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Vienna Festival :: Defiant Iranian Actress Barred from Participating in Wiener Festwochen
Iran bars prominent actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, who voiced support for a wave of protests and unrest in the country last year, from traveling to Austria to participate in an art fest..

Cannes 2023 Competition :: Review :: Perfect Days
Wim Wenders’ fiction film at the festival is a delicate and slyly melancholic ode to the search for happiness.. Attentive to the world around him both in his free time and at work, Hirayama always notices its beauties, both unexpected..

Cannes 2023 Interview :: Ruben Östlund :: Cannes Competition jury president
After fulfilling his duties as Cannes Competition jury president, the 2022 Palme d’Or winner shared some thoughts on this once-in-a-lifetime experience..

Cannes Review :: Fallen Leaves :: A Charming, Bittersweet Romance
Few filmmakers warm the soul with such economy: Fallen Leaves is funny, heartbreaking, and only 82 minutes long. Two people living separate, lonesome lives meet and maybe fall in love––but there is beauty in that simplicity ..

Cannes 2023 Awards :: Four Daughters and The Mother of All Lies scoop Cannes’ Golden Eye
The jury applauds the courage and imagination of Kaouther Ben Hania and Asmae El Moudir, who boldly invent devices that renew the language of reality, exploring and confronting the chaos of the world..

‘Anatomy Of A Fall’ :: Wins Palme d’Or at 2023 Cannes Film Festival
French writer-director Justine Triet’s Anatomy Of A Fall has won the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The Hitchcockian mystery thriller is about a woman, played by Sandra Hüller, accused of murder when her husband..

Cannes 2023 :: Killers of the Flower Moon :: Martin Scorsese’s Bitterest Crime Epic
Martin Scorsese triumphs yet again. A story about greed, corruption, and the mottled soul of a country that was born from the belief that it belonged to anyone callous enough to take it..

Cannes 2023 :: Perfect Days : interview with Wim Wenders
A deeply moving and poetic reflection on finding beauty in the everyday world around us. The idea was born in Tokyo and could not have been made anywhere else. I love it if a story and its setting belong together out of necessity..

Cannes 2023 :: Terrestrial Verses :: Life in totalitarian Iran in the satirical Terrestrial Verses
Daily life in Iran through nine stories. Terrestrial Verses portrays men, women, and children in apparently mundane situations in which the absurd comes to disrupt everything..

Cannes 2023 :: Godard par Godard :: In the Mind of a Trailblazer of Cinema
A Documentary Rich with Behind-the-Scenes Footage Captures How the Godard Persona Was as Fascinating as His Films. An hour-long movie looks at his life, through his work, in a way that any Godard fan will want to see..

Cannes 2023 :: Questioning the past with May December :: Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes' May December explores one of the great capacities of the human species: our categorical refusal to look ourselves in the face. Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple..

Cannes 2023 :: Bread and Roses :: Kabul as seen by Sahra Mani
In 2018, Sahra Mani‘s hard-hitting A Thousand Girls Like Me documented a young Afghan woman and incest victim in her quest for justice. In Bread and Roses, the Afghan director shines a light on how the women of Kabul are seeing..

Cannes 2023 :: Cate Blanchett shows solidarity with women of Iran
Actor Cate Blanchett made a statement at a Cannes Film Festival party by going barefoot to show her support for the women of Iran. The A-list actor, on hand to present “Holy Spider” star Zahra Amir Ebrahimi with a breakthrough..

Cannes 2023 :: Encounter with Atiq Rahimi :: Member of the Feature Films Jury
An interview with the member of the Feature Films Jury, who opens up about his creative process. Born into a “wealthy, peaceful, and bourgeois” Afghan family, Atiq Rahimi‘s life..

Cannes 2023 :: Competition :: About Dry Grasses :: Movie Review
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s best feature since “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia”—flutters with all these pictorial qualities and emotional dispositions. A ravishingly cinematic piece of work that seems designed to spark animated debate..

Cannes 2023 :: Competition :: Four Daughters (Les Filles d'Olfa)
Kaouther Ben Hania employs a unique approach In Competition. While working on one of her films, she became caught up in a story she was listening to on the radio. The mother of four adolescent girls was recounting the tragic..

Cannes 2023 :: Liv Ullmann :: A Road Less Travelled
Divided in three chapters, this documentary film explores the iconic actor, writer, director, author and activist Liv Ullmann’s multifaceted life, and her extraordinary international career spanning over 66 years..

