Iranian Cinema: A View from Iran
Kourosh Ziabari, an Iranian Journalist writes about the current state of Iranian Cinema
Cover of Hamid Reza Sadr’s Book Iranian Cinema: A Political History
Iran has been a cradle of arts and cultural endeavors because of its historical background and 7,500 years of recorded civilization. The country has presented to the world some of the most distinguished poets–Mevlana, Ferdowsi, Hafez and Rudaki to name a few, however, when it comes to modern arts things stand little different.
Prior to the revolution of 1979, the Iranian cinema was unknown and isolated due to the passive behavior of the Persian kings of the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties. They neither paid attention to nor made investments in the modern arts such as music, cinema and theater, instead wasted the national budget and their energies on foreign travel and their own “wining and dining,” which lead to a long-term retardation of arts and culture in Iran.
After the revolution of 1979, the attention and interest in the culture and arts in Iran got restored and artists found valuable opportunities to present their works in international fairs, exhibitions and festivals.
Since that time, Iranians succeeded in winning several international awards and prizes in cultural and artistic fields, including the Nobel Prize in Literature for Doris Lessing (who was born in Iran).
The Iranian cinema is unusual for being free of violence, immorality, insults and discourtesy. It’s mixture of entertainment and spirituality prevents the families and the youth from being offended by watching a 90-minute Iranian movie. That is why Iranian films are popular in countries with traditional customs and noble cultures, such as South Korea, Japan, Bulgaria, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Venezuela and other Persian Gulf countries.
Today, Iran can boast of some renowned and notable artists in the field of cinema such as famous woman director Niki Karimi, Abbas Kiarostami and Majid Majidi.
You may also know Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the influential film director who has been granted the special Scythian Deer award from the president of the Ukraine in 2007 and who also won the Federico Fellini Gold Medal of UNESCO in 2001.
Ebrahim Hatami-Kia is another master of Persian cinema, having won the Golden Seashell from the San Sebastian International Film Festival in 1999. Hatami-Kia is ranked among the world’s top drama directors.
The outstanding screenwriter and director Tahmineh Milani, another woman, was awarded as Best Director at the 51st Asia-Pacific Film Festival in 2006 and won the Grand Prix Cinema Tout Ecran award from the Geneva Cinema Tout Ecran festival in 2003.
Finally, Jafar Pahani is another important Iranian producer and director who has won the Podo Award at the Valdivia Film Festival for his lifetime artistic accomplishments in 2007.
The latest reports show that Iranian films are slated to be screened in various international film festivals worldwide in 14 countries.
Negar Azarbaijani’s “Virtual Truth” will be displayed at the 2008 Lisbon International Horror Film Festival, Asqar Farhadi’s “Fireworks Wednesday” will participate in the Carthage International Film festival in Tunisia and Saman Salour’s “From the Land of Silence” is planned to be screened at Germany’s Around the World in 14 Films Festival.
The Around the World festival, which will be held in Berlin, is hosting films from 14 countries including Argentina, Mexico, the United States, Burkina Faso, France, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and Iran and it is an honor for Persian cinema to be among the world’s top filmmaking countries.
It is also reported that the celebrated Iranian filmmaker Reza Mirkarimi’s Oscar-nominated “As Simple as That” is slated to be screened at 11 international film festivals around the globe.
Mirkarimi’s film will begin its tour in Germany before going on to Turkey and the United States. “Simple” will then go on its 2009 tour of Boston, Washington, Huston, Stockholm and Asia-Pacific film festivals. Mirkarimi’s family drama will continue its journey to Poland and the festival of Iranian films in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The film, which tells the story of the daily challenges of a middle-class Iranian woman, has received numerous international awards including the Golden George Award of the 30th Moscow International Film Festival.
Also, Hengameh Qaziani won the Best Actress Prize of Bulgaria’s 16th Love Is Folly International Film Festival for her role as Taraneh.
Iranian cinema is finding its well-deserved place in the world. The cinema is a means of conveying a message of peace and Iran is using it properly to broadcast its international call for unity, brotherhood and friendship.
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Iran is one of the most promising filmmaking nations in Asia. Lack of violence or spirituality are good but I also admire Irani cinema for dealing with political issues in most harmless and engaging manner.
Thanks for an enlightening and wonderful read, Kourosh. I love the grace of Iranian cinema…issues and small things are presented with a simplicity and an elegance, which makes them unique; the innocent ways of iranian cinema often makes things all the more poignant, without dabbling in violence, etc.