22nd Annual Festival of Films from Iran
- 22nd Annual Festival of Films from Iran
NOTE: Substitutions in our programming for the Festival of Films from Iran have been necessitated by Iranian government bans on two of our scheduled titles, FINAL WHISTLE and ABSOLUTELY TAME IS A HORSE. A third film, HERE WITHOUT ME, has withdrawn from the festival. Please see updated listings for October 22, 23, 24, 30, and 31 below. We regret the inconvenience.
The Gene Siskel Film Center presents the 22nd edition of our Festival of Films from Iran from October 8 through 31, providing a view on contemporary Persian culture through the eyes of Iran’s filmmakers. Featuring an array of U.S. and North American premieres, the eight-film series highlights the balance between tradition and modernity through diverse stories that may be grounded in the rituals of contemporary culture (ONE.TWO.ONE), or tied to the mysticism and customs of a past era (BELOVED SKY).
In the drama FINAL WHISTLE, actress/director Niki Karimi tackles the issue of “blood money,” the legal loophole through which a criminal may escape execution if monetary compensation is paid for the victim of his crime. ABSOLUTELY TAME IS A HORSE is an engaging saga that wends its way through one long Tehran night, boldly taking the subject of police corruption as its dramatic jumping-off point. Issues that resonate worldwide are the subjects of two documentaries: A TALE OF TWO SOLDIERS and BAHA’IS IN IRAN.
Dariush Mehrjui, one of Iran’s world-class directors, masterfully demonstrates his talent for evoking the beauty of traditional Persian culture in the magic-realist drama BELOVED SKY. The master of another art is the subject of the documentary FROM NO. 37, a film that probes the life and death by suicide of acclaimed surrealist novelist Sadegh Hedayat. A discussion of the film by Prof. Franklin Lewis of the University of Chicago accompanies the second screening on October 16.
Also with literary roots, HERE WITHOUT ME, an adaptation of The Glass Menagerie starring Fatemeh Motamed-Aria, delicately retains the poignancy of its source while reinterpreting the story in a wholly Iranian manner. Avant-garde artist/actress/filmmaker Mania Akbari takes a formally unique approach to storytelling in ONE.TWO.ONE, focusing on the contemporary obsession with body image as she unravels matters of the heart.
Be sure to check back regularly for updates on added personal appearances and events throughout the festival.
The Gene Siskel Film Center thanks the many individuals, companies, and agencies in Iran and in the U.S. whose invaluable efforts, good will, and support have made this year’s festival possible. Special thanks to Farabi Cinema Foundation, an agency which promotes Iranian cinema around the world, and its international affairs director Amir Esfandiari; Mohammad Atebbai, Iranian Independents; Alireza Shahrokhi, IRIB Media Trade; Katayoon Shahabi, Sheherazad Media International; Ali Ghasemi, Visual Media Institute; and Sadeq Saba and Roxanna Shapour, BBC Persian Service.
The Festival of Films from Iran would not be possible without the vital interest and generous support of many friends including: Mehrnaz Saeed-vafa, Artistic Consultant; Amir Normandi, Community Affairs Consultant; Simin Hemmati-Rasmussen, Cultural Affairs Consultant; Hossein Khandan; Franklin Lewis, University of Chicago; Hamid Naficy, Northwestern University; Mohammad Pakshir; Ahmad Sadri, Lake Forest College; and Narimon Safavi, Pasfarda Arts & Cultural Exchange.
Buy a ticket at our regular prices for a Festival of Films from Iran film on October 16, 23, or 30, and get a ticket for the second Iranian film that day at this discount rate (tickets must be purchased at the same time): General Admission $7; Students $5; Members $4. (This discount rate applies to the second film only.)
ONE.TWO.ONE
Showtimes
Tickets
U.S. premiere!
- ONE.TWO.ONE
- (YEK-DO-YEK)
- 2011, Mania Akbari, Iran, 85 min.