Cannes 2023 :: Anselm :: an interview with Wim Wenders
Here we discuss 'Anselm' with the Prolific director Wim Wenders who has two films in the Selection this year: a fictional feature film in Competition, Perfect Days, and a documentary Anselm, dedicated to the work of German visual artist..

Cannes 2023 lowdown update :: The lowdown on all the Cannes 2023 titles
This year’s Official Selection is heavy on big-name auteurs including former double Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach as well as Wim Wenders, Nanni Moretti, Hirokazu Kore-eda and Nuri Bilge Ceylan. These past winners will compete..

“Champions” :: Led by Woody Harrelson’s reliably spiky energy
"Some critics are saying the film is patronizing and making a mockery of the disabled community, but that’s not the case. The cast brings out the best in each other and all are true champions..”

The Two Popes :: Superbly acted and a lot of fun to watch
Can two Catholic men share the Papacy without driving each other crazy? Led by outstanding performances from its well-matched leads, The Two Popes draws absorbing drama from a pivotal moment in modern organized religion..

“They Make Me Vomit” :: Richard Dreyfuss On New Rules For Oscars
“This is an art form. It’s also a form of commerce, and it makes money, but it’s an art. No one should be telling me as an artist that I have to give in to the latest, most current idea of what morality is..”

CANNES 2023 :: Cannes Classics Pays Homage to Godard, Ozu, Hitchcock, Ullmann, Varda, Douglas, Lee
In keeping with tradition, the 2023 edition of Cannes Classics promises to be a feast for cineastes with tributes to global masters and restored versions of all-time classics..

‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ Movie Hits Cannes Market :: Stars Zar Amir-Ebrahimi & Golshifteh Farahani
A long-anticipated adaptation of the 2003 bestselling novel “Reading Lolita in Tehran” by Azar Nafisi is hitting the Marché du Film at Cannes this month..

Asghar Farhadi Talks Uprising in Iran: ‘The Result Will Be Rewarding’
'The situation will not return to how it was before. And there is great hope in what happened. And I believe in this extraordinary uprising that occurred in Iran in the last few months..'

World War III :: Removal Of Director, Actor From Movie Billboard Over Protest Support
Iran's Ministry of Guidance is demanding the removal of the names of the director and one of the lead actors from a promotional billboard for a movie amid their public support for ongoing..

Death of a Filmmaker & The End of an Era in Iranian Cinema
Veteran filmmaker Kiumars Pourahmad (1949-2023) was one of the successful examples of Iranian ‘professional’ cinema, a storyteller who kept standing as far away from the ideological concerns of post-revolution Iran..

FIFDH GENEVA 2023 :: 'My Name Is Happy' :: Movie Review
Ayse Toprak and Nick Read's film tells the incredible story of Mutlu, a Kurdish teenager with a golden voice who miraculously survives an attempted murder. At age 19 Mutlu Kaya overcame the trauma of being shot..

OSCARS 2023 :: Navalny’s Plight in a Russian Prison Highlighted at Oscars
The fact that this documentary movie involves one of the most brazen incidents of state sponsored assassination in memory means this is a unique document of a very singular man. After almost being poisoned to death in 2020..

Oscars 2023 :: Final Predictions in 23 Categories
"Everything Everywhere All at Once" should dominate the winners list, but will it also win Best Picture? Fresh and original is the ticket for this year’s Oscars. That is if “Everything Everywhere” (A24) wins as many categories as we predict..

Berlinale 2023 :: Full Winners List
This year’s jury, headed by Kristen Stewart, gave the Golden Bear award to the French documentary “On the Adamant..” The Silver Bear for Best Lead Performance notably went to child star Sofia Otero for “20,000 Species of Bees.” Philippe Garrel's “The Plough” was..

Berlinale 2023 :: Niki Karimi :: "In Iran, I hope the arts and artists will experience a new era"
While at the Berlinale, the Iranian actress and director speaks, in an interview with "Le Monde", on the situation in her country, after five months of protests since the death of Mahsa..

BAFTA 2023 :: ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Dominates BAFTA Awards With Seven Wins
“All Quiet on the Western Front” dominated the BAFTA Awards in London on Sunday night with a record-breaking seven wins for a film not in the English languag, including for Best Director..

