Despite the fact that he is only in the 8th year of 20 year ban from filmmaking by the Iranian government Jafar Panahi is still managing to make excellent films on the ‘downlow’ which somehow find their way to prestigious European Film Festival where they add to his collection of Awards. His latest one … Continue reading
In his first feature film Iranian/Armenian writer/director Pouria Heidary Oureh places his story in his two home countries which are very rarely the settings for any LGBTQ movie. The tale he spins is exceptionally beautiful and told with such a discreet compassion and understanding that when the main crux of the story is finally revealed, you … Continue reading
Mehrdad Oskouei’s unflinching and extremely personal documentary shot in a rehabilitation center for female juvenile delinquents in Tehran for 20 days leading up to New Year, will unquestionably be one of the saddest stories to hit our screens this year. It took the filmmaker seven years to persuade the Iranian authorities to allow him to film an imprisoned … Continue reading
Ever since writer/director Asghar Farhadi became the first Iranian filmmaker to win a Oscar and a Golden Globe in 2011 for his stunning movie A Separation, he has continued to helm compelling dramas of domestic discord that show the uneasiness of women’s roles in contemporary Iranian society. The Salesman starts very dramatically with the impending collapse … Continue reading
Life for Marie is very fraught. Ahmed, her soon-to-be-ex husband arrives back in Paris from his native Tehran to finalise their divorce. Marie is already living with her next husband-to-be Samir a laundry owner whose current wife is still lying in a coma after a failed suicide attempt. And the ramshackle crowded household has three children … Continue reading