Head of Programming at DIFF, Iraninan filmmaker Zohre Zamani, shared with Dhaka Tribune her top picks from the Iranian films screening this year
Showtime Desk
Publish : 14 Jan 2022, 09:51 PMUpdate : 20 Feb 2022, 12:33 PM
20th Dhaka International Film Festival, the biggest film festival in Bangladesh, began today with a grand opening ceremony at the National Museum in Shahbag. Among the 220 films from 70 countries to be screened at DIFF, 38 films are from Iran. Head of Programming at DIFF, Iraninan filmmaker Zohre Zamani, shared with Dhaka Tribune, her top picks from the Iranian films screening this year.
Botox
Section: Asian Competition
Iran,Canada|97mins |2020
Synopsis:
Akram and Azar two sisters lie about the disappearance of their brother by telling everyone he has fled to Germany. As time goes by, however, the “lie” turns into “reality” in Akram’s mind, so that she believes her brother will come back.
Filmmaker:
Kaveh Mazaheri earned his bachelor’s degree in railway engineering and has started filmmaking in 2005. He has made five short fiction films and more than twenty documentaries. One of his films named “Retouch” which became very successful in Iranian cinema history has won more than 80 international awards and was qualified at three academy awards qualifying film festivals such as Tribeca, Krakow and Palm Springs in 2017.Moreover, his last film “Funfair” was qualified for Academy Awards 2021. “Botox” is his first feature film.
Pedaran (Fathers)
Section: Asian Competition
Iran | 83mins | 2021
Synopsis:
Mani and Sina 19-year-olds have been friends for a long time. Sina has low self-esteem and is mentally dependent on Mani. In a car accident, Mani is killed and Sina is severely injured. At first, everyone thinks that Mani was behind the wheel because Sina is not certified. This incident provides the ground for the fathers of these two young men to take a step towards proving their claim, knowing more about their children and realizing their own negligence.
Filmmaker:
Salem Salavati was born in Kurdistan, Iran. He started his career in 1989 from Iranian Youth Cinema Society. He has directed 4 feature, was the director of photography for 4 features and of more than 30 short films. He has received more than 82 awards from the Iranian & international film festivals in different categories.
Yadoo
Section: Children’s Films
Iran |89mins |2020
Synopsis:
In the early months of the Iran-Iraq war the city of Abadan in southern Iran is surrounded by enemy forces. Yadoo and his mother, brother, and sister are among those who have nowhere to go. Their life is made very difficult by daily artillery attacks on the city, plus water and electricity outages, and lack of supplies. Yadoo tries to find a way out of this situation, to keep both his family and his town safe.
Filmmaker:
Mehdi Jafariwas born in 1969 in the city of Ahwaz.After the start of the Iran-Iraq war he relocated first to Isfahan, and then to Tehran. In 1994 he graduated from Tehran Art University with a degree in Film Directing, and from 1996 he began his professional career by directing short and documentary films. He has also been active in Iranian cinema as director of photography since 2003. Moreover, from 2015 to the present he has directed four feature films.
Cherikeh-e Bahram (Ballad of Bahram)
Section: Cinema of the World
Iran | 75mins | 2020
Synopsis:
Ballad of Bahram is a documentary about Bahram Beyzaei, Iranian Filmmaker &Theater Director & Screenwriter & Playwright.
Filmmaker:
Farshid Qolipour began his career as a theatre actor, director, and playwright in 1993, and he has performed in several plays, by the likes of August Strindberg, Anton Chekhov, Yasmina Reza, and Bahram Beizai. Since 2009 working as a filmmaker, he has produced fifteen short films and one movie. The documentary he made for Bahram Beizai is the first Iranian independent documentary about one of the leading figures of Iran’s theatre and cinema. Further, he has written and published several books on cinema, theatre, literature and philosophy.
Anahid
Section: Spiritualß
Iran| 49mins| 2020
Synopsis:
Anahid is the only Christian of the Muslim village(KhuyeganOlia) who has kept the village old church for years with his brother. The Muslim people of the village have always been by her side and helped her in life and church-related works.