Berlinale :: Retrospective 2023 :: „Coming of Age at the Movies“
The 2023 Retrospective is dedicated to being young and growing up as a collective cinematic experience. Noted international filmmakers from around the world have selected their coming-of-age film favourites..

Berlinale 2023 :: Golshifteh Farahani :: Talks Role Of Art In Iran
“In A Dictatorship Like Iran, Art Is Essential, It’s Like Oxygen.” Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, who is at the Berlin Film Festival as a member of Kristen Stewart’s jury, has talked passionately about the importance of art..

BERLINALE 2023 • Carlo Chatrian • Artistic director
Cineuropa talks to the Berlinale’s artistic director about the “new beginning” for the gathering, the state of world cinema and iconoclastic programming at the outset of the 73rd edition. “Europe is the place where filmmakers can still..

SIFF 2023 :: Shirin Ebadi :: Until We Are Free
This is the amazing, at times harrowing, simply astonishing story of a woman who would never give up, no matter the risks. The first Muslim woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, Shirin Ebadi has inspired millions around the globe..

Iranian film director ('Botox' & 'Retouch') threw away his film awards
Kaveh Mazaheri, who previously won two crystal simorghes at Iranian Fajr Film festival, threw them into the river. He, who is also the winner of the first prize at Torino Film Festival, released a video in which he says he will no longer make..

IFFR 2023 Awards :: 'Le spectre de Boko Haram' and 'Endless Borders' are the victors
Cyrielle Raingou’s documentary took home the Tiger Award, whilst Abbas Amini’s feature won the VPRO Big Screen Award, as the Dutch gathering celebrated its in- person comeback..

Robert Prize 2023 :: Here are all the winners
On Saturday evening, the year's best film, TV series, acting performances and much more were awarded. Ali Abbasi's thriller 'Holy Spider' grabs 11 statuettes at the awards ceremony where it completely swept the board..

Berlinale 2023 :: The Berlinale announces its jury members
The Berlinale has announced the full line-up of the juries for its 2023 edition. Competition Jury chair Kristen Stewart will be joined by Golshifteh Farahani, Valeska Grisebach, Radu Jude, Francine Maisler, Carla Simón and Johnnie To..

Henrik Nordbrandt :: A Poet's Odyssey
Henrik Nordbrandt (1945 – 2023) is widely regarded as one of the most important and celebrated poets in Scandinavia. His life with poetry was shaped by the many years he lived in Mediterranean countries, where “departures and arrivals are very existential,”..

Berlinale 2023 :: Solidarity with Ukraine and Iran
Film festivals are places that strengthen freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and peaceful dialogue. With the ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, and the courageous protests in Iran.. the Berlinale stands in 2023..

Iran's women through 60 years :: Film history, sociology & popular culture
"Woman - life - freedom". That slogan has been used in the Iranian streets since September, and the message is aimed at the incumbent Islamic regime. The Iran protests have historical threads that go further back in Iranian cultural history..

Oscar 2023 :: 'The Red Suitcase' Bags Oscar Nomination
A short film by Luxembourg-based Iranian film director Cyrus Neshvad has been nominated for "Best Live Action Short Film" at the 95th Academy Awards. "My thoughts are with the Iranian women who are currently fighting for their rights and their freedom..

95th Academy Awards :: 2 Oscar nominations for Danish films
Simon Lereng Wilmont's documentary film ‘A House Made of Splinters’ is nominated in the Documentary Feature Category and the short film ‘Ivalu’ by Anders Walter and Pipaluk K. Jørgensen is nominated in the category for Live..

Sundance 2023 :: Iranian women take center stage at Sundance film festival
Movies by and about Iranian women took center stage at the Sundance film festival this weekend, as diaspora filmmakers reflected on female-led protests and the deadly challenges of censorship and resistance in their ancestral..

BERLINALE 2023 :: Unveils Forum titles for 2023 edition :: (16-26 Feb.)
The German festival has announced new European titles by names such as Claire Simon, Vlad Petri, Mehran Tamadon, Tomasz Wolski and Piotr Pawlus. The 28 titles look set to “celebrate the diversity of cinematic forms, approaches..

10th Prague Iranian Film Fest :: Starts in shadow of events in Iran
The focus of the festival is going to be on the main theme of all the uprisings that are happening at the moment, which is Women, Life, Freedom. The festival is taking place in Prague from January 11th to 15th, launching..

