On the 4th of July 2016 Iranian filmmaker, producer, author and poet Abbas Kiarostami died in Paris. While he did not receive the same kind of recognition in his home country Iran as he did in the rest of world, his body of work is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful in the history of cinema. Numerous authors have interpreted the various layers of meaning within his features, but perhaps one of the most intriguing aspects of his works is the way he uses landscape. While many directors uses landscape, rural or urban, as the background for the story or the characters, Kiarostami has continued to explore means to use landscape as a means to not just tell a story, but to enhance it, which he perfected throughout his career. In the following, we will take a look at a few examples within his wide filmography emphasizing this very point.
1. Where is the Friend's Home?...
1. Where is the Friend's Home?...
- 1/21/2024
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
The 57th edition of Karlovy Vary International film festival has a number of focuses and one special titled “Another Birth. Iranian Cinema Here and Now”, but Behrooz Karamizade's debut feature “Empty Nets” was selected to compete for The Crystal Globe. This muliti-layered drama is set on the northern Caspian Sea coast, and stars the brilliant Sadaf Asgai as Narges (recently seen in Ali Asgari & Alireza Khatami's Un Certain Regard contender “Terrestrial Verses”) and the charismatic Hamid Reza-Abbasi as Amir.
Karamizade's script revolves around a young man from a working class family whose wish to propose to his big love becomes sabotaged by a number of impediments. Narges comes from a wealthy, influential family with high expectations of a future son-in-law. He should be successfull, respected and cultured, none of which the simple and good-hearted Amir is. At the beginning, the young couple's encounters are unburdened by class differences,...
Karamizade's script revolves around a young man from a working class family whose wish to propose to his big love becomes sabotaged by a number of impediments. Narges comes from a wealthy, influential family with high expectations of a future son-in-law. He should be successfull, respected and cultured, none of which the simple and good-hearted Amir is. At the beginning, the young couple's encounters are unburdened by class differences,...
- 7/5/2023
- by Marina D. Richter
- AsianMoviePulse
Jafar Panahi’s career can now be split into two distinct sections: his work prior to an initial 2010 arrest amidst Iran’s Green Movement, and his creative response following that. The latter, ongoing now but complicated by a new six-year prison sentence he has just commenced, constitutes one of the stranger and more miraculous stretches of work for any internationally renowned filmmaker. It’s a period, beginning with 2011’s still-revelatory This is Not a Film—famously smuggled out of Iran and to Cannes on a Usb stick inside a cake—that found Panahi working prolifically while attempting to evade detection and further punishment by the authorities—these two currents fusing to engender international solidarity for a predicament putting his life, let alone freedom, at risk.
So here we are in late 2022 and the situation is terminal, though we mustn’t forget the shoots of hope from his son Panah’s...
So here we are in late 2022 and the situation is terminal, though we mustn’t forget the shoots of hope from his son Panah’s...
- 9/19/2022
- by David Katz
- The Film Stage
While international critics and cinephiles alike were celebrating features such “Close-Up” and “The Taste of Cherry”, making a movie in his home country became increasingly difficult for director Abbas Kiarostami. Luckily, he would find financial backing in countries such as France, which was also the case for his 1999 feature “The Wind Will Carry Us”, whose title refers to a poem by Iranian author Farough Forrochzad, an artist Kiarostami cherished a lot, considering one of the main characters in the movie recites the poet’s work on various occasions. “The Wind Will Carry Us” manifested its director’s reputation internationally, winning the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, the Fipresci Prize and various other awards, with many people calling it one of Kiarostami’s best works.
In order to document a rare burial ceremony, four men from Tehran travel all the way to the remote village of Siah Dareh,...
In order to document a rare burial ceremony, four men from Tehran travel all the way to the remote village of Siah Dareh,...
- 8/3/2021
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
Amongst Abbas Kiarostami’s most critically acclaimed works is his end-of-the-millennium release “The Wind Will Carry Us”. A contemplative piece on existence, it garnered significant festival coverage and awards, including triple glory at Venice, with the Grand Special Jury Prize, the Fipresci Prize and the CinemAvvenire Award.
