24 — 30 MAY 2018 IRANIAN FILM FESTIVAL Kino Kosmos ZURICH Lagerstrasse 104 8004 Zürich www.kosmos.ch . IRANIAN4 FILM FESTIVAL ZURICH PROGRAM WWW.IRANIANFILMFESTIVAL.CH TABLE OF CONTENTS

HONORING MAHTAB KERAMATI 6 8 PAST WINNERS 9

IN COMPETITION MAJAN 10 ISRAFIL 11 WAITING FOR KIAROSTAMI 12 ALI AQA 13 WHEN I BECAME A BUTTERFLY 14 SEARING SUMMER 15 BRIDGE OF SLEEP 16 ANONYMITY 17 ASPHYXIA 18 PARIS 22 DOGS & FOOLS 23 KUPAL 24

OUT OF COMPETITION SUBDUED 25 A DYING KING 26 NO DATE, NO SIGNATURE 27 ALONE THROUGH 28 PANEL DISCUSSION PREJUDICES AND TRUST IN OUR WORLD 29

SPECIAL SCREENING MALARIA 30

JURY JURY MEMBERS 32/33

TEAM FILM FESTIVAL TEAM 34/35 COOPERATION 35

TIMETABLE 38/39

2 Liebe Gäste des Iranian Film Festival Zürich

Es ist bereits das vierte Mal, dass das Iranische Film Festival dem Zürcher Publikum eine sorgfältig ausgewählte Kostprobe des iranischen Filmschaffens präsentiert. Das Festival ist aber mehr als ein Filmfest. Es gründet im Wunsch nach kultureller Verständigung und einem verstärkten Austausch zwischen der iranischen und der schweizerischen Kultur. Es bedient sich dafür der universellen Sprache des Films und schlägt damit eine Brücke zwischen den Kulturen.

Die bisherige Entwicklung des Iranischen Film Festivals spricht eine deutliche Sprache und zeigt das Potenzial des Anlasses. Die von Jahr zu Jahr steigenden Besuchszahlen belegen das Interesse der Zürcherinnen und Zürcher am iranischen Film und an der iranischen Kultur. Auch örtlich bleibt das Festival am Puls der Kinostadt Zürich. Nach dem Stüssihof und dem Houdini in den Vorjahren findet es dieses Jahr im neuen Kosmos an der Europaallee statt. Die Filmauswahl für die diesjährige Austragung ist erneut vielversprechend. Der gute Draht der Macherinnen und Macher des Festivals direkt zu den iranischen Filmschaffenden und die grosse Erfahrung der Programmkommission zahlen sich aus, zugunsten des Publikums hier in Zürich.

Ich danke den Organisatorinnen und Organisatoren des Iranian Film Festival Zurich für ihr hohes Engagement für die Filmstadt Zürich. Ich wünsche dem Festival für seine vierte Austragung viel Erfolg und Ihnen, liebe Gäste, viel Vergnügen und spannende Einblicke in das iranische Filmschaffen.

Corine Mauch, Stadtpräsidentin

3 WILLKOMMEN WELCOME BIENVENUE خوش آمدید Yadolah Dodge Artistic & Managing Director, IFFZ

The Iranian Film Festival in Zurich (IFFZ) aims These films have been selected from interna- to fill the cultural gap between Iranians and tional film festivals such as Berlinale, Busan, Swiss as well as the many other nationalities Cannes, Venice, Fajr Film Festival and many living in Switzerland. Each year the festival others. presents a selection of the best contempo- rary feature films and documentaries from The festival opens with «Majan», in presence all generations of Iranian filmmakers. The of the actress Mahtab Keramati, appointed IFFZ understands itself as a platform for the UNICEF National Ambassador of Iran in 2006. presentation of different facets of the Iranian culture and its traditions. It aims at building The festival also pays homage to Levon Haftvon, a bridge between different cultures by the the Iranian actor - director who passed away in means of the universal language of art - and March 2018, by showing his last film «Kupal». especially the 7th art, cinema. The IFFZ is a unique cultural event with 17 art The 2018 edition of the Iranian Film Festival features and documentaries in the heart of is dedicated to films on issues of family prob- Zurich. The films are subtitled in English. lems and love, and matters related to and around the globe such as sacrifice, love and honor. The festival presents out- standing films made between 2016 and 2018 by Iranian filmmakers from anywhere in the world and films about Iran from filmmakers of other nations.

Award Ceremony Film

Please save the date on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 in Kosmos Kino 1 for the closing film No Date No Signature, winner of Best Director, and Best actor of the Venice Film Festival 2017.

4 HONORING

Homage and Honorary Golden Cylinder for MAHTAB KERAMATI

5 HONORING

MAHTAB KERAMATI

The UNICEF National Ambassador Mahtab Head Of International Jury Keramati was born in Tehran, Iran in 1970. – 15th Dhaka International Film Festival 2016 She was taking acting courses when she was – Batumi International Arthouse Film Festival chosen for the role of Helen in The Men of 2016 (BIAFF) Angelos, which won her national recognition. – Festival Arbitration of AIDS She later went on to appear in films such as – Khorshid Independent Short Film Festival Mummy III and Rain Man for which she was – 26th International Children & nominated for a Fajr International Film Festival Young Adults Film 2013 Crystal Simorgh. She then appeared in dramas – 30th International Children & such as Saint Mary and Crimson Soiland Young Adults Film(UNICEF section) 2017 the films Hell, Purgatory, Heaven, There Are – New Look 34th Fajr Film Festival Things You Don‘t Know, Alzheimer and The – Songhour Local Photo Festival Private Life of Mr. and Mrs. M.. She won a Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress in a Sup- porting Role for Twenty. In 2015 winner Best Actor Award Imagineindia Film Festival. She was also featured in Dhaka Film Festival Jury.