Corruption on earth :: Iran shortfilm
A short film about the human rights- abusing regime in Iran. The film shows a fictional award ceremony for the “best regime in the world”. The prize is awarded to Iran. Several production companies were involved in making the film, directed by Omid Mirnour..

‘Argentina, 1985’ :: Venice Review
A complex, rewarding drama which should be favoured by the politically-aware. Ricardo Darin gives an awards-worthy performance in Santiago Mitre’s rousing real-life courtroom thriller. 30,000 people disappeared during the Junta’s seven-year rule..

Suicide After "Freedom" :: Iranian Film Critic Commits Suicide After Being Released From Detention
Iranian film critic and director, Mohsen Jafari-Rad, 37, who had been arrested during anti-government protests a few weeks ago, committed suicide after being released..

Taraneh Alidoosti, the star of Oscar-winning film released on bail
The 38-year-old Iranian actor and the star of Oscar-winning film The Salesman, who was imprisoned almost three weeks ago, has been released on bail on Wednesday, said the actor's lawyer to the Iranian news agency Isna. ..

UPDATE(5) :: Defiance in Iran :: "Iran Protests Pass 100 Days"
Anti-government protests in Iran have passed their 100th day, even as demonstrators have been met with widespread arrests, brutal violence by police and executions. Thousands of protesters have been arrested and more than..

Celebrities In Iran Also Pay A Price For Supporting Protests
Ashkan Khatibi is one of scores of celebrities who have been detained for sympathizing with protesters or criticism of the government. Around fifty filmmakers and actors of Iranian cinema are currently in detention..

Robert De Niro & Jane Rosenthal Join Chorus Of Calls For Release Of Iranian Actress Taraneh Alidoosti
In a Tribeca statement signed by De Niro and his Tribeca Festival Co-Founder Jane Rosenthal, the pair demanded Taraneh's immediate release from the infamous Evin Prison in Tehran...

Iranian actor Taraneh Alidoosti arrested after criticism of death penalty
Taraneh Alidoosti, one of Iran’s most famous actors, has been detained by security forces in Tehran days after she criticised the state’s use of the death penalty against protesters..

'752 Is Not A Number' :: A Harrowing Look at One Man’s Search for Justice
Veteran director Babak Payami chronicles Canadian dentist Hamed Esmaeilion’s quest for justice in the aftermath of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, shot down in 2020 by the Iranian military..

'The Voice of Dust and Ash' :: Singing Truth to Power
The untold story of monumental artist and humanitarian Maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian, hailed by NPR as "one of the 50 greatest voices of all time" and by the Wall Street Journal as "the most important Iranian.."

UPDATE(4) :: Defiance in Iran :: "Nationwide Revolution"
Despite Crackdown, Anti-Government Protests May Grow into "Nationwide Revolution". The situation in Iran is "critical" as authorities tighten their crackdown on the continuing anti-government protests after the death of Mahsa..

Free Toomaj Salehi :: Iranian protest rapper Toomaj's life is in Danger!
The rapper Toomaj Salehi is an activist for human rights who protests with his music against the brutality of the Islamic Republic. He was arrested by the security forces on 30.10.2022. Please join us to sign the petition..

Crackdown on celebrities :: Iran arrests actors for removing headscarves
Iran has arrested two prominent actors who expressed solidarity with the country’s protest movement and removed their headscarves in public, according to state media..

'See You Friday Robinson' :: New Wavers who upset the language of cinema :: Berlinale 2022 Encounters
Ebrahim Golestan and Jean-Luc Godard, New Wavers Iranian and French, embark on an email round-robin conversation in this amusing documentary from Godard collaborator Mitra..

A Viennale retrospective :: Earthly Songs :: Ebrahim Golestan on his 100th Birthday
This retrospective takes place in Vienna, as part of the Viennale. The screenings, programmed into four sessions, are scheduled for October 21-23, 2022. All four events shall be introduced..

Iranian Filmmaker Mani Haghighi Has Passport Confiscated
Mani Haghighi had his passport confiscated at the airport as he was about to board a flight to attend the BFI London Film Festival. Haghighi was expected to present there the U.K. premiere of his latest film, “Subtraction.” ..

'This Time It's Different' :: Iran Actress Golshifteh Farahani Lauds Protests
Exiled Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani said Tuesday that she was filled with admiration for the protesters in Iran: "beautiful, feminine, hair in the wind, asking simply for freedom." Farahani has lived in exile in France for more than..

