1979 Revolution: Black Friday Developed by: iNK Stories, N-Fusion Interactive Published by: iNK Stories Available on: PC and Mac, with Android and iOS TBD Release date: April 5th, 2016 1979 Revolution: Black Friday tells the story of Reza, a photographer who’s recently returned from study abroad to his native country of Iran. Unfortunately, he’s returned …
Before 1979, Iran had a history of iconic female singers. Qamar al-Molouk Vaziri was in 1924 the first woman to sing in front of a male audience and still “retain her good reputation”. It was a time when “women wore burkas and men were on opium”, sighs one of the protagonists of the documentary from the Iranian Ayat Najafi. Singers such as Delkash and Googoosh, as well as Sayeh Sodeyfi, performing in the film, were widely listened to, but have since then been made illegal. After the revolution, female solo-singing in public was banned on the grounds of “exceeding a certain vocal range” and “sexually arousing men in the audience”, and thereby breaking the rule of decency and of not deviating from their normal condition.
From Canada comes a fascinating new documentary about the daring extraction of 6 American Embassy workers from Tehran during the 1980 Iranian Hostage Crisis.
Hamoun, playing at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday 28th March, was voted the best Iranian film of all time in 1997 within film critic circles in Iran. It was directed by Dariush Mehrjui, the Tehran-born giant of Iranian cinema, and one of the co-founders of the most modern end of Iranian New Wave cinema.
Batin Ghobadi’s debut feature is an elusive crime drama that unfolds in the mountainous borderland of Iraqi Kurdistan. The younger brother of Bahman Ghobadi, best known for A Time for Drunken Horses, the writer-director was born in the region, albeit on the Iranian side of the border, and its troubled history resonates obliquely throughout the film. It is suggested that the region is engaged in a period of modernisation, through major construction projects and crackdowns on corruption, but its landscape remains rugged and primal, its men desolate and wracked with guilt.
Rosewater Written and Directed by Jon Stewart USA, 2014 Jon Stewart’s feature debut, Rosewater, is an uneven affair that excels when it stays focused on the restorative power of humor and hope. Not surprisingly, Stewart struggles with the dramatic elements, but a nuanced performance from Gael García Bernal pulls us through the rough spots. Ultimately, …
One Two One Written by Mania Akbari and Majid Eslami Directed by Mania Akbari Iran, 2011 Iranian actress-director Mania Akbari’s latest film is a hypnotising mood piece, rooted in both experimental and theatrical styles. Composed entirely of less than fifteen long takes of varying lengths, the film presents a series of vignette conversations and encounters …
Facing Mirrors Directed by Negar Azarbayjani Written by Negar Azarbayjani and Fereshteh Taerpoor Iran, 2011 For time immemorial, Iran has been synonymous for many things – most of them pejorative, none of which has to do with cinema. However, Iran’s cinematic reputation has reached a prestige that was hitherto unprecedented in 2011, with films like …