Persian

Amir needs money to marry his girlfriend Miriam, and joins a gang of counterfeiters, but soon Amir develops a relationship with the boss’s wife, and events reach a horrific and explosive conclusion.Read More »

The deeply moving “Qaleh – The Women’s Quarter” (1966) shows the life of prostitutes in Tehran’s city brothels, an area known as Shahre Now. The film closely follows a number of women and communicates how the burden of social constraints led them to surrender in the face of their common fate. By including photos in the film, a very unique and artistic approach that brings to mind Chris Marker’s classic La Jeteé, Shirdel not only tempers the subject’s emotional heaviness but also respects the individual’s privacy, two pitfalls that often afflict films that deal with themes of this nature. The film does explore the possibility of re-education and development for these women, but in no way does it paint over the hard and brutal reality. As the film closes, a magnificent scene shot in slow motion leaves us with the memory of this ugliness forever imprinted in our minds.Read More »

Begins with a narration extolling the virtues of a solar energy complex over maps and shots of the place. The focus then shifts to an elderly gentleman lumbering about a section of the complex not doing much of anything. The film unfolds in near total silence save the waves crashing against the shoreline nearby, occasional gusts of wind, and a closing excerpt from Vivaldi’s Sonata No. 6 in A Minor. At one point, a few police cars drive up, but nothing much comes of it. Then we are taken inside the man’s small room to catch glimpses of his daily life. Very reminiscent of Saless’ Still Life, with no dialogue after the opening narration, which by the end appears to have been rather sardonic, if not poignant. Produced by Filmgrafic, the company Shirdel founded in 1968.Read More »

“Tehran is the Capital of Iran” (1966-79) documents life in a deprived district in the south of Tehran. The images of destitution in Tehran’s poor areas is accompanied by a variety of spoken accounts: the official viewpoint on the district’s living conditions, what the inhabitants have to say, and occasional extracts read out of school manuals. The key element in Shirdel’s film is the counterpoint effect he creates with image and sound. His impressively powerful portrayal of social unease helps reinforce the impact of his astonishing documentary images and social themes.Read More »

Hajji Hossein-Gholi Noori (Haji Baba) goes to Washington D.C. as the first Iranian (Persian) ambassador to the United States of America. After he opens the embassy, he is unable to invite statesmen to visit him. Haji fires the embassy staff due to the inability of the Persian government to meet the embassy’s needs. One night he is visited by President Grover Cleveland.Read More »

Taher Mohebi is a well-known writer who, after witnessing a violent murder, breaks down and spends three years in a mental institution. After release he is told that things are just as they were before, but his relentless hallucinations make him want to return to the institution.Read More »

A disabled man living with his handicapped son in a remote Iranian village.Read More »

A satirical take on the mundane absurdities of life in modern-day Iran, these nine vignettes illuminate the lighter side of enduring under authoritarian rule. Whether choosing a name for a newborn, graduating from grade school, getting a driver’s license, applying for a job, or seeking approval for a film script, if you live in Iran, you best come fluent in Orwellian discourse. Progressing along a rough timeline from birth to death, each story is shot in a static camera angle as a single petitioner negotiates with an authority figure hovering just outside of frame, who is practiced in the language of doublespeak.Read More »

12-year-old Ali and his three friends.Together they work hard to survive and support their families. In a turn of events that seems miraculous, Ali is entrusted to find hidden treasure underground.Read More »