Four journalists, Keyvan, Ali, Jahan, and Behzad, reach a Kurdish village in Iran. They are not letting their real profession out though, as they pose as production engineers. The real reason of their visit is to record a unique ceremony and report it back to their office at Tehran. Their focus in upon the locals’ mourning rituals that anticipate the death of old people, in this specific case, that of an extremely old woman, probably a centurion and then some. As she refuses to eat food and cannot manage to speak to anyone, the four journalists live idly, awaiting her death.
Four journalists, Keyvan, Ali, Jahan, and Behzad, reach a Kurdish village in Iran. They are not letting their real profession out though, as they pose as production engineers. The real reason of their visit is to record a unique ceremony and report it back to their office at Tehran. Their focus in upon the locals’ mourning rituals that anticipate the death of old people, in this specific case, that of an extremely old woman, probably a centurion and then some. As she refuses to eat food and cannot manage to speak to anyone, the four journalists live idly, awaiting her death.
- 12/18/2020
- by Raktim Nandi
- AsianMoviePulse
On the night my first feature film, “Materna,” was set to world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on opening night of the program, I found myself instead watching Abbas Kiarostami’s film, “The Wind Will Carry Us,” at home.
“The Wind Will Carry Us” follows Behzad, a filmmaker traveling to a remote Kurdish village to document the death of a 100-year-old woman. The trouble is, she won’t die. Instead, Behzad spends much of the movie searching for cellphone reception, in a panic about the fate of his project. The experience forces him to slow down and learn to adjust to his new normal — the slower rhythms and traditions of the village. The relevance to the moment was obvious enough. But what the lesson was for me was not immediately clear.
***
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a Russian immigrant family. My childhood home was...
“The Wind Will Carry Us” follows Behzad, a filmmaker traveling to a remote Kurdish village to document the death of a 100-year-old woman. The trouble is, she won’t die. Instead, Behzad spends much of the movie searching for cellphone reception, in a panic about the fate of his project. The experience forces him to slow down and learn to adjust to his new normal — the slower rhythms and traditions of the village. The relevance to the moment was obvious enough. But what the lesson was for me was not immediately clear.
***
I was born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., in a Russian immigrant family. My childhood home was...
- 4/30/2020
- by David Gutnik
- Variety Film + TV
India’s Alliance Media & Entertainment is in the process of acquiring a library of works by late Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami for distribution in the Indian subcontinent from France’s MK2 Films.
The deal covers 33 features, documentaries and shorts from Kiarostami’s oeuvre, including “Taste of Cherry,” “The Wind Will Carry Us” and “Where Is My Friend’s Home.” Negotiations took place at the European Film Market, and the Berlin Film Festival. They are at an “advanced state of closure” and the signing is expected to take place imminently, Alliance’s Sunil Doshi told Variety. Kiarostami died in 2016.
Alliance previously acquired the Pedro Almodovar catalogue from France’s TF1 and Pathe Films and Jafar Panahi’s films from France’s Celluloid Dreams. It struck a deal with Disney’s Indian Ott platform Hotstar, where the works of both masters are streaming now.
Alliance also acquired the Indian distribution and...
The deal covers 33 features, documentaries and shorts from Kiarostami’s oeuvre, including “Taste of Cherry,” “The Wind Will Carry Us” and “Where Is My Friend’s Home.” Negotiations took place at the European Film Market, and the Berlin Film Festival. They are at an “advanced state of closure” and the signing is expected to take place imminently, Alliance’s Sunil Doshi told Variety. Kiarostami died in 2016.
Alliance previously acquired the Pedro Almodovar catalogue from France’s TF1 and Pathe Films and Jafar Panahi’s films from France’s Celluloid Dreams. It struck a deal with Disney’s Indian Ott platform Hotstar, where the works of both masters are streaming now.
Alliance also acquired the Indian distribution and...