Filmmaker:
HamidrezaAlipour Haji Agha has been active in cinema and television for the past 23years. He is an assistant director, planning director, producer, documentary maker, and more. He made two short films, one documentary. He also produced 3 documentaries and 1 short film. Alipour’s ‘Anahid’ has been the final candidate of the Human Prize Film Festival, and also the Tehran Film Festival.
Atabai
Section: Women filmmakers
Iran | 106mins | 2020
Synopsis:
Atabai is a middle-aged architect who’s been back from Tehran to his home village in Azerbaijan province. Due to his social class and ethnicity, he has gone through failure in love as a young university student. Since then, by bringing prosperity to his village, he has found respect and dignity among the ones who love him. Yet, his sister’s suicide after her forced marriage at the age of 15 keeps haunting him. He takes care of his nephew, Aidin and a garden as two precious legacies of his sister. Despite being busy and successful with his work, Atabai feels lonely and scared to find love again.
Filmmaker:
Niki Karimi is a self-thought visual artist best known for her works as filmmaker, writer, photographer, actress and producer. She worked with Abbas Kiarostami from 1996 to 2005 as his assistant, cameraperson and actress. In 2005 she made her directorial debut film entitled "One night" which was screened at Cannes Film Festival. Atabai is her fifth feature film which is selected at Cambridge, Asia Pacfic Screen Awards and Fajr Film Festival.
Maryam’s House
Section: Women filmmakers
Iran| 14mins | 2020
Synopsis:
Maryam is a 50-year-old woman who lives in her father’s house alone. She is the first child of the family and always took care of her little siblings. She also spent a lot of time for her parents when they were sick, however, after her parents’ death, everybody left her alone. In her childhood, her play mates were birds and cats, they were the only ones who remained with her. Now, Maryam’s house is a safe place for all animals which were hurt by humans in the city.
Filmmaker:
MahboobMolaei was born in 1991 in Bandar Anzali. She has a MA in Graphics. She is a graphist and a photographer. She has won awards such as First Prize of painting country in 2010. Then the First Prize of Short Film Festival Wetland Tulips Bandar Anzali.
Nahid
Section: spiritual
Iran |14mins|2020
Synopsis:
In the traditional and patriarchal society of Iran, women's photos are not allowed to be printed on death notices, but Nahid, looking for her lost historical identity, faces her family and herself with a new challenge.
Filmmaker:
SamadAlizadeh has been working in the field of cinema for about 10 years as an assistant director, photographer, editor, writer, and director. He has also been working in the field of social documentary and photography for 5 years and has received numerous awards from domestic festivals and has participated in international group exhibitions in Paris, and Scotland.
NaneMoghadas (Holy Bread)
Section: spiritual
Iran | 54 mins | 2020
Sypnosis:
Holy Bread is about the hard life of people who smuggle goods in order to support their families. Because of this they are forced to hike arduous mountains putting their lives on the line. The father of a household may be swept to his death by an avalanche, or hit by a soldier’s bullets.
Filmmaker:
Rahim Zabihi was born in Kurdistan, Iran. He is a Director and Screenwriter with 20 years of experience in cinema and performing arts. He has directed 17 short films, and has received various world awards. At the age of 47, he was murdered for an unknown reason.
The Last Breath
Section: spiritual
Iran | 60 mins | 2020
Synopsis: Lake Urmia was one of the largest salt lakes in the world. In recent years, as the lake has shrivelled, the region has lost most of its human population, a host of migratory birds, as well as numerous animals and plants that once covered its many variant islands. However, there are those who remain. On the dried outskirts of the silenced waves, in half-inhabited villages, old men and women have stayed, not abandoning the lake on its last days.
Filmmaker: Faraz Fadaian studied architecture from 2008 to 2011. He began his design career early in 2010 in architectural visualization as a professional CG artist. He is also passionate about landscape photography and documentary filmmaking.