'Holy Spider' cast protests in solidarity with Iranian women on London Film Festival red carpet
The cast of 'persian noir' film 'Holy Spider' protested in support of women's rights in Iran at the London Film Festival on Saturday (October 8) ahead of its UK premiere..

UPDATE(3) :: "They Want a Democracy": Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi on Protests
"Today's movement is not calling for reform. Today's movement is calling for a new vision of politics … with women at the helm of it," says Narges Bajoghli, professor of anthropology..

“To Every Filmmaker in the World”
“Every filmmaker in the world” is called to support anti-government protests in Iran by famous Iranian cinema creators and actors speaking up after the violent repression of protests triggered by the death of 22-year-old woman Masha Amini while in police custody..

'Holy Spider' :: Selected as Denmark's Oscar candidate
OSCAR 2023. Ali Abbasi and Profile Pictures' 'Holy Spider' is selected as Denmark's submission in the International Feature Film category. 'Holy Spider' shows a director with a strong artistic ambition who..

Winners of the 2022 ‘Sepanta Awards’ :: 15th Annual Iranian Film Festival
This year, the festival presented 50 films from Iran, USA, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Greece, UK, Canada, Australia, and Denmark…, ranging from fiction, documentary, short, animation…. to the music video..

Tickets On Sale Now!
Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco
September 17-18, 2022
Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco, the first independent Iranian film festival outside of Iran, launched in 2008, this year presents 50 films from 10 countries and is available Virtually..

Opinion :: Will Venice Protests Help or Hurt filmmakers in Iran?
As the Venice Film Festival celebrates Iranian cinema — with four Iranian films screening at the 79th Biennale — back home in Tehran, Iranian filmmakers and artists are facing the harshest crackdown in decades..

VENICE 2022 crowns Laura Poitras, Alice Diop, Luca Guadagnino and Jafar Panahi its victors
VENICE 2022: The Golden Lion goes to US movie All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, the Grand Jury Prize to Saint-Omer, Best Direction to Bones and All and the Special Prize to No Bears..

Biennale Cinema 2022 :: Awards Ceremony
Official Awards of the 79th Venice Film Festival. Announced by the five international Juries, chaired by Julianne Moore, during the Awards Ceremony that was held on Saturday 10th September at 7:00 pm..

The Kiev Trial :: VENICE 2022
Ukrainian documentary Filmmaker Sergei Loznitsa presents a haunting glimpse of a post-war Nazi trial. A year after his moving documentary Babi Yar. Context, Loznitsa revisits some of the footage he unearthed and expands it into the equally daunting The Kiev Trial..

'Nezouh' (نزوح) :: VENICE 2022
"The bombs can’t touch the stars"
"Nezouh in Arabic is the displacement of souls, water and people; it is the displacement of light and darkness. Nezouh tries to talk about this inevitable invasion of light and hope in the midst of this chaos”..

Venice 2022 :: Festival Reads Statement From Imprisoned Iranian Director
Jafar Panahi, imprisoned Iranian filmmaker, whose new film 'No Bears' is screening in competition in Venice, has sent a message of defiance to the Tehran regime...

Filmmakers under Attack :: Taking Stock, Taking Action. Two initiatives at the 79th Venice Film Festival
La Biennale di Venezia announces two initiatives to demonstrate solidarity with the directors, filmmakers and artists who have been arrested or imprisoned around the world this past year..

Venice 2022 :: 'Call of God' :: Mastering the Science of Love
The last film of the late- director Kim Ki-duk has been officially invited to the 79th Venice Film Festival. At the time of his death, the director KIM Ki-duk was at work on what would be his final feature, a project titled 'Call of God'..

Coming: 15th Annual Iranian Film Festival! : San Francisco: Sep. 17-18
This year, the festival presents 50 films from Iran, USA, Italy, France, Luxembourg, Greece, UK, Canada, Australia, and Denmark…, ranging from fiction, documentary, short, animation…. to the music video. We are happy and proud to..

Venice 2022 :: 'Without her' :: Orizzonti Extra
The story of someone actually losing her identity may seem surreal at first glance, but coming from a background where you’re blamed for who you are, it’s as realistic as it can get. If you stand for your beliefs, you soon find out that..

