Tag Archives: Iran

Circumstance (2011); Dir. Maryam Keshavarz

Posted on April 11, 2013 by sheila

Four Iranian teenagers sit in a sound booth, headphones on, making obscene sex noises, doing intermittent shots of liquor to loosen up, and bursting into laughter, ruining the takes. The director is annoyed. They are in the process of dubbing … Continue reading →

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Donya (2003): “You Have Exhumed My Life.”

Posted on November 14, 2012 by sheila

When we first see real estate mogul, Hadj Reza Enayat (Mohamad Reza Sharifinia) he is collapsed in a chair, his swollen feet being washed by his whining wife (Gohar Kheirandish). Hadj is a grotesque person, in our first impression. He … Continue reading →

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The Importance Of “As If”: Women Without Men (2009)

Posted on October 19, 2012 by sheila

A group of intellectuals and artists sit around a table in a restaurant, drinking wine, and talking about Camus and democracy. Camus’ comments on freedom are approved of by some in the group, and rejected by another, who argues that … Continue reading →

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“Because creation, you know, it means that you don’t have any salary, you don’t have any retirement, all of that. So if you don’t have the security, at least have the freedom. I go for the freedom.”

Posted on February 8, 2012 by sheila

Really inspiring interview with Marjane Satrapi, best-selling author of the graphic novel Persepolis. I think if somebody has to make an artistic work, he will finish it no matter what. It has nothing to do with the money, with the … Continue reading →

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Eyes on Iran

Posted on December 12, 2011 by sheila

Iranian documentary filmmaker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb has been released from Evin Prison after three months in jail. He was arrested with five other documentary filmmakers, all of whom have been released as well. Jafar Panahi still sits in jail. Here is … Continue reading →

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Blackboards (2000); Dir. Samira Makhmalbaf

Posted on May 6, 2011 by sheila

In the wild borderlands between Iran and Iraq, people are on the move. Kurds, who suffered under persecution on both sides of the border, still live a nomadic life, often out of necessity. There is no food, no place to … Continue reading →

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The Books: The Essential Rumi

Posted on March 27, 2011 by sheila

Daily Book Excerpt: Poetry. Next book on the shelf: The Essential Rumi, translations by Coleman Barks with John Moyne Ptolemy Tompkins wrote in Time Asia Edition on September 30, 2002 Jalaluddin Rumi was, among many other things, a lover of … Continue reading →

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“I have to bear witness to anything that goes on in my country.” Jafar Panahi

Posted on September 7, 2010 by sheila

Article about Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s struggle now (and in the past) to make the movies he wants to make. His passport has still not been returned, so he was unable to go to the Venice Film Festival (despite high … Continue reading →

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Shirin (2008); Dir. Abbas Kiarostami

Posted on August 26, 2010 by sheila

We tell ourselves stories in order to live. The princess is caged in the consulate. The man with the candy will lead the children into the sea. The naked woman on the ledge outside the window on the sixteenth floor … Continue reading →

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Jafar Panahi: Venice Film Festival

Posted on August 12, 2010 by sheila

Some good news on the Jafar Panahi front. At first, word was that Panahi would definitely be attending the Venice Film Festival, but now that seems a bit more up in the air. It is not clear whether or not … Continue reading →

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