Tag Archives: Iran

Music shuffle: The Return

To quote the final line of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: I been away a long time. My last “shuffle” post was in 2022 and I worried about what I would do when “my laptop goes”. Well, it happened … Continue reading

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December 2024 Viewing Diary

The Last Showgirl (2024; d. Gia Coppola) Pamela Anderson gives my favorite performance by a woman this year. I reviewed the film for Ebert. Dark Waters (2019; d. Todd Haynes) I love movies about rapacious evil corporations, and a dogged … Continue reading

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Today, the Sheila Variations turns 22. wtf.

The above pic of me – taken by Michael – graced the top of my original blog, when I set it up 22 years ago today. I never should have put my picture up on my site – it led … Continue reading

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“If someone spends his life writing the truth without caring for the consequences, he inevitably becomes a political authority in a totalitarian regime.” — Václav Havel

“Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It is not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out.” — Václav Havel Václav Havel, whose birthday … Continue reading

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“Nothing can prevent me from making films.” — Jafar Panahi

It’s his birthday today. Jafar Panahi should need no introduction, but just in case… Jafar Panahi is an Iranian director with an international reputation, and a daunting list of films, many of which were made under terrible conditions (The White … Continue reading

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Happy Birthday, Hediyeh Tehrani

I first encountered Iranian actress Hediyeh Tehrani’s work when I covered the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006 (it was my first real “gig”). was assigned to review Fireworks Wednesday. This was my introduction to Iranian film. Fireworks Wednesday was intriguing … Continue reading

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“Cinema seats make people lazy. They expect to be given all the information. But for me, question marks are the punctuation of life.” — Abbas Kiarostami

It’s his birthday today. When Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami died at the age of 76, shock waves erupted through the film world. There was a general feeling: What are we supposed to do now? If you’ve seen just one of … Continue reading

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May 2024 Viewing Diary

Forward Fast (2024; d. Lorraine Sovern) I met Lorraine at the Florida Film Festival. Someone I was talking to at a party told me about her work and about this short film. He then pulled her over to our group … Continue reading

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“Sometimes, in describing what I do, I resort to the Latin phrase ‘silva rerum’: the forest of things. That’s my subject: the forest of things.” — Ryszard Kapuściński

One of my favorite writers. His death in 2007 was devastating to me. I went to the memorial tribute at the New York Public Library, hosted by his close personal friend Salman Rushdie. I am not sure I can sufficiently … Continue reading

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R.I.P. Dariush Mehrjui

In the sweepstakes for the title the Most Interesting and Accomplished Filmmaker the United States Has Never Heard Of, Dariush Mehrjui has certain obvious advantages. While still in his twenties, the Iranian director made ‘The Cow’ (1969), a film so … Continue reading

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