10 Iranian films to watch at DIFF
Head of Programming at DIFF, Iraninan filmmaker Zohre Zamani, shared with Dhaka Tribune her top picks from the Iranian films screening this year
20th Dhaka International Film Festival, the biggest film festival in Bangladesh, began today with a grand opening ceremony at the National Museum in Shahbag. Among the 220 films from 70 countries to be screened at DIFF, 38 films are from Iran. Head of Programming at DIFF, Iraninan filmmaker Zohre Zamani, shared with Dhaka Tribune, her top picks from the Iranian films screening this year.
Botox
Section: Asian Competition
Iran,Canada|97mins |2020
Synopsis:
Akram and Azar two sisters lie about the disappearance of their brother by telling everyone he has fled to Germany. As time goes by, however, the “lie” turns into “reality” in Akram’s mind, so that she believes her brother will come back.
Filmmaker:
Kaveh Mazaheri earned his bachelor’s degree in railway engineering and has started filmmaking in 2005. He has made five short fiction films and more than twenty documentaries. One of his films named “Retouch” which became very successful in Iranian cinema history has won more than 80 international awards and was qualified at three academy awards qualifying film festivals such as Tribeca, Krakow and Palm Springs in 2017.Moreover, his last film “Funfair” was qualified for Academy Awards 2021. “Botox” is his first feature film.
Pedaran (Fathers)
Section: Asian Competition
Iran | 83mins | 2021
Synopsis:
Mani and Sina 19-year-olds have been friends for a long time. Sina has low self-esteem and is mentally dependent on Mani. In a car accident, Mani is killed and Sina is severely injured. At first, everyone thinks that Mani was behind the wheel because Sina is not certified. This incident provides the ground for the fathers of these two young men to take a step towards proving their claim, knowing more about their children and realizing their own negligence.
Filmmaker:
Salem Salavati was born in Kurdistan, Iran. He started his career in 1989 from Iranian Youth Cinema Society. He has directed 4 feature, was the director of photography for 4 features and of more than 30 short films. He has received more than 82 awards from the Iranian & international film festivals in different categories.
Yadoo
Section: Children’s Films
Iran |89mins |2020
Synopsis:
In the early months of the Iran-Iraq war the city of Abadan in southern Iran is surrounded by enemy forces. Yadoo and his mother, brother, and sister are among those who have nowhere to go. Their life is made very difficult by daily artillery attacks on the city, plus water and electricity outages, and lack of supplies. Yadoo tries to find a way out of this situation, to keep both his family and his town safe.
Filmmaker:
Mehdi Jafariwas born in 1969 in the city of Ahwaz.After the start of the Iran-Iraq war he relocated first to Isfahan, and then to Tehran. In 1994 he graduated from Tehran Art University with a degree in Film Directing, and from 1996 he began his professional career by directing short and documentary films. He has also been active in Iranian cinema as director of photography since 2003. Moreover, from 2015 to the present he has directed four feature films.
Cherikeh-e Bahram (Ballad of Bahram)
Section: Cinema of the World
Iran | 75mins | 2020
Synopsis:
Ballad of Bahram is a documentary about Bahram Beyzaei, Iranian Filmmaker &Theater Director & Screenwriter & Playwright.
Filmmaker:
Farshid Qolipour began his career as a theatre actor, director, and playwright in 1993, and he has performed in several plays, by the likes of August Strindberg, Anton Chekhov, Yasmina Reza, and Bahram Beizai. Since 2009 working as a filmmaker, he has produced fifteen short films and one movie. The documentary he made for Bahram Beizai is the first Iranian independent documentary about one of the leading figures of Iran’s theatre and cinema. Further, he has written and published several books on cinema, theatre, literature and philosophy.
Anahid
Section: Spiritualß
Iran| 49mins| 2020
Synopsis:
Anahid is the only Christian of the Muslim village(KhuyeganOlia) who has kept the village old church for years with his brother. The Muslim people of the village have always been by her side and helped her in life and church-related works.