- 2/27/2020
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
"We have lots of trees here, my boy." Janus Films is proud to present a touring retrospective show spanning Abbas Kiarostami's nearly five-decade career. The tour includes new restorations, from Criterion Collection and MK2, of The Koker Trilogy, Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, plus rarely screened shorts and documentaries. To promote the launch of this classic retrospective series, Janus has released an official trailer featuring bits and pieces, clips and footage, from all of his various films. Abbas Kiarostami sadly passed away in 2016, but made quite an impact on cinema making numerous films that have gone on to become beloved classics. His first feature was The Report, made in 1977, only two years before the 1979 revolution in Iran. He won Palme d'Or in Cannes in 1997 for Taste of Cherry. His final film was 24 Frames, which showed in Cannes and was released in 2017. This is a beautiful trailer...
- 7/24/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Three years after Palme d’Or-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami passed away at the age of 76, Janus Films is rolling out a wide-ranging and lovingly designed touring retrospective of some of his seminal works. The new retrospective includes restorations of The Koker Trilogy, plus features like “Close-Up,” “Taste of Cherry,” “Shirin,” “24 Frames,” “ABC Africa,” “The Wind Will Carry Us,” “Ten,” and “Five.”
The new restorations were undertaken by the Criterion Collection and mk2 with contributions by Kiarostami’s son, Ahmad Kiarostami.
Born in 1940 in Tehran, the filmmaker first studied painting at the University of Tehran; later, he worked as a graphic designer and commercial director. Kiarostami credited a job in the film department at Kanun (the Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults) for shaping him into a filmmaker.
He made his first feature, “The Report,” in 1977, just two years before the 1979 revolution that saw so...
The new restorations were undertaken by the Criterion Collection and mk2 with contributions by Kiarostami’s son, Ahmad Kiarostami.
Born in 1940 in Tehran, the filmmaker first studied painting at the University of Tehran; later, he worked as a graphic designer and commercial director. Kiarostami credited a job in the film department at Kanun (the Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults) for shaping him into a filmmaker.
He made his first feature, “The Report,” in 1977, just two years before the 1979 revolution that saw so...
- 7/24/2019
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
“I always wonder to what extent the artist aims to depict the reality of a scene.”
When Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami died in Paris in 2016, he left behind one of the greatest bodies of work of modern cinema. Works such as “Taste of Cherry”, “The Wind Will Carry Us” or “Close-Up” have made an undeniable impression on the works of many filmmakers and defined how the world perceives Iranian cinema.
In the last years of his life he dedicated most of his time to a project which would ultimately be “24 Frames”. Even though authors such as Bilge Ebiri state how the director turned to minimalism late in his life, many of his films show signs of this search for new ways of cinematic expression. “Taste of Cherry” (1997) is based on a very minimalist premise, which takes place mostly in the car of the protagonist. The ending, which breaks the fourth wall,...
When Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami died in Paris in 2016, he left behind one of the greatest bodies of work of modern cinema. Works such as “Taste of Cherry”, “The Wind Will Carry Us” or “Close-Up” have made an undeniable impression on the works of many filmmakers and defined how the world perceives Iranian cinema.
In the last years of his life he dedicated most of his time to a project which would ultimately be “24 Frames”. Even though authors such as Bilge Ebiri state how the director turned to minimalism late in his life, many of his films show signs of this search for new ways of cinematic expression. “Taste of Cherry” (1997) is based on a very minimalist premise, which takes place mostly in the car of the protagonist. The ending, which breaks the fourth wall,...
- 3/13/2019
- by Rouven Linnarz
- AsianMoviePulse
3 Faces is the fourth film Jafar Panahi has made in defiance of a 20-year filmmaking ban the Iranian government issued against him in 2010. The first three were all small-scale affairs, shot solo or with tiny crews, in which the camera never left the confines of a given space – Panahi’s apartment building in This Is Not a Film (2011), a holiday house in Closed Curtain (2013), and a taxi in Taxi (2015). His newest, which sees him working with a larger team, is almost entirely set in a remote village in the mountains, likely in Iranian Azerbaijan. This shift is in keeping with the thematic trajectory drawn by this series of clandestine films. While the first one focused on Panahi’s own predicament, each new installment has expanded the scope of his critique, encompassing further facets of the oppression engendered by the authoritarian values that hold sway over large parts of Iranian society.
