Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2008 in November. He was also was awarded the Best Actor prize of the 16th Damascus International Film Festival.
And Finally the Iranian documentary “It’s Always Late for Freedom” by Mehrdad Oskuii won the award for the best mid-length documentary at the Canadian international documentary festival Hot Docs in April.
The entrance of two films into the club of one billion rial films is regarded a good omen for Iran’s cinema in the past year. Saeid Soheili’s comedy “Charchanguli” which generated revenues of about Ten billion rials (over $1 million) and Parisa Bakhtavar’s “Tambourine” were the two box office hits of the year.
President Ahmadinejad’s meeting with Iranian filmmakers in October was also an important event though it was not covered by the press.
One of the news items widely discussed was the appearance of Golshifteh Farahani in Ridley Scott’s spy thriller “Body of Lies”. The major point was Farahani’s performance in Asghar Farhadi’s film “About Elly” and the obstacles it faced preventing its screening at the 27th Fajr International Film Festival. It was then when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stepped in and ordered the removal of the obstacles.
The arrival of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Sid Ganis accompanied by a team of Hollywood cinematic figures in Tehran was also controversial.
The Hollywood delegation includes William Horberg, producer of “The Kite Runner,” and Alfre Woodard, who acted in “Desperate Housewives.” “American Beauty” star Annette Bening, “Field of Dreams” director Phil Robinson and “Dog Day Afternoon” writer Frank Pierson.
The delegation was invited to Iran by the House of Cinema, which is under the authority of the Culture Ministry. Educational workshops on acting, directing, documentary-making and other aspects of the business have been held with the group so far.
However, Iran’s cinema lost some of its great masters in the past year leaving their friends and cinema fans with sad feelings of loss over not having them around any more.
Khosro Shakibaii, Ahmad Aqalu, Reza Arham-Sadr, Ali Miri, Mehrdad Fakhimi, Nader Ebrahimi, Davud Asadi, Esmail Davarfar, Khosro Taslimi, and Mohsen Rasulof were among those who passed away over the past year.
RM/YAW
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MNA
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