6 HONORING

Filmography

2007: Hidden Sense ( Hess – e Penhan ) 2011: Absolutely Tame Is a Horse

2007: Reward of Silence ( Padashe Sokoot ) (Asb Heyvane Najibist)

2007: Adam 2012: The Private Life of Mr. & Mrs. M

2008: The Green Fire ( Atash – e – Sabz ) (Zendeghie Khosoosi Agha va Khanoom)

2008: Shirin 2012: Azar

2009: The Uncertainty ( Tardid) 2012: Resurrection ( Rastakhiz)

2009: Women are Angels (Zanha Freshtehand) 2013: Fourth Child ( Farzande Chaharom)

2009: Hell , Purgatory , Paradise 2014: Inadvertent ( Na’khaasteh)

(Doozakh , Barzakh , Behesht) 2014: Ghosts ( Ashbah )

2009: Twenty (Bist) 2014: Jamehdaran

2010: Day and Night (Shabane Rooz) 2014: Arghavan

2010: Creed (Adamkosh) 2015: Mazar – e – Sharif

2011: Alzheimer 2015: Ice Age ( Asr e Yakhbandan )

2011: There Are Things You Don’t Know 2016: August ( Mordad )

(Chizhaei Hast Ke Nemidani) 2017: Majan

7 HONORING

DARIUSH MEHRJUI

Life Dariush Mehrjui, born on 8 December 1939 Iran. His film The Pear Tree (1999) has been in Tehran, is an Iranian director, screenwriter, hailed as the apotheosis of the director‘s producer, film editor and a member of the examination of the Iranian bourgeoisie. Iranian Academy of the Arts. Since his film The Cow in 1969, Mehrjui, Mehrjui was a founding member of the Irani- along with Nasser Taqvai and Masoud Kimiai, an New Wave movement of the early 1970s. has been instrumental in paving the way for His second film, Gaav, is considered to be the Iranian cinematic renaissance, so called the first film of this movement, which also the „.“ included Masoud Kimiai and Nasser Taqvai. Most of his films are inspired by literature and Mehrjui has received 49 national and internati- adapted from Iranian and foreign novels and onal awards including: plays. Modern Iranian cinema begins with Dariush Mehrjui. Mehrjui introduced realism, symbolism, and the sensibilities of art cinema. His films have some resemblance with those Awards of Rosselini, De Sica and Satyajit Ray, but he – Golden Seashell, San Sebastián also added something distinctively Iranian, International Film Festival 1993. in the process starting one of the greatest – Silver Hugo, Chicago International modern film waves. The one constant in Film Festival 1998. Mehrjui‘s work has been his attention to the – Crystal Simorgh, Fajr Film Festival 2004. discontents of contemporary, primarily urban, – Honory Golden Cyrus Cylinder 2017, IFFZ

8 AWARDS

PAST WINNERS

Reza Dormishian Behnam Behzadi Born in 1981 in Tehran, Reza Dormishian has Behnam Behzadi was born in 1972 in Boro- studied English Language and then he was ujen, Iran and obtained a diploma in cinema involved in film journalism. He was an as- from the faculty of “Seda & Cima” in Tehran sistant to some prestigious Iranian filmmakers in1995. Over the past few years he’s written like Dariush Mehrjui and Alireza Davoudnejad scripts, worked in editing and collaborated and he’s also been credited as a scriptwriter with various scriptwriters including Bahman for some films and TV productions. Reza Ghobadi with whom he was co-script writer Dormishian started making short films since for the film ‘Nive mang/Half Moon’. 2002 and Hatred is his first feature film, fully Born in 1972, Behnam Behzadi graduated produced independently in Istanbul. in film-making in 1997. After making some programs for TV, his first short film RETALIA- TION gained an international success, winning the second prize of FIPA 2000 in France.

Golden Cyrus Cylinder Golden Cyrus Cylinder for for

Best Director Best Director for the feature film for the feature film «Lantouri», 2016 «Inversion», 2017

9 IN COMPETITION

English title: Majan Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 95 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English European premiere

Screenplay: Leila Larijani MAJAN Director of Photography: ماجان Mohammad Aladpoosh Editor: Nazanin Mofkham RAHMAN SEIFI AZAD Sound: Saeed Bojnourdi Producer: Moloud and Hashem have an argument about the care of their Mohammad Mehdi Asgarpour son Ehsan, who is ill. Against the will of Moloud, Hashem has sent their son to a sanatorium. Moloud goes through an Cast: enormous crisis until Hashem decides to divorce her. Hashem Mahtab Keramati wants to remarry but the prospective second wife refuses Farhad Aslani Hashem because she is afraid of having an ill child, too. Sima Tirandaz Hashem gets more and more mentally unstable, to the point Babak Ansari that he loses his job. To get rid of his son Ehsan, he looks for Mohammad Mahdi Ahadi someone to kidnap him and to take him to a sanatorium. Erfan Barzin But then, something unexpected happens. Sara Mirayi Director Rahman Seifi Azad was born in 1972 in Tehran. Script writer of the film Story of Fairies, I am a Mother, Sleeplessness. Producer of the film Sleeplessness. Writer of the series Last Sin, The Secret Government. Producer of the plays Goes to See, Our Dear; producer and director of the plays Children‘s Debris, Bitter stories of the Countryside, A Party in Hell and Rumors.

Public Screenings: Thursday, May 24, 20:15, Kino 1 Sunday, May 27, 16:30, Kino 3

10 IN COMPETITION

English title: Israfil Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 100 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English

Screenplay: ISRAFIL Arsalan Amiri Ida Panahandeh :Director of Photography فی Morteza Gheidi اسرا ل IDA PANAHANDEH Editor: Hayedeh Safiyari Sound: Jahangir Mirshekari Mahi is a widow mourning the death of her only son. One Mehdi Ebrahimzadeh day she bumps into Behrooz, her teenage sweetheart, who Music: Majid Pousti had left Iran following the scandal around his relationship with Production company: her. Despite their families‘ objections, the previous relati- Avaye Nafas Studio onship begins to re-assert itself. Mahi, however, finds out that Behrooz is emotionally involved with a young woman, Cast: Sara, who in turn learns of her fiancé’s previous love. Sara is Hedieh Tehrani now in two minds about marrying Behrooz and emigrating to Pejman Bazeghi Canada. On the horns of these emotional entanglements, the Hoda Zeinolabedin three characters have to make decisions not only about their emotions, but also about their future lives. Pouria Rahimi Sam

Director Ida Panahandeh was born in Tehran, Iran in 1979. She obtained a degree in Film Photography in 2002 and a master in Film Direction in 2005, both from the Arts . Her first feature, Nahid, won her worldwide acclaim.

