July 17, 2021 Wolfgang Mozart (Austrian composer) The music is not in the notes, but in the silence in between.

8Arts & Culture

OPINION License Holder: Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) Managing Director: Touraj Shiralilou Editor-in-Chief: Kambakhsh Khalaji Editorial Dept. Tel: +98 21 88755761-2 ‘A Hero’ could bring Editorial Dept. Fax: +98 21 88761869 Subscription Dept. Tel: +98 21 88748800 ICPI Publisher: +98 21 88548892, 5 Advertising Dept. Tel & Email: +98 21 88500617 - [email protected] Asghar Farhadi to Oscars’ Website: www.irandaily.ir newspaper.irandaily.ir Email: [email protected] best director conversation Printing House: Iran Cultural & Press Institute Address: Iran Cultural & Press Institute, #208 Khorramshahr Avenue Tehran-Iran By Clayton Davis* Iran Daily has no responsibility whatsoever for the advertisements and promotional material printed in the newspaper. It shouldn’t be a shocker that an international feature from Asghar Farhadi has entered the awards conversation with the vivacious and flavorful ‘A Hero.’ How the Iranian filmmaker chooses to frame his stories has always been compelling, and it’s a quality that has been Tabriz submits documents to UNESCO overlooked by the Academy in his tenure. Perhaps, this could be his ticket to an overdue directing nomination. The film tells the story of Rahim (Amir Jadidi), who is in prison for a debt that he was unable to pay. During a two-day leave, an act of to be designated as City of Literature kindness provides Rahim with an opportunity to convince his credi- tor to withdraw the complaint so he can go free, but not everything goes as planned. ran submitted the dossier of its northwestern city The network was launched in 2004, and now has Farhadi, who serves of Tabriz, in Azarbaijan Province, to UNESCO, to member cities in seven creative fields. The other as the writer, direc- Ibe named as the City of Literature, said the mayor creative fields consist of crafts and folk arts, design, tor and producer of of Tabriz. film, gastronomy, media arts, and music. ‘A Hero,’ is one of the Iraj Shahin-Baher said on Friday that Tabriz is the The Cultural Commission and Islamic Council of most assured film- cradle of outstanding literary schools of thought, add- Tabriz previously ratified a plan to join the city to makers working in our ing that the city has been a meeting place for scientists, the network, he said, adding that UNESCO’s experts industry. He knows ex- poets and literary scholars, including Saeb, Shams, visited Tabriz Municipality and paved the ground for actly what type of films Mohammad Fozuli, Mohammad-Hossein Shahriar, the designation of the city to the organization’s list of he wants to create, and Parvin Etesami and Homam in the last 1,000 years. creative cities of literature. the Academy has re- Tabriz enjoys precious and vast capacity for global The mayor also expressed hope that finalizing the sponded with two Os- exchanges and it would be an honor to gain the desig- designation by UNESCO will bring good results for cars for his past inter- nation of UNESCO’s City of Literature, which is part the city in terms of cultural, tourism and economic VARIETY national submissions of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network (UCCN). fields. IRNA — ‘A Separation’ (2011) and ‘The Salesman’ (2016) — the former of which was also nominated for original screenplay. If Iran chooses to submit the Persian-language entry for the Academy Awards, he could Iran, China ink deal to expand be in line to win the third statue for his native land, which would put Kiarostami’s films to be screened him one short of the record held by Italian filmmaker Federico Fell- ini, who directed four winning movies during his lifetime. With the museum cooperation backing of a distributor like Amazon Studios putting muscle behind in Moscow festival the film, they could tap into the pocket of the Academy that loves a This museum is one story that explores themes like honor and redemption. All films made by legendary Iranian ative vision. It will run through July of the international However, a technical yet sad fact is that Farhadi is not an Oscar filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami will be 20. exhibition halls for winner. Though two of his past films — ‘A Separation’ (2011) and screened at a program named Retro- The second section will feature research on the origins ‘The Salesman’ (2016) — have both won for best international fea- spective at Garage Screen summer films that marked the beginning of of human civilization ture, per the Academy Awards rules, the award is not presented to a cinema in Russia’s capital Moscow. Kiarostami’s exploration of the na- and cultural exchang- specific individual, despite it typically being accepted by the film- ture of film and the moving image es between East and maker on stage. Instead, it’s considered an award for the submitting and their connection with physical West, Yuan said. country. If it weren’t for his surprising and deserving nomination for reality. It will be held from July 14 to ISNA He also reminded original screenplay in 2011, he still would be without a nomination. 