Film Festival 2010
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3rd Annual IranIan FIlm FestIval San Francisco September 18-19, 2010 Iranian Film Festival – San Francisco© is an annual event showcasing independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world. Discovering the Next Generation of Iranian Filmmakers© A Tribute to Fakhri Khorvash [In Person] Fakhri Korvash, Iranian stage and screen actress, started her film career in 1955 with a film called “For You,” directed by Jamshid Sheibani. She has been one of the sought-after actresses on stage and screen in the history of Iranian cinema and theater. She has played in some of the most memorable and best films since the 1950s. Mrs. Khorvash will be present at the screening of “Prince Ehtejab” for her tribute and the Q & A, and during the festival to meet her fans. Filmography: The Scarecrow (1984), Dada (1982), Parvaz dar ghafas (1980), Zemzeme-ye mohabbat (1980), Ghobar Neshinha (1978), Sooteh-Delan (1978), Shatranje bad (1976), Vaghti ke aseman beshkafad (1976), Shazdeh Ehtejab (1974), Nefrin (1973), Hasan siah (1972), Aghaye Hallou (1970), Tolu (1970), The Nobody (1960), We Are All Sinners (1959), South of the City [Jonube shahr] (1958), The Generous Pauper [Late javanmard] (1958), Bohloul (1958)Yek boos-e koochooloo (2005), Bogzar zendegi konam (1986), Taraj (1985), Malakh-zadegan (1984), Prince Ehtejab (Shazdeh Ehtejab) Director: Bahman Farmanara, Story: Houshang Golshiri, Iran, 1974, 93 minutes, Cast: Jamshid Mashayekhi, Fakhri Khorvash, Nouri Kasraee, Vali Shirandami, Hossein Kasbian, Parvin Soleimani, F.Behjat Mohamadi Based on a famous novel by the late Houshang Golshiri the film is about the last of a Ghajar Dynasty, but in reality, was a very strong indictment of monarchy. When the film won the Best Film prize at the Third International Film Festival of Tehran the passage of getting a release permit was made easier, although still the scissors of censorship took about five minutes out of the film. Set during the final years of the Qajar dynasty (1795-1925), Prince Ehtejab offers a searing look at the end of a world and lifestyle. Dying of tuberculosis, Ehtejab spends his days locked up in his palace, wandering its corridors and aurveying his possessions, Haunted by memories of his family’s and his own brutality, he’s even visited by the ghosts of his father and grandfather, who taunt him with charges that he has betrayed his heritage. Houshang Golshiri’s acclaimed novel was powerfully adapted by Farmanara and the novelist himself, brilliantly capturing the shifts between physical reality and the private world the Prince increasingly inhabits. The film won the Grand Prize at the Tehran Film Festival, and was one of the first Iranian films to be widely screened internationally. Bahman Farmanara Bahman Farmanara's first film, Prince Ehtejab, is somewhat reminiscent of Satyajit Ray's The Music Room as it observes the declining days of a wealthy man, living in a painful solitude in his mansion. Knowing that he must soon die, the Prince recalls the extravagant regimes of both his father and grandfather, who were directly related to the Qajars, the former royal family of Iran. Farmanara shows how each generation has taken cruelty a step forward, from the crude anger of the grandfather to the ruthless psychological torture inflicted on his wife by the Prince himself. The dialogue is full of pretty ironies, the compositions are arresting, and the atmosphere of the old house is perfectly conveyed. Farmanara won the Grand Prix at the Tehran International Film Festival in 1974 for Prince Ehtejab and the film's closing shot, of the doomed man slowly descending a spiral staircase into the dark bowels of his mansion, is hard to forget. Space Tourists Director: Christian Frei, Switzerland, 2009, 98 minutes, Cast: Anousheh Ansari, Jonas Bendiksen, Dumitru Popescu In his most recent work, Christian Frei turns to an age-old dream of man: to leave our planet as a «normal person» and travel into outer space. For 20 million dollars, the Iranian-American Anousheh Ansari was able to fulfil her childhood dream and becomes the first female space tourist. This documentary follows her journey from rigorous training in Star City, Kazakhstan, into space and shows everyday life as it is on the International Space Station. “Swiss director Christian Frei obtains extraordinary access to people and places behind the scenes of the space tourism industry. Filming locations include Kazakhstan, Romania, Russia, France, and the International Space Station. He includes footage of space tourists taste-testing food, undergoing survival training, and struggling to get into their space suits. Festivals: Sundance 2010, HotDocs, Sydney Film Festival, Zurich Film Festival, London International Documentary Festival... Christian Frei Christian Frei was born in 1959 in Schönenwerd, Switzerland. He studied visual media in the Department of Journalism and Communication at the University of Fribourg. He made his first documentary