Public Screenings: Sunday, May 27, 20:30, Kino 3 Tuesday, May 29, 18:15, Kino 3

11 IN COMPETITION

English title: Waiting for Kiarostami Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: USA, 2017 Length: 86 min Language: Farsi, English Subtitles: English European premiere

Screenplay: Hossein Khandan WAITING FOR Director of Photography: ستم ک Joshua Linder, Dave Marco KIAROSTAMI کیار ی ی میاد Editor: Hossein Khandan HOSSEIN KHANDAN Music: Jamie Craig Pouya Pourtahamsbi Inspired by real events, «Waiting for Kiarostami» focuses on Sound: Behrouz Moaveniyan the life of a medical student at Ningbo University in China Producer: who has to choose between her father’s wish for her to be- Randy Williams come a doctor, and her own passion to become a singer and an actress. Dorsa‘s mother shares her daughter‘s passion for Cast: acting and the arts and is unconditionally on her side. When Homayoun Ershadi Hossein Khandan nominates Dorsa to play the leading role in Ana Bayat ’s next film slated to shoot in China, Dorsa‘s Dorsa Sinaki mom becomes her acting coach. Her father continues to Randy Williams oppose his daughter‘s involvement in anything other than her Ding Wen Qing studies. Dorsa faces some challenges in her quest to find a balance between her true passion and her family life.

Director Hossein Khandan was born 1960 in Iran. The writer and award-winning Iranian- American director has made five feature length documentaries and docu-dramas and 15 short films. «Silky Eloquence», one of his short films, got the 2nd award at Farhang Foundation Film Festival.

Public Screenings: Friday, May 25, 14:30, Kino 3 Monday, May 28, 18:30, Kino 3

12 IN COMPETITION

English title: Ali Aqa Genre: Documentary Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 82 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English European premiere

Screenplay: ALI AQA Kamran Heidari Director of Photography: Kamran Heidari عل HEIDARI Editor: Kamran Heidari ی آاقKAMRAN Sound: Ali Farmani There are some men in Iran who have a penchant for raising Music: Kamyar Behbahani pigeons. In Persian slang, they are known as «Love Guys». Production company: The story of Ali Aqa (Mr. Ali) revolves around one such guy Endjavi Barbe Art Projects who has been a professional pigeon keeper for nearly 50 years in an old neighbourhood in Shiraz. He is an old man Cast: now and he cannot look after his birds as he used to. As a Mr. Ali result, his pigeons have fallen sick or dead, and this has led Mr. Ali‘s family to be against keeping the birds and to try to make him sell them. Mr. Ali doesn’t want to accept that his time as well as his old love for these birds is coming to an end. He is constantly fighting everybody around him to try to save his birds.

Director Kamran Heidari was born in Gachsaran near Shiraz in 1977. After receiving his Diploma, he started making films and attended classes for making documentary films for 5 years. All his documentaries and photos are about people from Shiraz (Fars province) and the south of Iran.

Public Screenings: Friday, May 25, 16:30, Kino 3 Sunday, May 28, 18:30, Kino 3

13 IN COMPETITION

English title: When I became a butterfly Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 89 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English European Premiere

Screenplay: Arash Zaare WHEN I BECAME Mehrdad Jafarian قت Director of Photography: A BUTTERFLY و ی رپواهن شدم Farshad Golsefidi ARASH ZAARE Editor: Sheiban Khaghani Music: Ahmad Mir Masoumi A simple, but kind woman leads a hard, unsatisfactory life Producer: with her husband. After unintentionally causing her hus- Mehrdad Jafarian band‘s death, she begins a new life with his dead body…

Cast: Director Born in 1985 in Esfahan, Iran. He graduated from Esfahan Arash Asefi University with an MBA. He embarked on a cinema career Hossein Heshmati as a scriptwriter in 2009 and has since collaborated to many TV series and films. In 2014 he started directing short films such as „Gladiolus“, which was presented at the Berlin Film Festival 2015 in the section Black International Cinema. „Khorshid“ was presented at the Iranian Film Festival San Francisco and at AOF in the USA in 2016.

Public Screenings: PublicMonday, Screenings: May 28, 20:30, Kino 3 Friday,Tuesday, June May 2 29,2017, 16:00, 18:50, Kino Kino 3 3 Sunday, June 4 2017, 21:10, Kino 3

14 Monday, June 5 2017, 16:30, Kino 3 IN COMPETITION

English title: Searing summer Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of Production: Iran, 2017 Length: 83 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English

Screenplay: SEARING SUMMER Payam Karami Director of Photography: Hooman Behmanesh IRAJZAD Sound: Dariush Sadeghpour اتبستان EBRAHIMداغ Mahmoud Kashani Nasrin wants to divorce her husband, but knows she won‘t Editor: Sohrab Khosravi be able to get custody of her six-year-old daughter if she Music: Hamed Sabet does. So, unbeknown to her husband, she and her daughter Producer: move to another part of town where Nasrin finds a job at a Javad Norouzbeigi hospital crèche. One day, her husband catches up with her Production Company: and their lives take an unexpected turn. Ghabe Aseman Institute

Director Cast: Ebrahim Irajzad was born on July 19th 1981 in Mashhad, Iran. He directed a series of short films that gained both national and international success. His 2012 short, «A Few Kilometers Away», was selected for the Rotterdam Yasna Mirtahmasb International Film Festival, amongst others. His first feature, Saber Abar «Searing Summer», was selected for the competition secti- on of the 35th Fajr Film Festival. After having set the record for the highest number of award nominations, it went on to receive the Crystal Phoenix for best Director of Photography and editing.