- With Neda Amiri, Payam Dehkordi
A love triangle’s games are played under the discreet veil of electronic communications when text messages and cell phone calls stand in for intimacy in this contemporary tale of tangled relationships. Avant-garde artist/filmmaker Akbari (20 FINGERS, 10 + 4), star of Kiarostami’s TEN, focuses on the body as a sometimes deceptive façade for the soul in an unusual narrative of close encounters through overheard calls and one-on-one disclosures. A woman struggles with the catastrophic blow to her beauty caused by her lover’s car wreck, against a background of urban mating dances. In Persian with English subtitles. DigiBeta video. (BS)
FROM NO. 37
Showtimes
U.S. premiere!
- FROM NO. 37
- (AZ KHANEH SHOMAREH 37)
- 2011, Sam Kalantari and Mohsen Shahrnazdar, Iran, 68 min.
Although his books remain banned in Iran, surrealist novelist Sadegh Hedayat, best known for The Blind Owl, brought Persian literature into the modern age. The prolific career of this towering figure in 20th-century world literature came to an abrupt end with his 1951 suicide in Paris. FROM NO. 37 examines the Hedayat legend and delves into the ambiguous circumstances of his life and death through rare photographs, personal details, and interviews with critics and noted Hedayat scholars. In Persian with English subtitles. DigiBeta video. (BS) Franklin Lewis, Associate Professor of Persian Language and Literature at the University of Chicago, will introduce the film and moderate an audience discussion following the Sunday screening.
BELOVED SKY
Showtimes
Tickets
North American premiere!
- BELOVED SKY
- (ASEMAN-E MAHBOUB)
- 2011, Dariush Mehrjui, Iran, 80 min.
- With Ali Mosafa, Mani Haghighi, Leila Hatami
A doctor seemingly doomed by a brain tumor is thwarted in his suicide plan when an unscheduled sojourn in a village that time forgot changes his destiny. With a sure touch, Mehrjui (MAMA’S GUESTS, HAMOON) infuses the story with magic realism and the sensibility of simpler times as a mysterious herbalist and a traumatized woman become key to unlocking the past and the future for a man resigned to having no tomorrow. A colorful ensemble cast, stunning landscapes, and more than a few glimpses of tasty Persian cuisine make this film a treat for the eyes. Winner of Best Director at the 2011 Fajr Film Festival. In Persian with English subtitles. Beta SP video. (BS)
HERE WITHOUT ME
- CANCELED
Showtimes
Tickets
U.S. premiere!
- HERE WITHOUT ME
- (INJA BEDOUN-E MAN)
- 2011, Bahram Tavakoli, Iran, 100 min.
We have been notified that the distributor of HERE WITHOUT ME has withdrawn the film from the Festival of Films from Iran. We regret the inconvenience. HERE WITHOUT ME will be replaced at both screenings by additional screenings of CIRCUMSTANCE by Maryam Keshavarz. See the CIRCUMSTANCE listing for details.
FINAL WHISTLE
- CANCELED
Showtimes
Tickets
- FINAL WHISTLE
- (SOUT-E PAYAN)
- 2010, Niki Karimi, Iran, 90 min.
- With Niki Karimi, Shahab Hosseini
The Gene Siskel Film Center regrets to announce that scheduled screenings of FINAL WHISTLE by Niki Karimi are canceled due to the fact that the Iranian government has banned the film and prevented the projection copy from leaving Iran. FINAL WHISTLE will be replaced at both screenings by CIRCUMSTANCE by Maryam Keshavarz (details below).
The banning of several new films is only one aspect of a cruel crackdown on Iran’s vulnerable film community, which has also resulted in the September 17 arrests of filmmakers Mohsen Shahnazdar, Hadi Afarideh, Naser Safarian, Shahnam Bazdar, Mojtaba Mir Tahmaseb, and Katayoun Shahabi. The Gene Siskel Film Center expresses its support for Iran’s film artists and their right to freedom of artistic expression.