- 5/15/2018
- by Giovanni Marchini Camia
- The Film Stage
Traditional ideas about male virility and woman’s place in the home are challenged in Jafar Panahi’s allusive think piece 3 Faces (Se Rokh). It is the fourth feature film he has made since being officially banned from directing films by the Iranian authorities. As deceptively simple as its title, which refers to three actresses of times past, present and to come, the no-budget 3 Faces is charming Iranian cinema at its purest. Defiantly modern in its liberating message about freedom of choice, it harks back to the great cinema verité films like Abbas Kiarostami’s The Wind Will Carry Us. Here, too,...
- 5/13/2018
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Since any New York City cinephile has a nearly suffocating wealth of theatrical options, we figured it’d be best to compile some of the more worthwhile repertory showings into one handy list. Displayed below are a few of the city’s most reliable theaters and links to screenings of their weekend offerings — films you’re not likely to see in a theater again anytime soon, and many of which are, also, on 35mm. If you have a chance to attend any of these, we’re of the mind that it’s time extremely well-spent.
Metrograph
Retrospectives on Akira Kurosawa and Terence Stamp are underway.
Wong and Lynch play in “Visionary Form.”
Quad Cinema
Hoo-ah! “Pacino’s Way” looks at one of our greatest actors in his best and not-best work.
Film Forum
All ::checks runtime:: eight hours of Fassbinder’s Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day have been restored.
Metrograph
Retrospectives on Akira Kurosawa and Terence Stamp are underway.
Wong and Lynch play in “Visionary Form.”
Quad Cinema
Hoo-ah! “Pacino’s Way” looks at one of our greatest actors in his best and not-best work.
Film Forum
All ::checks runtime:: eight hours of Fassbinder’s Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day have been restored.
- 3/23/2018
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
My returning to work on a book about Iranian cinema that I’d put aside years ago, followed by the decision to produce the book independently, and then the choice of supporting this effort with an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign were all things set in motion by one terrible event: the death of Abbas Kiarostami.
That happened last July 4 in Paris, and it was a profound shock. I knew Kiarostami had been hospitalized for months in Tehran, but gleaned that he had turned a corner and was on the mend. Though it seemed his recuperation would take months, he had already mapped out plans for a new feature to be shot in China, and even in his hospital bed was putting finishing touches on the partly computer-generated feature “24 Frames” (which premiered in Cannes and will have a U.S. opening in the coming months).
His unexpected death was a jolt not...
That happened last July 4 in Paris, and it was a profound shock. I knew Kiarostami had been hospitalized for months in Tehran, but gleaned that he had turned a corner and was on the mend. Though it seemed his recuperation would take months, he had already mapped out plans for a new feature to be shot in China, and even in his hospital bed was putting finishing touches on the partly computer-generated feature “24 Frames” (which premiered in Cannes and will have a U.S. opening in the coming months).
His unexpected death was a jolt not...
- 7/4/2017
- by Godfrey Cheshire
- Indiewire
The late Iranian director has been commemorated in the Academy Awards’ In Memoriam montage
• Follow the latest from the Oscars ceremony
Abbas Kiarostami, the veteran Iranian film-maker, has been remembered at the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles. Kiarostami, widely felt to be one of the most important directors of the past 20 years, was behind such classics as Close-Up, Taste of Cherry and The Wind Will Carry Us.
The winner of more than 70 awards – including the Palme d’Or at Cannes – he was never nominated for an Oscar.
Continue reading...
• Follow the latest from the Oscars ceremony
Abbas Kiarostami, the veteran Iranian film-maker, has been remembered at the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles. Kiarostami, widely felt to be one of the most important directors of the past 20 years, was behind such classics as Close-Up, Taste of Cherry and The Wind Will Carry Us.