Public Screenings: Saturday, May 26, 20:30, Kino 3 Monday, May 28, 14:30, Kino 3

15 IN COMPETITION

English title: Bridge of Sleep Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2016 Length: 93 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English European premiere

Screenplay: Oktay Baraheni BRIDGE OF SLEEP Director of Photography: پ خ Peyman Shadmanfar BARAHENI ل وابEditor: Sepideh Abdolvahab OKTAY Music: Mazyar Younesi Sound: Rashid Daneshmand Shahab, who is about to get married, enters a business deal Producer: Jahangir Kosari with his friend in order to improve his financial situation. However, he loses all his money and finds himself in financial Cast: hardship. Creditors chase him after he fails to repay the high Saed Soheili interest rates he owes on the loan. His dad, a high school Anahita Afshar teacher, tries to help him, but his fiancé puts pressure on him. Houman Seyedi As a result, Shahab decides to do something very unusual.

Director Oktay Baraheni, was born in Iran. He studied film at York University in Toronto, and went on to Liaison of Independent Filmmakers of Toronto (LIFT) as an actor. Returned to Iran and worked as a producer, screenwriter, director, film critic and journalist. His filmmaking career includes short films such as «The Sofa», «The Groom», and «To the Butterflies» and the Screenplay for «Lavasan». «Bridge of Sleep» is the debut feature he wrote and directed in 2016.

Public Screenings: Saturday, May 26, 18:30, Kino 3 Monday, May 28, 16:30, Kino 3

16 IN COMPETITION

English title: Anonymity Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2016 Length: 82 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English European premiere

Screenplay: ANONYMITY Alireza Samadi Farhad Mohandespour :Director of Photography ب م SAMADI Amin Jafari ی ان یALIREZA Editor: Khashayar Movahedian A few days before his 40th birthday, Amir lives through a Sodabeh Saeidnia few events that disturb his life and eventually lead him into Music: Mehrdad Mirzaee a state of confusion and uncertainty. This identity crisis is Sound: Ali Zolfaghari the inception of his hardship. Alireza Alavian Producer: Majid Rezabala Director Alireza Samadi was born in 1989 in Iran. He acquired an MA Cast: in Dramatic Literature. He made some short and documen- Baran Kousari tary films for TV.« Anonymity» is his debut feature film. Hassan Ma‘ajouni Shahrouz Delafkar

Public Screenings: Friday, May 25, 22:30, Kino 3 Saturday, May 26, 16:30, Kino 3

17 IN COMPETITION

English title: Asphyxia Genre: Fiction, Thriller Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 110 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English Swiss premiere

Screenplay: Fereydoun Jeyrani ASPHYXIA Director of Photography: الک قرمز خ Masoud Salami JEYRANI فگیEditor: Bahram Dehghan FEREYDOUN Music: Karen Homayounfar Sound: Dariush Sadeghpour Massoud Sazgar admits his wife Nasim to a mental institu- Producer: tion because she suffers from a severe neurotic disorder Fereydoun Jeyrani which gets worse day after day. In the asylum, nurse Sahra takes care of the disturbed woman and quickly discovers Cast: that something is wrong with Massoud. But just like Nasim, Elnaz Shakerdoust Sahra soon gets under the man’s influence. Navid Mohammadzadeh Mahaya Petrosian Director Pardis Ahmadieh Born in 1951 in Kashmar, Iran. He graduated in economy. Poulad Kimiaei Jeyrani has worked as a film director, screenwriter and tele- Parviz Pourhossein vision presenter. He was director, producer and host of a television show about Iranian cinema called «Seven».

Public Screenings: Public Screenings: Monday, June 5 2017, 12:00, RiffraffTuesday, 1 May 29, 20:30, Kino 3 Wednesday, May 30, 16:00, Kino 3

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Ins_Iranische_Filmfestival_148x210_DE_V03.indd 1 04.04.18 10:24 The IFFZ Intro

The Intro of the Iranian Film Festival is his creation based on story told by Yadolah Dodge. “Far far away from a universe, a comet is being attracted to the planet earth with some wise messages. The earth was dark. When the comet reached the earth, light came back to earth and plants and flowers grew every­where. The comet is called The Cyrus Cylinder. Sepehr Ali Mohammad lou was born in 27 March 1973 in Tehran. He obtianed his diploma in graphic and a B.A. in philosophy. He is a painter, and a filmmaker and had many painting exhibition. Among his work in animation one can mention a feature film “Tale of Greed”.

20 The IFFZ Trophy

Known as the first declaration of Human Rights, the Cyrus Cylinder contains text in Babylonian cuneiform. It speaks about Cyrus, king of Persia (559 - 530 BC) and his conquest of Babylon in 539 BC. With this declaration Cyrus made a friend- ly bridge between the people of Babylon and Persia.

Ehsan Tabasi was born in The inscription on the cylinder speaks of Cyrus’ promotion of March 1984. He created the religious, racial, and linguistic freedom and his permission to Golden Cyrus Cylinder Tro- those deported by the Babylonians to return to their home- phy by using the exact copy lands. It extols Cyrus as a benefactor of the citizens of Baby- which can be found in the lonia who improved their lives, and restored temples and cult United Nation Headquarter. sanctuaries across Mesopotamia and elsewhere in the region. He lives in Tehran where Some segments of the text say: he continues his work as trophy and medal maker for “I will never let anyone take possession of movable and national and international landed properties of the others by force or without compensa- firms. tion. While I am alive, I prevent unpaid, forced labor. Today, I announce that everyone is free to choose a religion. People are free to live in all regions and take up a job provided that they never violate other’s rights.”