Filmmaker:
HamidrezaAlipour Haji Agha has been active in cinema and television for the past 23years. He is an assistant director, planning director, producer, documentary maker, and more. He made two short films, one documentary. He also produced 3 documentaries and 1 short film. Alipour’s ‘Anahid’ has been the final candidate of the Human Prize Film Festival, and also the Tehran Film Festival.
Atabai
Section: Women filmmakers
Iran | 106mins | 2020
Synopsis:
Atabai is a middle-aged architect who’s been back from Tehran to his home village in Azerbaijan province. Due to his social class and ethnicity, he has gone through failure in love as a young university student. Since then, by bringing prosperity to his village, he has found respect and dignity among the ones who love him. Yet, his sister’s suicide after her forced marriage at the age of 15 keeps haunting him. He takes care of his nephew, Aidin and a garden as two precious legacies of his sister. Despite being busy and successful with his work, Atabai feels lonely and scared to find love again.
Filmmaker:
Niki Karimi is a self-thought visual artist best known for her works as filmmaker, writer, photographer, actress and producer. She worked with Abbas Kiarostami from 1996 to 2005 as his assistant, cameraperson and actress. In 2005 she made her directorial debut film entitled "One night" which was screened at Cannes Film Festival. Atabai is her fifth feature film which is selected at Cambridge, Asia Pacfic Screen Awards and Fajr Film Festival.
Maryam’s House
Section: Women filmmakers
Iran| 14mins | 2020
Synopsis:
Maryam is a 50-year-old woman who lives in her father’s house alone. She is the first child of the family and always took care of her little siblings. She also spent a lot of time for her parents when they were sick, however, after her parents’ death, everybody left her alone. In her childhood, her play mates were birds and cats, they were the only ones who remained with her. Now, Maryam’s house is a safe place for all animals which were hurt by humans in the city.
Filmmaker:
MahboobMolaei was born in 1991 in Bandar Anzali. She has a MA in Graphics. She is a graphist and a photographer. She has won awards such as First Prize of painting country in 2010. Then the First Prize of Short Film Festival Wetland Tulips Bandar Anzali.
Nahid
Section: spiritual
Iran |14mins|2020
Synopsis:
In the traditional and patriarchal society of Iran, women's photos are not allowed to be printed on death notices, but Nahid, looking for her lost historical identity, faces her family and herself with a new challenge.
Filmmaker:
SamadAlizadeh has been working in the field of cinema for about 10 years as an assistant director, photographer, editor, writer, and director. He has also been working in the field of social documentary and photography for 5 years and has received numerous awards from domestic festivals and has participated in international group exhibitions in Paris, and Scotland.
NaneMoghadas (Holy Bread)
Section: spiritual
Iran | 54 mins | 2020
Sypnosis:
Holy Bread is about the hard life of people who smuggle goods in order to support their families. Because of this they are forced to hike arduous mountains putting their lives on the line. The father of a household may be swept to his death by an avalanche, or hit by a soldier’s bullets.
Filmmaker:
Rahim Zabihi was born in Kurdistan, Iran. He is a Director and Screenwriter with 20 years of experience in cinema and performing arts. He has directed 17 short films, and has received various world awards. At the age of 47, he was murdered for an unknown reason.
The Last Breath
Section: spiritual
Iran | 60 mins | 2020
Synopsis:
Lake Urmia was one of the largest salt lakes in the world. In recent years, as the lake has shrivelled, the region has lost most of its human population, a host of migratory birds, as well as numerous animals and plants that once covered its many variant islands. However, there are those who remain. On the dried outskirts of the silenced waves, in half-inhabited villages, old men and women have stayed, not abandoning the lake on its last days.
Filmmaker:
Faraz Fadaian studied architecture from 2008 to 2011. He began his design career early in 2010 in architectural visualization as a professional CG artist. He is also passionate about landscape photography and documentary filmmaking.
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