in 1981. Since 1984 he has been working as an independent filmmaker and producer. In 1997 he produced his first feature length documentary, RICARDO, MIRIAM Y FIDEL, the portrait of a Cuban family torn between loyalty to revolutionary ideals and the desire to emigrate to the United States. In 2001, this is followed by, the portrait of James Nachtwey, whom Frei accompanied to various places of war. This film is nominated for an Oscar in the category of «Documentary Feature» and receives twelve international awards. A Very Close Encounter Director: Esmaeel Mihandoust [in person], Iran, 2009, 100 minutes, Cast: Ladan Mostofi, Anahita Nemati [in person], Hamidreza Pegah, Soroosh Sehat, Shahrokh Forootanyan A car accident creates a suspicious for the investigator to find out the cause and the events that led to the accident...while discovering deep emotional and personal relationships among the characters. It is about a friendship that goes sour as the story widens through the detective findings. Esmaeel Mihandoust Born 1955 in Khoi, Iran; graduated from the Tehran Commerce University (1977) and Experimental Film Foundation (1991). Directed some short films [Me, Rear Window and Hitch; Phobia, 13th Hour], and many TV serials [The Adventures of House Number 13, The Moon and the Fire, The Old House, The Neighborhood Attorney, Intimate Enemies, Yek Tir Do Neshan] before directing his first feature film: A Very Close Encounter. He has written many articles on cinema for various publications and has thought at colleges in Tehran and Isfahan. He has also written two books titled: New World New Cinema, and Truth in Documentary. Salam Rugby Director: Faramarz Beheshti, Iran/New Zealand, 2010, 61 minutes Women's rugby in patriarchal Iran may sound like an anomaly, but as this documentary by Iranian-New Zealander Faramarz Beheshti shows, Iranian women are more than ready to dive into the nearest rock or maul if only the authorities would allow it. Following the Islamic Revolution in 1979 competitive sports for women were actively discouraged and it wasn't until the social reforms of the 90s that women started to appear on the sporting field again. Women's rugby was introduced in 2004, but shortly afterwards a change in government meant strict guidelines were reinforced. Beheshti's film follows several teams throughout Iran as they negotiate a Kafkaesque minefield of restrictions and regulations. Practicing indoors completely covered head-to-toe and always under the watchful eye of the ever present 'security' forces, these women keep training in the forlorn hope of one day playing an actual match. This film candidly illustrates the realities of life and sport in Iran in a way that will no doubt be revelatory to rugby-mad Kiwis. Faramarz Beheshti Beheshti was born 51 years ago in Iran and immigrated to Italy when he was four so had little experience of his birthplace before he made Salam Rugby. Beheshti is married to a Kiwi and has lived in New Zealand with their children since 2005, where he gained a passion for the game of Rugby. Letters to the President Director: Petr Lom, Germany/Czech Republic/Canada/France, 2009, 72 minutes This is an observational verité film about President Ahmadinejad’s regime in Iran. Allowed to travel on several of the President’s populist trips to the countryside. During his trips, the President receives many letters – the government claims ten million – from poor Iranians asking for help. The film takes these letters to the President as its narrative thread, and as a device to provide a glimpse into an Iran that is usually not open to outsiders. Petr Lom Petr Lom born in 1968, in Prague, Czechoslovakia [now Czech Republic] is an independent documentary director and producer. Entirely self-taught, he directs, shoots and edits his own films. He is a former academic with a Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University. To anyone contemplating a career change, he says: do it as soon as possible. Chasing Che Director: Alireza Rofougaran, Iran, 2009, 78 minutes Chasing Che is the account of a four-year odyssey in which an Iranian businessman switches the course of his life. Inspired by a biography of Che Guevara, which he reads and then translates into Farsi, he embarks on a long odyssey through Latin America and Europe, home movie camera in hand. His mission: to retrace Che's footsteps. In an effort to gain a greater personal understanding of Che, he looks up any of the late revolutionary's surviving friends and foes he can find. In the process, he gains new insights into his own life. Viewing the myth of Che Guevara with an eye to his own society, he realizes the peculiarity of such a cross-cultural inspiration. Upon his return to Iran, he witnesses how the same cross cultural enthusiasm among his countrymen gives rise to an open controversy. Throughout the film, there is a process of change as he finds himself confronted by the professional challenges posed by his new endeavor and his own obsessive commitment to fulfilling the project.