Source: ancient-origins.net, translation obtained from Gresham College, England

21 IN COMPETITION

English Title: Paris Tehran Genre: Fiction, Comedy Country and year of production: Iran, 2016 Length: 79 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English European premiere

Screenplay: Kaveh Oveisi PARIS TEHRAN Director of Photography: ی ته Ali Asadollahi پارOVEISI س رانEditor: Arash khazaei KAVEH Sound: Nader Rezaei Producer: Mehdi Kouhiyan Aida, a 35-year-old Iranian girl living in Paris, returns to Nader Rezaei, Kaveh Oveisi Tehran after a few years to receive a sperm donation from an Iranian boy, based on their past agreement. Shortly after Cast: arriving at Tehran, however, he ditches her and disappears. Nastaran Picano Aida and her friend Berkeh try to find a new suitable dona- Azadeh Movahed Bashiri tor, but this turns out to more difficult than expected. Peyman Goly Ebrahim Azizi Milad Ordoubadi Director Rahman Pouladiyan Oveisi was born in 1979 in Iran. He has made more than 10 Samrand Maroufi short films and produced trailers for famous film companies. Rastin Farahani From 2007 to 2008, he participated in Abbas Kiarostami‘s Mohammadreza Najafi workshops, where he directed some short films and pro- Sara Athari duced a play. At present he works as a lecturer at the Elmi Kalbordi Tehran Art University.

Public Screenings: Thursday, May 24, 14:30, Kino 3 Saturday, May 26, 22:30, Kino 3

22 IN COMPETITION

English title: Dogs & Fools Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 76 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English European premiere

Screenplay: DOGS & FOOLS Ali Mohammad Ghasemi Director of Photography: Ali Mohammad Ghasemi وارونگی GHASEMI Editor: Ali Mohammad سگاه وMOHAMMAD آدمALIها Ghasemi On the mountainous, wooded and foggy heights in the north Sound: Behrouz Shahamat of Iran, a big mistake disrupts a love story. Families fall apart Producer: and the older generation cannot help the younger one. Ali Mohammad Ghasemi The old are disappointed with life, confined to their homes and in pain, whereas the young, inexperienced and wild, Cast: seek a new way of life. The price at which expiation can be Mahmoud Nazaralian granted is loss, destruction and insanity. Peyman Moghadami Asieh Bakhshizad Director Nathalie Alonso Casale Born in 1970 in Malayer, Iran. His short films have been Amir Shokrgozar selected in festivals like Cannes, Venice and Berlin. He was awarded more than 100 prizes at national and international festivals for his short fiction and documentary films. In 2005 he made his first fiction film «Writing on the Earth», which was selected in the same year by Venice Film Festival and many other festivals around the world.

Public Screenings: Thursday, May 24, 18:30, Kino 3 Wednesday, May 30, 18:30, Kino 3

23 IN COMPETITION

English title: Kupal Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 81 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English

Screenplay: Kazem Mollaie KUPAL Director of Photography: Majid Gorjian MOLLAIE کوپالEditor: Emad Khodabakhsh KAZEM Kazem Mollaie Sound: Hamed Samadzadeh Dr. Ahmad Kupal is a 50 year-old hunter and a taxidermist. Music: Babak Mirzakhani Recently, his wife Firoozeh has left him because of his job. Producer: She only will return to him under one condition: that Kupal Siamak Kashef Azar chucks his beloved dog Haiku and all the other taxidermied animals out of the house. Moments before the New Year, Cast: Kupal and his dog get trapped in the big taxidermy workshop Levon Haftvan in the basement of the house and struggle with death for a Nazanin Farahani week. He tries to battle thirst and hunger in his own special Pouria Rahimi Sam way in order to survive. Hossein Shamsabadi Vahan Salimzadeh Director Mojtaba Alizadeh Born on 21 September 1981 in Sabzevar, Iran, Mollaie is a member of the Iranian Young Cinema Society (IYCS) since 1998. He has a B.Sc. in Cinema Directing from Sooreh University of Tehran. He made many short films; Kupal is his first film narrative fearure.

Sadly Levon Haftvon (1966*) passed away in March 10, 2018.

Public Screenings: Thursday, May 24, 16:30, Kino 3 Sunday, May 27, 14:30, Kino 3

24 OUT OF COMPETITION

English title: Subdued Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 104 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English

Screenplay: SUBDUED Masoumeh Bayat Director of Photography: Farshad Mohammadi نفس NEMATOLLAH Editor: Mehdi Saadi رگ خوابHAMID Music: Sohrab Poornazeri Mina is recently divorced from her drug addict husband. Producer: Hamid Nematollah With her mother deceased and estranged from her father, Production company: she leads an independent life. After finding a job in a restau- Hamid Nematollah Production rant she strikes up a friendship with its attentive manager. She starts having feelings she has never before experienced. Cast: These feelings, eventually shared, are shaken when the ma- nager begins to distance himself from her. Thus commences Kourosh Tahami a tumultuous emotional journey. Elham Korda Leila Mousavi Director Bamdad Nematollah Born in 1967, Hamid Nematollah worked as an assistant director from 1993 until 1997. In 1996 he started writing for television and working on TV commercials. His series, «White Alarm», remains one of the most popular television events in recent Iranian history.

Public Screenings: Saturday, May 26, 14:00, Kino 3 Sunday, May 27, 12:00, Kino 3

25 OUT OF COMPETITION

English title: A Dying King Genre: Documentary Country and year of production: USA, 2017 Length: 85 min Language: Farsi, English Subtitles: English European Premiere

Screenplay: Bobak Kalhor A DYING KING Director of Photography: Amir Motlagh شاهی ردKALHOR حال مBOBAKرگ Editor: Shahin Shafaei ازدواج با عشق در کابل Music: Anonymous Producer: Bobak Kalhor An exposé of the last King of Iran’s medical story and the events that led to his downfall, «A dying King» voices the Interviews: puzzling mystery that changed the future history of the Leon Morgenstern Middle East and the world. Jorge Cervantes Morton Coleman Director Amir Aslan Afshar Born in Tehran, Iran, Bobak arrived in the United States Lynn Boyd Judson in 1976. After graduating from California State University Gaspar Garcia de Parades Northridge on a soccer scholarship, Bobak established Jerry Berlin K2 Investments. Beginning in 2008, Bobak produced and Iraj Shaham hosted radio programming in Los Angeles, concentrating Manouchehr Ganji on financial topics. Then, in June 2009, the Iranian Green Abbas Safavian Revolution began and Bobak knew he would have to open Ardeshir Zahedi up his show to become a platform for Iran’s politics and Björn Thorbjarnarson world affairs. This renewed spirit in his home country led Bobak to begin development on the documentary film «A dying King», chronicling the shah’s health care right up to his death. Currently living in Los Angeles, Bobak leads his commercial investment and media production companies.