The winner of more than 70 awards – including the Palme d’Or at Cannes – he was never nominated for an Oscar.
Continue reading...
- 2/27/2017
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami will receive the Writers Guild of America, West's 2017 Jean Renoir Award for International Screenwriting Achievement.
The late Iranian writer-director, who passed away in July, was known for such films as Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us and his Koker trilogy, among others. Kiarostami was a pioneer of the Iranian New Wave and also was an accomplished photographer and painter. His last film was 2012’s Like Someone in Love, a romantic drama set in Japan, which was nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes.
His son, Ahmad Kiarostami, will accept the guild’s honorary award on his...
The late Iranian writer-director, who passed away in July, was known for such films as Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us and his Koker trilogy, among others. Kiarostami was a pioneer of the Iranian New Wave and also was an accomplished photographer and painter. His last film was 2012’s Like Someone in Love, a romantic drama set in Japan, which was nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes.
His son, Ahmad Kiarostami, will accept the guild’s honorary award on his...
- 1/23/2017
- by Mia Galuppo
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Stanley Tucci, Catherine Deneuve dramas join competition; TV dramas and Oleg Sentsov doc set to get world premiere.
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the festival in Out Of Competition berths are Stanley Tucci-directed Final Portrait and Catherine Deneuve drama Sage Femme.
James Gray’s The Lost City Of Z will have its interntional premiere while documentary The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov will have its world premiere.
Among TV world premieres are Amazon’s Patriot and BBC One’s SS-gb.
In total, 18 of the 24 films selected for Competitionwill be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year...
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the festival in Out Of Competition berths are Stanley Tucci-directed Final Portrait and Catherine Deneuve drama Sage Femme.
James Gray’s The Lost City Of Z will have its interntional premiere while documentary The Trial: The State of Russia vs Oleg Sentsov will have its world premiere.
Among TV world premieres are Amazon’s Patriot and BBC One’s SS-gb.
In total, 18 of the 24 films selected for Competitionwill be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year...
- 1/20/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Stanley Tucci, Catherine Deneuve dramas join competition; TV dramas and Oleg Sentsov doc set to get world premiere.
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the competition are
18 of the 24 films selected for Competition will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
The Berlinale Special will present recent works by contemporary filmmakers, documentaries, and extraordinary formats, as well as brand new series from around the world.
Berlinale Special Galas will be held at the Friedrichstadt-Palast and Zoo Palast. Other Special premieres will take place at the Kino International. Moderated discussions will follow the screenings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year. Audiences...
The Berlin International Film Festival has finalised its competition and Berlinale Special strands.
Joining the competition are
18 of the 24 films selected for Competition will be competing for the Golden and the Silver Bears. 22 of the films will have their world premieres at the festival.
The Berlinale Special will present recent works by contemporary filmmakers, documentaries, and extraordinary formats, as well as brand new series from around the world.
Berlinale Special Galas will be held at the Friedrichstadt-Palast and Zoo Palast. Other Special premieres will take place at the Kino International. Moderated discussions will follow the screenings at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele.
For the third time, Berlinale Special Series will present a selection of TV series in the official programme. Six German and international productions will have their world premieres at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele this year. Audiences...
- 1/20/2017
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Festival will open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running October 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men.
Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running October 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men.
Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
- 9/6/2016
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Festival will open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running Oct 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men. Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
Busan International Film Festival (Biff) on Tuesday unveiled its line-up, set to open with the world premiere of Zhang Lu’s Korean film A Quiet Dream.
Running Oct 6-15, the 21st Biff will screen a total of 301 films from 69 countries with 96 world premieres and 27 international premieres. The festival will close with the international premiere of Iraq-Germany-Qatar co-production The Dark Wind, directed by Hussein Hassan (Narcissus Blossom).
Festival director Kang Soo-youn said of A Quiet Dream: “It’s a film that people who like films and people who make films can’t help but like.”