24. that Peking Univer- This explains why a filmmaker like Alfonso Cuarón only has four The third section, slated for July 28 Arts & Culture Desk sity is the first university established in Chi- nominations for ‘Roma’ (2019) and not five, which would have been to August 7, will bring together the na with the purpose of studying the Chinese one short of the Walt Disney record of six. This rule also differs from best known films of Kiarostami, shot The National Museum of Iran and Peking civilization and to understand other civiliza- the BAFTA Awards, which gives the distinction to the producer and in the early and mid-1990s, which University in China signed a memorandum tions of the world. director. The Academy Board of Governors should consider amend- brought him international acclaim. of understanding to expand museum coop- “Although we live in East and West Asia ing the rules. The fourth section is focused on eration. and our meeting is only virtual, the desire So, what are the awards chances for ‘A Hero’ outside of the inter- Kiarostami’s first digital films – the The agreement was signed virtually with for understanding allows us to follow in the national feature category, if any? experimental works that naturally re- the head of the Iranian museum, Jebrael No- footsteps of our ancestors and move closer There have been 34 occurrences of filmmakers of non-English lan- animated the magic of classical cin- kandeh, and the Chinese university counsel- to each other so these countries’ ancient civ- guage films getting a best director nomination, beginning with Fellini ema in a new form. This section will or, Jian Yuan, in attendance, IRNA reported. ilizations will shine,” he noted. for ‘La Dolce Vita’ (1961). Since the expansion of the best picture slantmagazine.com run from August 18 to 25. The Chinese counselor considered China Nokandeh said, “The National Museum field in 2009, there have been six — Michael Haneke (‘Amour’), The fifth section of the retrospec- and Iran as the birthplaces of human civili- of Iran has expanded its ties with Chinese Cuarón (‘Roma’), Pawel Pawlikowski (‘Cold War’), Bong Joon- The retrospective consists of five tive, from August 28 to September 8, zation. institutions and museums, and by attending ho (‘Parasite’), Lee Isaac Chung (‘Minari’) and Thomas Vinterberg sections: ‘Before the Revolution,’ will present Kiarostami’s later films, “Although there is a great geographical two exhibitions of ‘The Splendor of Asia: (‘Another Round’). Pawlikowski and Vinterberg made their respec- ‘Dismantling the Fourth Wall,’ ‘In- shot in the late 2000s and early 2010s. distance between the two countries, since An Exhibition of Asian Civilizations,’ and tive lineups both without their films being nominated for best picture, ternational Recognition,’ ‘The Magic Kiarostami was the first Iranian di- ancient times, both countries have had close the ‘Longquan of the World: Longquan Ce- and another foreign language director alongside them. As Farhadi’s of the Digital,’ and ‘A Return to the rector to win a Palme d’Or at Cannes. exchanges along the Silk Road via land and ladon and Globalization,’ it has been able career continues to challenge itself in terms of scope and narrative New, ’according to garagemca.org. He is among the few turn-of-the- sea. And this created cultural and economic to take effective steps to strengthen cultural themes, ‘A Hero’ makes a compelling case for his first nomination for The first section of the program in- century filmmakers who were able exchanges, and the prosperity of Eastern cooperation.” director, even if the film may have a more laborious time making the cludes early shorts and features made to naturally capture the very spirit of and Western civilizations.” He added that the National Museum of wider field lineup. Better known as the “lone director,” we’ve seen in the 1970s, before the Islamic Revo- cinema – its unknowable nature and The National Museum of Iran has numerous Iran enjoys a huge treasure trove of archaeo- them multiple times in Oscar history with Pedro Almodóvar (‘Talk to lution – and Kiarostami’s personal deeply poetic, irrational relationship collections with strong research capabilities and logical findings and a great history in hold- Her’), Fernando Meirelles (‘City of God’) and Julian Schnabel (‘The revolution that transformed his cre- with reality and the human being. is highly rich in terms of Iranian civilization. ing exhibitions and conducting research. Diving Bell and the Butterfly’). Farhadi could join those ranks if it picks up enough traction. Jadidi, who plays the sentimental and intriguing Rahim, delivers, The