Public Screenings: Friday, May 25, 20:30, Kino 3

26 OUT OF COMPETITION

English title: No Date, No Signature Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2017 Length: 104 min Language: Farsi Subtitles: English

Screenplay: NO DATE, Ali Zarnegar, :Director of Photography بدون اترخی بدون امضاع Peyman Shadmanfar یک روز طوالنیNO SIGNATURE VAHID JALILVAND Editor: Vahid Jalilvand, Sepehr Vakili The forensic pathologist Dr Nariman has a car accident with Sound: Amin Mirshekari a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist‘s 8-year-old son is injured Music: Peyman Yazdanian and Nariman offers to take the child to a clinic nearby, but Producer: the father refuses his help and money. The next morning, in Ali Jalilvand & Ehsan Alikhani the hospital where he works, Dr Nariman discovers that the little boy has been brought for an autopsy after a suspicious Cast: death. Dr Nariman is facing a dilemma: Is he responsible for Amir Agha’e the child’s death due to the car accident or did the child die Navid Mohammadzadeh of food poisoning, like the doctor diagnoses? Hediyeh Tehrani Sa’eed Dakh Director Alireza Ostadi Vahid Jalilvand was born in Tehran in 1976. He graduated in Zakiyeh Behbahani Theatre Directing from Tehran University. He has been the director and actor in many television series and plays. «Wednesday, May 9», his first feature, was selected in Venice Film Festival 2015 / Orizzonti where he received the FIPRESCI award. «No Date, No Signature» is his second feature.

Public Screenings: Wednesday, May 30, 20:15, Kino 1

27 OUT OF COMPETITION

English title: Alone through Iran Genre: Documentary Country and year of production: Sweden 2017 Length: 60 min Language: English, Persian, Swedish Subtitles: English Swiss premiere

Screenplay: تن ی ط ی André Larsson ALONE هب ها ی از ر ق اریان Shamim Berkeh IRAN رفنتDirector of Photography: THROUGH Soroush Morshedian ANDRÉ LARSSON | SHAMIM BERKEH André Larsson Editor: André Larsson Kristina Paltén, a single Swedish woman, started her run Shamim Berkeh through Iran on September 5, 2015. She was to become the Music: Jocke Gellertz first woman ever to run across Iran. For two months running Producer: 1144 miles, Kristina challenged herself, her own fears of the André Larsson unknown and her prejudices about what a muslim country Shamim Berkeh means for a single woman.

Cast: Directors Kristina Paltén André is a Swedish photojournalist focusing on human rights, politics and environmental issues. «Alone through Iran - 1144 miles of trust» is his first full length film. He has worked extensively around the world. André previously worked with several development organizations such as ActionAid Myanmar, Danish Church Aid and Novell Gaza.

Shamim is an Iranian filmmaker based in southern Sweden. He has previously worked as a TV-correspondent in the Balk- ans for Iranian National Television. Shamim has an extensive filmography including several documentary films and a few fiction films.

Public Screenings: Tuesday, May 29, 12:15, Kino 3

28 PANEL DISCUSSION

ALONE PREJUDICES AND THROUGH IRAN TRUST IN OUR WORLD

André Larsson Kristina Paltén Shamim Berkeh Director / producer / editor / Runner, actress in the movie Director / producer / editor cinematographer «Alone through Iran»

Im Anschluss an den Film führt der künstlerische Leiter und Direktor des Iranischen Film­festivals Zürich, ein Gespräch mit Kristina Paltén sowie den beiden Regisseuren André Larsson und Shamim Berkeh.

Diskussion: Englisch Ort: 12.15 Uhr beim Kino Kosmos, Kino 3

Following the screening, the two directors of the film as well as Kristina herself join us for a discussion.

Discussion: English Place: 12.15 Kino Kosmos, Kino 3

29 SPECIAL SCREENING

English title: Malaria Genre: Fiction, Drama Country and year of production: Iran, 2016 Length: 90 min ZAUBERHAFTES Language: Farsi PERSIEN. Subtitles: English GRUPPENRUNDREISE 8 TAGE/7 NÄCHTE. JETZT BUCHEN UND PROFITIEREN