'Bamse' :: A Lucky Man
A tribute to the popular Danish musician, who has provided us with classics like “Vimmer Street”, “Why Does Louise Go Dancing” and “In A Boat That’s Itty-Bitty”. Behind the warm smile and the overalls is a powerful and moving story about a man’s lifelong pursuit of recognition and love..

Close-Up on Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s 'The Nights of Zayandeh-Rood'
An Iranian film as remarkable as the history of its production—edited by the government, banned, stolen, and rediscovered. The regime had tried to erase 'The Nights..' from collective memory—instead, it elevated it to a near-cult status..

Venice 2022 :: 'Beyond The Wall'
'Beyond the Wall' will have its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in September 2022. The Iranian Cinema Organization has announced that 'Beyond The Wall's participation in the Venice Film Festival is not coordinated with this organization..

Danish docs and series headed for 79th Venice International Film Festival
Jørgen Leth and Andreas Koefoed's 'Music for Black Pigeons', Guy Davidi's 'Innocence', Lars von Trier's 'The Kingdom Exodus' and Nicolas Winding Refn's 'Copenhagen Cowboy' will take part in..

79th Venice International Film Festival :: Lineup :: 31 Aug. - 10 Sep.
New films by Luca Guadagnino, Laura Poitras, Todd Field, Olivia Wilde, Martin McDonagh, and Rebecca Zlatowski are heading to Venice, where Julianne Moore heads the competition jury..

Putin: A Russian Spy Story :: TV Series (2020)
An exploration of how Vladimir Putin deployed his knowledge of spy-craft as a politician, and how modern Russia evolved through an acute sense of betrayal, pride and anger..

Panah Panahi on 'Hit the Road'
‘I don’t feel like a film-maker in my own country.. Even my actors haven’t seen the film yet’. Panah Panahi's joyous debut has been feted internationally but can’t be shown in his homeland — and now his auteur father Jafar Panahi has been sentenced to prison..

‘SABA’ :: Screened at Aesthetica and Grand OFF :: An Iranian short film
A socially committed short film that manages to touch on two controversial issues in modern Iran: the difficulty of being woman and the burning issue of gender equality..

Exilic trilogy :: A poetic, mystical and musical trilogy
The story of a well known musician, a famous painter and a legendary poet are included in Exilic Trilogy in three chapters. This arthouse independent docudrama film is shot in Toronto by Arsalan Baraheni, an exiled Iranian...

‘Be My Voice’ :: Swedish documentary from 2021
Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad is the voice of millions of Iranian women rebelling against the forced hijab on social media. She is an advocate for women's rights, and from her exile in the United States..

Land of Dreams :: Venice 2021 Review
Shirin Neshat and Shoja Azari fearlessly illuminate the eerie similarities between the Islamic regime and contemporary America – the increased presence of the surveillance state, the shared exploitation of religion and power..

Filmmaker Jafar Panahi Arrested as Conservative Iran Cracks Down on Dissidents
Panahi was reportedly arrested after protesting the detention of fellow Iranian filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad..

Iranian drama ‘Summer With Hope’ wins top Karlovy Vary prize
Sadaf Foroughi’s Canadian- Iranian drama Summer With Hope has won the Crystal Globe for best film at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF), which held its closing awards ceremony on Friday July 9..

Iran Arrests Golden Bear Winning Director Mohammad Rasoulof
Mohammad Rasoulof arrested in ‘Brutal’ Raid Over Social Media Posts. His producing partners say he and colleague Mostafa Al-Ahmad have been "transferred to an unknown location." Since moving back to Iran in 2017, Rasoulof has..

‘Ghosts of Afghanistan’ :: It's only your own perspective that counts
“It's only your perspective that counts. Everyone celebrates their goals as just and noble. That is the real crime of this war. That the West questions its role, as it happens in this film, is a rare view”..

Call For Film Submissions Open
The 15th Annual Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco, a showcase for the independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world, is inviting filmmakers from all over the world to submit their films..

Atabai :: Movie Review
A sharp and fascinating exploration of male vulnerability
Filmmaker Niki Karimi creates vivid characters and connections, adding imaginative touches and a nicely understated sense of humour. An unforgettable portrait of a man whose..

DOCAVIV 2022 :: Tantura :: Review
Alon Schwarz's documentary explores the massacre committed by Israeli forces in the titular Arab village in 1948, shedding light on a taboo topic shrouded in a culture of silence. In the late 1990s, graduate student Teddy Katz conducted an academic research on a..