world’s rarest stamp is returning to signer Stuart Weitzman. hands down, one of the best performances this year yet. Totally com- Britain permanently for the first time in World’s rarest stamp returns Its previous 12 owners include the mitted, Jadidi exercises a dynamic range of emotion and knows his 143 years. French government and the philanthro- sensibilities as an actor, and it’s something the acting branch would The British Guiana 1c Magenta pist John du Pont, whose murder of the be wise to consider for attention. However, as history has constantly (1856), which has been described as to Britain for first time in 143 years American Olympic gold medallist Da- shown, the one-inch subtitles tend to keep a distance between mem- “the Mona Lisa of the stamp world”, vid Schultz was the subject of the 2014 bers and their ballots. Even when ‘Parasite’ beat the 92-year odds to was bought for $8.3m (£6.2m) by the Stanley Gibbons, said: movie Foxcatcher. win best picture, the first foreign-language film to do so, it did it with- rare stamp dealer Stanley Gibbons at “The British Guiana 1c Since 1873, each of the former own- out any acting nominations. In AMPAS history, only six performanc- auction last month. Magenta really is the holy ers has marked the back of the stamp, es have won for being mostly or solely spoken in another language, For nearly a century and a half, the grail of philately. “It’s tru- starting with noted stamp collector and sadly, none of them were Farsi. I’ll always want to challenge the stamp has been held in collections ly one of a kind, and we’re Philipp von Ferrary. Academy to look beyond the confines of what’s easy and expose abroad, but it will now go on display at delighted to be welcoming The stamp is the only survivor of a themselves to different works, or ones they don’t typically seek out. the Stanley Gibbons flagship store in it back on to British soil small batch printed on the former British They might surprise themselves, and Jadidi is an invigorating turn central London. Gibbons said gram for where we hope it will re- colony British Guiana – now the nation that will move viewers if given a chance. gram, the stamp is thought to be the most main. of Guyana – in 1856 after a ship from The original screenplay could prove to be more difficult to navi- valuable manufactured item in the world, “In the coming weeks England that was thought to be deliver- gate at 50,000 feet and a guaranteed 10 best picture nominees ahead. about 2.5m times more valuable than we look forward to an- ing 50,000 stamps arrived carrying only In the two years of the guaranteed 10, ‘The Messenger’ (2009) and 24-carat gold, theguardian.com wrote. nouncing bold plans, 5,000. ‘Another Year’ (2010) found their way into the field, and sliding scale Security surrounding the stamp is which will allow everyone The postmaster ETE Dalton autho- years offered enough wiggle room, including Farhadi himself. tight. It will be flown into Heathrow and to own their own piece rised the publishers of the Royal Gazette ‘A Hero’ making its bow in Cannes is a good start, and we’ll see met by an armoured truck, before being of its marvellous history. newspaper to carry out a small print-run how the rest of the fall festivals shakeup, especially if it makes stops driven to the showroom, where it will be JILL MEAD/theguardian.com This isn’t just for wealthy of stamps, ordering each stamp to be at prestigious awards jump-offs like Venice and Telluride. Then, stored in a vault before going on display collectors. We are devel- signed off by a clerk to prevent forgery. we’ll see where it all lands with Oscar. in a specially commissioned, zero-oxy- “we give and expect in return”. oping a pricing model that will allow It is understood the surviving stamp gen frame. The merchant said it is drawing up anyone to join the club and look forward was used to deliver a newspaper that lay *Clayton Davis is Variety’s Film Awards Editor. Davis also founded The octagonal stamp, printed in black plans to make the stamp available to to announcing more details soon.” forgotten until 1873 when it was found and is president of the Latino Entertainment Journalists Association, on magenta paper and measuring 29 x collectors through a shared-ownership The stamp was previously on display by a 12-year-old Scottish schoolboy, and is a board and active member of the Critics Choice Association. 26 mm, features a three-masted sailing scheme, suggesting shares in major at the Smithsonian National Stamp Mu- Louis Vernon Vaughan, among his un- In addition, he’s also a member of AAFCA, HCA and NYFCO. ship, as well as the motto “Damus Peti- paintings can sell for as little as £20. seum in Washington DC, on loan from cle’s papers, Gibbons said. He sold it for mus Que Vicissim” which translates to Graham Shircore, chief executive of its former owner, the American shoe de- six shillings to a local collector.