Screenplay: MALARIA Director of Photography: نا ما ال نوشتهریا Hooman Behmanesh Editor: Parviz Shahbazi PARVIZ SHAHBAZI Music: Azarakhsh Farahani Siavash Asadi A young girl informs her father she’s been kidnapped and WIR SCHENKEN IHNEN 200 FRANKEN Sound: Mansour Shahbazi asks him to deliver the ransom money. Panicked, her father Bringen Sie dieses Inserat als Gutschein mit und wir schenken Ihnen einen Producer: Khalid Jabaly and brothers go to Tehran to look for her. They are unaware, Rabatt von 200 Franken bei der Buchung dieser Reise. * however, that the girl has in fact eloped with her boyfriend *Gültig bei Buchung bis 30.6.18, Reise bis 30.9.18, max. ein Gutschein pro Buchung einlösbar, Cast: and now spends her time in the company of a band of street Buchung bei Travelhouse Stadelhofen. Saghar Ghanaat musicians. Following the arrest of the band leader, the Saed Soheili young girl, who is desperately in love with her boyfriend, Azarakhsh Farahani embarks on an uncertain path. ERLEBEN SIE DEN GESCHICHTSTRÄCHTIGEN IRAN Azadeh Namdari Entdecken Sie die Schätze und Geheimnisse von Persien. Sie besuchen die moderne Metropole Teheran und Directors als Kontrast Kashan, die Perle der Wüste. Isfahan ist bekannt als der türkisfarbene Schmuckstein des Landes und Shiraz gilt als Stadt der Rosen und Nachtigallen. Tauchen Sie ein in die märchenhafte Welt wie aus 1001 Nacht. Born in 1962 in Tehran, Iran, Parviz Shahbazi graduated from Tehran Cinema College as a film director. During the early 80s he began writing short stories and directing short films. PRÄCHTIGER IRAN He edited several films and directed 12 shorts before ma- 8TÄGIGE GEFÜHRTE GRUPPENRUNDREISE AB TEHERAN/BIS SHIRAZ king his first feature film «Traveller from the South» in 1996. inkl. 7 Übernachtungen mit Halbpension, 1x Picknick-Lunch, «Malaria» is his latest feature. Deutsch bzw. Französisch sprechende Reiseleitung, Flughafentransfers 8 Tage / 7 Nächte, z. B. am 8.9.18, ab CHF 1917 pro Person Highlights: Fin-Garten in Kashan, Isfahan, Karawanserei Yazd, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Shiraz

Public Screenings: travelhouse.ch/persien Friday, May 25, 18:30, Kino 3

BUCHEN SIE JETZT BEI TRAVELHOUSE STADELHOFEN 30 STADELHOFERPASSAGE 22 / 8024 ZÜRICH / 044 268 22 00 / STADELHOFENTRAVELHOUSE.CH ZAUBERHAFTES PERSIEN. GRUPPENRUNDREISE 8 TAGE/7 NÄCHTE. JETZT BUCHEN UND PROFITIEREN

WIR SCHENKEN IHNEN 200 FRANKEN Bringen Sie dieses Inserat als Gutschein mit und wir schenken Ihnen einen Rabatt von 200 Franken bei der Buchung dieser Reise. * *Gültig bei Buchung bis 30.6.18, Reise bis 30.9.18, max. ein Gutschein pro Buchung einlösbar, Buchung bei Travelhouse Stadelhofen.

ERLEBEN SIE DEN GESCHICHTSTRÄCHTIGEN IRAN Entdecken Sie die Schätze und Geheimnisse von Persien. Sie besuchen die moderne Metropole Teheran und als Kontrast Kashan, die Perle der Wüste. Isfahan ist bekannt als der türkisfarbene Schmuckstein des Landes und Shiraz gilt als Stadt der Rosen und Nachtigallen. Tauchen Sie ein in die märchenhafte Welt wie aus 1001 Nacht.

PRÄCHTIGER IRAN 8TÄGIGE GEFÜHRTE GRUPPENRUNDREISE AB TEHERAN/BIS SHIRAZ inkl. 7 Übernachtungen mit Halbpension, 1x Picknick-Lunch, Deutsch bzw. Französisch sprechende Reiseleitung, Flughafentransfers 8 Tage / 7 Nächte, z. B. am 8.9.18, ab CHF 1917 pro Person Highlights: Fin-Garten in Kashan, Isfahan, Karawanserei Yazd, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Shiraz

travelhouse.ch/persien

BUCHEN SIE JETZT BEI TRAVELHOUSE STADELHOFEN STADELHOFERPASSAGE 22 / 8024 ZÜRICH / 044 268 22 00 / STADELHOFENTRAVELHOUSE.CH JURY

Carine Bernasconi Jury member

Graduated from the University of Lausanne in film theory and philosophy and working for more than 15 years as program- mer and editor in film festivals such as Locarno Film Festival, Visions du réel (Nyon) and Cinéma du réel (Paris), Carine Bernasconi is writing her Ph.D. on film theory. The topic of her thesis is “The presence of Iranian cinema in France” and how a foreign Director of Photography is built in the French cultural network.

Gregor Schenker Jury member

Gregor Schenker was born 1984 in the Canton of Luzern. He moved to Zurich to attend university for German language and literature as well as film science. He works as a film critic and journalist, is a former editor for Students.ch and is currently an editor for the «Züritipp». In 2013 he joined the Swiss As- sociation of Film Journalists (SVFJ), in the same year he was part of the Critic‘s Jury at the Zurich Film Festival.

Liliane Hollinger Jury member

Liliane Hollinger, * 1975, has been directing the independent Cameo Cinema in Winterthur since the end of 2015. In addition to arthouse premieres and various local collaborations, she and a great team put together film series from older and newer film works of various genres. The fascination for film and / or cinema goes back to the youth years and led to mission as Operatrice in the open air film, Aarau and cinema Orient, Wet- tingen. Further professional insights into festivals, distribution, a film education project for schools and a study of film have shown that life without the confrontation with film and the beautiful escapes into the canvas worlds is unthinkable - today and (hopefully) far beyond the pension.

32 JURY

Nicole Alleman Jury member

Nicole Allemann, born in Switzerland 1974, has been active in the motion picture industry for over 20 years. She started her career as a projectionist and cinema manager. At the filmlab Schwarzfilm in Berne she worked as a film technician and colour timer. Currently employed at cinegrell in Zurich as head of film restoration and lab, where she is not only responsible for restoration projects and its projectmanagement, but also executes the digitization and colour grading work.