‘Nostalgia’ :: Mario Martone’s Neapolitan Thriller
“Our past is a labyrinth.. But there are these little voices that still call you from time to time. You try to re-enter this labyrinth. But this attempt at understanding who you are and where it all started can be dangerous..”

Cannes 2022 :: Palme d'Or-winning director Ruben Östlund on his satire of the super-rich
FRANCE 24 speaks to a director who won his second Palme d'Or for “Triangle of Sadness,” a biting satire of the rich and (Insta-)famous, bringing the 2022 Cannes Film Festival to..

Cannes 2022 :: Iranian Zar Ebrahimi Wins Cannes Best Actress Prize
Iranian actress Zar Amir-Ebrahimi receives the Best Actress award for her role in the film Holy Spider on May 28. "I have come a long way to be on this stage tonight," she told the audience at the final award ceremonies in Cannes..

Cannes 2022 :: ‘Leila’s Brothers’ Wins Fipresci Prize
Just hours before Cannes Palme d’Or prize announcement, the Iranian movie “Leila’s Brothers” won the Fipresci prize for best film in Cannes main competition “for the director’s ability to craft an engaging story, very dense.."

Cannes 2022 :: ‘Imagine’ :: Critics’ Week :: Leila Hatami
This light drama screens as part of Critics’ Week at Cannes, featuring A Separation’s Leila Hatami as the woman who bonds with her taxi driver in night rides around Tehran in Ali Behrad’s atmospheric yet ephemeral meditation on love..

Cannes 2022 :: ‘Leila’s Brothers’ :: Film Review
A great movie both in scope and in what it’s trying to say about Iran through the story of one family’s countless hardships. As a filmmaker, Roustaee aims so high and wide that even if he misses his mark at times, he manages to find..

Cannes 2022 :: Danish films in Cannes Film Festival
Three Danish films are part of the Official Selection and Danish film professionals are on board international co-productions at the 2022 Cannes Festival. Read on for more about the films and where to meet the Danish Film..

‘Holy Spider’ :: Ali Abbasi :: Interview
Ali Abbasi knows no bounds
A Danish pregnancy horror flick, a Swedish troll romance and a Farsi-language serial killer thriller. Ali Abbasi sees no reason to limit himself to one culture, one language or one genre. He is now back in Cannes with 'Holy Spider'..

HOT DOCS 2022 :: 'The Killing of a Journalist'
This investigative documentary explores how the entanglement of organised crime with a corrupt government, legal system and law enforcement can practically define life in a nominally democratic European country..

‘Family Diary | Cronaca familiare’ :: The Cinema Of Valerio Zurlini
An overwhelming drama, magnificently photographed, sadly neglected. Watching it in the Walter Reade in New York, I had the feeling that the screen was expanding to include the entire world..

Tiburon 2022 :: Call For Entries Open For 21st Annual Tiburon International Film Festival
Tiburon, CA: The 21st Annual Tiburon International Film Festival (TIFF) will be held in November 2022, a showcase for independent feature and short films from around the world..

‘The Coming War on China’ :: The new War-Game scenario in the Pacific
John Pilger’s 60th film for ITV. Pilger reveals what the news doesn’t – that the United States and the world’s second economic power, China (both nuclear armed) are on the road to war..

Cannes 2022 :: Two Persian language films in the main section
This year, 18 films will participate in the main section (competition) of Cannes Film Festival, including two Persian- language films, 'Holy Spider' by Ali Abbasi after his Cannes-winning Swedish 'Border', and 'Leila's Brothers' by..

‘Threads’ :: Revisiting one of the most terrifying films ever made
An urgent warning against nuclear conflict, Threads is a chilling hypothetical that achieves visceral horror with its matter-of-fact presentation of an apocalypse. Many films purport to be difficult to sit through, but..

Departures :: Okuribito :: おくりびと :: Fascinating, witty and heartfelt
All three actors are skilled in communicating difficult emotions just with their faces and in bringing to life the gentle humor that leavens this very affecting movie about death and letting go..

‘CODA’ :: Child of Deaf Adults
Uniquely beautiful to watch
No theatrics, no gimmicks - just a wonderful coming-of-age gem that aims directly at the heart and hits the bullseye. It’s the type of feel-good movie that leaves you both uplifted and exhausted..