The latest from Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu (Dooman River, Grain In Ear), A Quiet Dream stars Han Ye-ri (Haemoo) as a young woman caring for her comatose father while running a bar and being wooed by three men. Young Korean indie directors Yang Ikjune, Yoon Jong-bin...
- 9/6/2016
- by hjnoh2007@gmail.com (Jean Noh)
- ScreenDaily
Among the many filmmakers mourning Abbas Kiarostami is Martin Scorsese, who over the weekend delivered a 12-minute remembrance at New York City’s School of Visual Arts. Scorsese, who’s long stood out as one of Hollywood’s most eclectic, devoted cinephiles, was a friend of the revered Iranian filmmaker for more than a decade and said during his remarks that he was “still prepping for the meeting next year” that the two planned to have. Kiarostami died on July 4 at the age of 76.
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He Was Iran’s Essential Filmmaker — Critic’s Notebook
Scorsese recalls first meeting Kiarostami at the Cannes Film Festival while both serving on the Cinéfondation jury, which he was “a little cautious” for, as the icon of Iranian cinema’s reputation preceded him. Once meeting him, Scorsese found Kiarostami to be “elegant, eloquent, very quiet, very careful with his words...
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He Was Iran’s Essential Filmmaker — Critic’s Notebook
Scorsese recalls first meeting Kiarostami at the Cannes Film Festival while both serving on the Cinéfondation jury, which he was “a little cautious” for, as the icon of Iranian cinema’s reputation preceded him. Once meeting him, Scorsese found Kiarostami to be “elegant, eloquent, very quiet, very careful with his words...
- 7/18/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The film world has been mourning Abbas Kiarostami this week, and on Friday the filmmaker’s body was returned to his birthplace of Tehran. Kiarostami, who won the Palme d’Or in 1997 for “Taste of Cherry,” died of cancer last Monday, July 4 at his home in Paris; he was 76 at the time of his passing and had been an icon of world cinema for decades.
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He Was Iran’s Essential Filmmaker — Critic’s Notebook
His sons Ahmad and Bahman attended a funeral service in Paris on Friday, but Ahmad was unable to travel to Iran due to security concerns related to his involvement in dissident organizations. He asked all those who were able to attend that, “if you are going to say goodbye to my father, wear your best attire that would be appropriate for a celebration of my father’s productive and creative life.
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He Was Iran’s Essential Filmmaker — Critic’s Notebook
His sons Ahmad and Bahman attended a funeral service in Paris on Friday, but Ahmad was unable to travel to Iran due to security concerns related to his involvement in dissident organizations. He asked all those who were able to attend that, “if you are going to say goodbye to my father, wear your best attire that would be appropriate for a celebration of my father’s productive and creative life.
- 7/10/2016
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The Palme d’Or-winning director Abbas Kiarostami passed away on July 4 and since then many industry members have expressed their condolences and remembered the Iranian filmmaker and his great work. Now, The Toronto Film Festival has shared a recent two-hour “In Conversation With” video where the “Taste of Cherry” helmer joined Tiff Director & CEO Piers Handling for an intimate onstage conversation.
A true master of world cinema, the writer and director is known for acclaimed films such as “The Wind Will Carry Us” and “Certified Copy.” In the video Kiarostami talks about his life, career and his exhibition “Doors Without Keys.”
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami, Palme d’Or-Winning Director Of ‘Taste Of Cherry’ And ‘Certified Copy,’ Dies At 76
This past winter, Tiff Bell Lightbox hosted a career retrospective on the director who made this first feature, “The Report,” in 1977. He is remembered for many hit films, including his Koker trilogy,...
A true master of world cinema, the writer and director is known for acclaimed films such as “The Wind Will Carry Us” and “Certified Copy.” In the video Kiarostami talks about his life, career and his exhibition “Doors Without Keys.”
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami, Palme d’Or-Winning Director Of ‘Taste Of Cherry’ And ‘Certified Copy,’ Dies At 76
This past winter, Tiff Bell Lightbox hosted a career retrospective on the director who made this first feature, “The Report,” in 1977. He is remembered for many hit films, including his Koker trilogy,...