Sabinne Gisiger Jury member

Born in 1959 in Zurich, she studied history in Zurich and Pisa and graduated in 1988 with a dissertation on the history of maidservants. In 1989, she trained as a professional TV journalist at Swiss Television SF DRS and worked as a reporter both at home and abroad for several years. Since 1990, Sabine Gisiger has realized documentary films as an independent filmmaker. In 2000, her documentary film DO IT, a joined work with Marcel Zwingli, attracted international attention and was awarded the Swiss Film Award for best Swiss documentary in 2001. Her theatrical releases GAMBIT, GURU, and YALOM’S CURE, all of whom were nominated for the Swiss Film Award, brought her more international success. In 2015, two of her films, YALOM’S CURE and DÜRENMATT, were in the top ten of the Swiss box-office charts. Since 2002, she has held lectures on documentary film at the Zurich University of Arts (Masterclass) and at the Lucerne School of Art and Design. From 2012 to 2015 Sabine Gisiger was a member of the Swiss Film Commission. She is currently a member of the Swiss Film Academy and the European Film Academy

33 TEAM

Armin Apadana Graphic Designer

Armin Apadana was born in 1992 in Zurich, where he lives and works as a graphic designer. The IFFZ website has been created by him. Armin is responsible for webdesigning and graphics.

Niklaus Reichle Staff management

Niklaus Reichle was born in Switzerland in 1986. He studied international relations and is currently working at the institute of sociology of the university of St.Gallen. In 2010 he founded the record label and film production company «La Suisse Pri- mitive». Since 2015 Niklaus has been involved in a coproducti- on of an Iranian-Swiss feature film as well as in the production of a documentary on the Iranian car «Paykan».

Alma T. Mugescu Head of volunteers

Alma T. Mugescu is Swiss-Canadian and has lived in Zurich for most of her life. She studied German - English translation at the Translator & Interpreter School DOZ -ZHAW, and has published translations for NZZ Verlag. She works as contracts manager at an international literary agency.

John A. Zandi Finance

John A. Zandi was born in California, U.S.A, where he studied and started his career in finance. He has a breath of interna- tional experience having lived in Los Angeles, Austin, Berlin, Zurich, and Tehran.

34 TEAM

Yara Jäkel Programmer

Yara Jäkel was born in Tehran, Iran, where she studied photography and worked as a photographer. After emigrating to Paris, France, she studied cinema and had two photo exhi- bitions in 2009 and 2010 in Paris. She directed her first short film “Les Autres Moi” in 2010 in Paris. Since then she has continuously worked in the Film industry for film festivals in France, Belgium and Switzerland. She currently lives in Zurich.

BEST OF IFFZ ON TOUR

Thanks to the cooperation between Cinélibre and the Iranian Film Festival Zurich, the best films shown at the festival’s 2018 edition will be programmed by cinemas in different Swiss cities within the network of Cinélibre. The cooperation, which started last year, is a unique opportunity for film lovers throughout Switzerland to discover new Iranian films which will be shown exclusively within this tour. “Best of Iranian Film Festival on Tour” will take place in autumn / winter 2018 / 2019. The films to go on tour will be selected by the festival and Cinélibre. Detailed information about the films and the cinemas will be announced on www.cinelibre.ch and www.iranianfilmfestival.ch.

Cinélibre is the Swiss Association of Film Societies and Non Profit Cinemas (Verband Schwei- zer Filmklubs und nicht-gewinnorientierter Kinos). The cinemas within the network of Cinélib- re provide the audience with a unique access to the diversity of films made around the world and to films from all periods of film history. To achieve this, Cinélibre supports the co-opera- tion between its members and the exchange of film programmes. Cinélibre distributes films and organises tours with films which otherwise would not be available in Switzerland.

Robert M. Richter Managing Director of Cinélibre

35 ZEOT

Persische WORKSHOPS Am 26. und 27. Mai 2018 veranstaltet das ZeoT Zürich 3 Workshops mit Julie Kerner. Sie wird auch bei der Eröffnung des Iranian Film Festival in Zürich auftreten.

www.zeot.ch 36 ZEOT

ENGIMATT City-Gardenhotel**** Engmattstrasse 14 8002 Zürich

044-284 1616 - www.engimatt.ch

The Green Oasis in the City of Zurich.

Hotel – Restaurant – Terrace – Banquet – Conference – Tennis

Persische WORKSHOPS Am 26. und 27. Mai 2018 veranstaltet das ZeoT Zürich 3 Workshops mit Julie Kerner. Sie wird auch bei der Eröffnung des Iranian Film Festival in Zürich auftreten.

www.zeot.ch 37

TIME— MAY 24 MAY 25 TABLE Thursday Friday

1 Majan – 95 min 20:15, Kino 1

2 Israfil – 100 min

3 Waiting for Kiarostami – 86 min 14:30, Kino 3

4 Ali Aqa – 82 min 16:30, Kino 3

5 When I became a Butterfly – 89 min

6 Searing Summer – 83 min

7 Bridge of Sleep – 93 min

8 Anonymity – 82 min 22:30, Kino 3

9 Asphyxia – 110 min

10 Paris Tehran – 79 min 14:30, Kino 3

11 Dogs & Fools – 76 min 18:30, Kino 3

12 Kupal – 81 min 16:30, Kino 3

13 Subdued – 104 min

14 A dying King – 85 min 20:30, Kino 3

15 No Date, No Signature – 104 min

16 Alone through Iran / Panel Discussion – 60 min

17 Malaria (Special Screening) – 90 min 18:30, Kino 3

38 MAY 26 MAY 27 MAY 28 MAY 29 MAY 30 Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday

16:30, Kino 3

20:30, Kino 3 18:15, Kino 3

18:30, Kino 3

18:30, Kino 3

20:30, Kino 3 16:00, Kino 3

20:30, Kino 3 14:30, Kino 3

18:30, Kino 3 16:30, Kino 3

16:30, Kino 3

20:30, Kino 3 16:00, Kino 3

22:30, Kino 3

18:30, Kino 3

14:30, Kino 3

14:00, Kino 3 12:00, Kino 3

20:15, Kino 1

12:15, Kino 3

39 PRE-SALE

Pre-sale starts on April 30 at Kosmos as well as online at: www.kosmos.ch

Kino Kosmos Lagerstrasse 104 8004 Zürich

044 299 30 30 www.kosmos.ch

Iranian Film Festival Thank you

Mobile: +41 79 842 60 90 We are grateful to our [email protected] sponsors and supporters who www.iranianfilmfestival.ch made possible the realization of this cultural event.

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