ON THE BEACH :: THE BECKONING OF NUCLEAR WAR
This is the way the world ends.. Not with a bang but a whimper. These lines from T.S. Eliot's poem The Hollow Men appear at the beginning of Nevil Shute's novel On the Beach, which left me close to tears. The endorsements on..

Akira Kurosawa's “Dreams”
A remarkable achievement
Rarely in cinema has the raw personal and symbolic power of dreaming been so effectively captured as in Akira Kurosawa's 1990 feature ... Kurosawa's late film beautifully evokes the short and often baffling nature of dreaming..

The Story of UNCLE VANYA
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Bizarrely Intriguing
'The Oath' ('Ghasam')

By Deborah Young
hollywoodreporter.com, 4/29/2019

A woman organizes a busload of relatives to testify against her sister’s presumed murderer in Mohsen Tanabandeh’s drama.

One of those curious tales that suddenly sheds light on the darker corners of Iranian society, Mohsen Tanabandeh’s The Oath (screening at the Fajr Film Festival) plunges the viewer into the drama of a feudal judicial system.

It starts with the premise of an eye for an eye (the hanging of a murderer) and then introduces the age-old custom of the victim’s family accepting a pay-off in blood money that would let the killer get off scot-free.

Alternatively, if the family lets up pressure on the judge, the murderer may never stand trial at all. Though the story never really takes a definite moral stand one way or the other, it has enough drama and vivid characters to find festival favor.

This is the second feature by writer-director Tanabandeh, who made his directing debut with the 2015 comedy Guinness but is better known as an actor whose credits include his award-winning role as the son Azim in Afghanistan’s Oscar submission, Rona, Azim’s Mother.

One could argue that The Oath is hardly less surreal than the men who have to ride turkeys in Guinness. But here the stakes are much higher, particularly for the stalwart heroine Razieh (Mahnaz Afshar), and there is little in the way of comic relief.

Almost the entire film takes place in the close confines of a large bus which Razieh has rented at her own expense. She has rustled up the passengers from her close family – cousins, uncles, aunts, nephews and nieces -- to swear in court that Razieh’s brother-in-law killed his young wife in a moment of jealousy, as was witnessed by two employees on the couple’s farm. What looks like an open-and-shut case is anything but, and if Razieh doesn’t get her crew to court by 9 a.m. the next morning, her sister's killer will go free. Cajoling and threatening the family, she keeps them aboard the bus and blocks various attempts at mutiny and backing down.

More quaintness: women can’t take the oath unless they are the victim’s next-of-kin, so a good number of femmes on the bus are just along for the ride; however, some men seem to be able to take the oath twice. Local audiences probably know the rules, but more clarity would have been appreciated for non-Iranian viewers. Another complication is the on-going feud between family members over unrelated issues, like a brother who accidentally ran over someone else’s dog.

As the bus, driven by a surly relative, winds its way through hairpin turns on misty country roads, the mysterious atmosphere thickens to perceptible danger. Razieh’s furious husband Khosro (Saeed Aghakani) is following them by car at a distance; he is lobbying for the life of his brother, the accused farm owner. Razieh shouts him down at a rest stop.

The story tends to run away from Tanabandeh at a certain point, becoming increasingly complicated and emotionally overwrought without offering the expected dramatic returns. The turning point comes with a police re-enactment of the crime which stuns everyone; then all concludes abruptly in an unexpected climax which stops short of being exciting.

In the main role, Afshar shows an avenger’s unwavering determination, for whom hanging her brother-in-law amounts to a religious duty. But such one-track motivation ends up making her less credible and sympathetic.

Visually the single-set film often lacks excitement, and though the mountainous landscape outside the bus eventually gives way to desert, there are no rewarding glimpses of their destination, the fabled pilgrimage city of Mashhad.

Cast: Mahnaz Afshar, Saeed Aghakhani, Hassan Pourshirazi, Mehran Ahmadi
Director-screenwriter: Mohsen Tanabandeh
Producers: Elham Ghafouri, Jalil Shabani
Director of photography: Touraj Astani
Production designer: Babak Panahi
Costume designer: Farahnaz Naderi
Editor: Khashayar Movahedian
Composer: Yahya Sepehr Shakib
Sales: Persia Film Distribution
Venue: Fajr Film Festival's Iranian Film Market
In Persian
85 minutes

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