CIRCUMSTANCE
Showtimes
Tickets
- CIRCUMSTANCE
- 2011, Maryam Keshavarz,
- France/USA/Iran, 107 min.
- With Nikohl Boosheri, Sarah Kazemy
“A bold voice, albeit from exile, in the new Iranian cinema.”
—G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle
“CIRCUMSTANCE tries to capture aspects of life in Iran that lie beyond the reach of the country’s filmmakers, who must work within censorship codes or in secret.”
—A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“An insiders look at a world few of us will ever get to see. The political, sexual, and religious labyrinth of Iran today feels at once contemporary and utterly foreign.”
—James Greenberg, Hollywood Reporter
Director Maryam Keshavarz, a Festival of Films from Iran guest in 2004 with her documentary THE COLOR OF LOVE, turns to the subject of love once again in this daring coming-of-age drama exploring youthful rebellion against the background of the social and religious restrictions of present day Iran. Atafeh and Shireen, two 16-year-old girls, court danger with an underground life of parties, alcohol, drugs, and forbidden videos. A growing attraction to each other constitutes the ultimate transgression when Atafeh’s newly religious older brother, a failed musician and recovering drug addict, becomes aware of their relationship. In Persian with English subtitles. 35mm. (BS)
A TALE OF TWO SOLDIERS + BAHA'IS IN IRAN
Showtimes
- A TALE OF TWO SOLDIERS
- 2010, Jiyar Gol, Canada/Iran, 42 min.
Two documentaries produced for the BBC Persian Service highlight probing journalism and issues that continue to resonate inside and outside of Iran. In A TALE OF TWO SOLDIERS, two men who sought asylum in Canada rediscover the critical encounter that changed their lives during the Iran-Iraq war, when Zahed, recruited into the Iranian army at the age of 14, saved the life of Najah, a forcibly conscripted Iraqi.
Preceded by:
BAHA’IS IN IRAN
2010, UK/Iran, Kasra Naji, 26 min.
Reporters Kasra Naji and Rozita Riazati recount the historic roots of Iran’s official persecution of the Baha’i religion, and examine the circumstances surrounding recent stepped-up efforts to pursue Iranians of Baha’i faith. Both films in Persian and English with English subtitles. DigiBeta video courtesy of BBC Persian Service. (BS)
Directors Jiyar Gol and Kasra Naji will be present at both screenings for audience discussion.
ABSOLUTELY TAME IS A HORSE
- CANCELED
Showtimes
Tickets
- ABSOLUTELY TAME
- IS A HORSE
- (ASB HEYVAN-E NAJIBIST)
- 2011, Abdolreza Kahani, Iran, 90 min.
- With Reza Attaran, Habib Rezai
The Gene Siskel Film Center regrets to announce that scheduled screenings of ABSOLUTELY TAME IS A HORSE by Abdolreza Kahani by Niki Karimi are canceled due to the fact that the Iranian government has banned the film and prevented the projection copy from leaving Iran. ABSOLUTELY TAME IS A HORSE will be replaced at both screenings by the Festival Closing Weekend Program (details below).
The banning of several new films is only one aspect of a cruel crackdown on Iran’s vulnerable film community, which has also resulted in the September 17 arrests of filmmakers Mohsen Shahnazdar, Hadi Afarideh, Naser Safarian, Shahnam Bazdar, Mojtaba Mir Tahmaseb, and Katayoun Shahabi. The Gene Siskel Film Center expresses its support for Iran’s film artists and their right to freedom of artistic expression.
Festival Closing Weekend Program
Showtimes
Special Event!
- Festival Closing
- Weekend Program
Join us for a special program to close the 2011 Festival of Films from Iran. Guests, stimulating audience discussion on Iranian cinema past, present, and future, and a unique film presentation, all to be announced.