- 7/6/2016
- by Liz Calvario
- Indiewire
Abbas Kiarostami Photo: Pedro J Pacheco
Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has died, it was revealed today. The 76 year old auteur, who won the Palme d'Or in 1997 for Taste Of Cherry, had been undergoing treatment fo gastrointestinal cancer in a Paris hospital.
Unlike many of his peers, Kiarostami remained in Iran fter the revolution, endearing himself to its people as he strove to help it develop a unique approach to cinema. He won acclaim for Works like The Wind Will Carry Us and Life, And Nothing More and Shirin, and enjoyed a second career as a producer, helping to launch Jafar Panahi's carer with The White Balloon. His last two films, however, were made abroad - Certified Copy in Italy and Like Someone In Love in Japan.
"Abbas Kiarostami's deep and unique view on life and his call to human beings for peace and friendship will remain a lasting achievement,...
Acclaimed Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has died, it was revealed today. The 76 year old auteur, who won the Palme d'Or in 1997 for Taste Of Cherry, had been undergoing treatment fo gastrointestinal cancer in a Paris hospital.
Unlike many of his peers, Kiarostami remained in Iran fter the revolution, endearing himself to its people as he strove to help it develop a unique approach to cinema. He won acclaim for Works like The Wind Will Carry Us and Life, And Nothing More and Shirin, and enjoyed a second career as a producer, helping to launch Jafar Panahi's carer with The White Balloon. His last two films, however, were made abroad - Certified Copy in Italy and Like Someone In Love in Japan.
"Abbas Kiarostami's deep and unique view on life and his call to human beings for peace and friendship will remain a lasting achievement,...
- 7/5/2016
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Yesterday, legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami died at the age of 76. The man behind such internationally acclaimed classics like “Close-Up,” “The Taste of Cherry,” “The Wind Will Carry Us,” and “Certified Copy,” Kiarostami’s uniquely personal cinematic style influenced countless directors who followed him, and opened the entire world to a whole generation of cinephiles. But before he shook the world with his features, he made his directorial debut in 1970 with “The Bread and Alley,” a neo-realistic short film about a little boy, a loaf of bread, and a hungry dog. Watch it below.
Read More: Rip Abbas Kiarostami: The Film World Mourns The Loss Of An Icon
Before breaking into filmmaking, Kiarostami worked in advertising in the 1960’s, shooting around 150 advertisements for Iranian television, and later designing credit titles for films. In 1969, Kiarostami set up a filmmaking department at the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in Tehran,...
Read More: Rip Abbas Kiarostami: The Film World Mourns The Loss Of An Icon
Before breaking into filmmaking, Kiarostami worked in advertising in the 1960’s, shooting around 150 advertisements for Iranian television, and later designing credit titles for films. In 1969, Kiarostami set up a filmmaking department at the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in Tehran,...
- 7/5/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
The world just lost another master artist yesterday, after the recent passing of Michael Cimino and Elie Wiesel. Abbas Kiarostami has passed away after a battle with gastrointestinal cancer.
Kiarostami's blended fiction and non-fiction during his over forty year career in film. One of the most prominent Iranian filmmakers, he had been a mainstay of the Cannes Film Festival, jurying multiple times and winning the Palme d'Or in 1997 for Taste of Cherry. His most recent films Certified Copy and Like Someone in Love ventured out of Iran, but it's his homegrown meditations on death like Cherry and The Wind Will Carry Us are what instantly come to mind on this sad news.
Kiarostami wasn't just a film artist but a poet as well, though poetic language heightened much of his film work. His films were soulfully awake and fiercely personal - Cherry being the brusing and enlightening standout, with Copy's...
Kiarostami's blended fiction and non-fiction during his over forty year career in film. One of the most prominent Iranian filmmakers, he had been a mainstay of the Cannes Film Festival, jurying multiple times and winning the Palme d'Or in 1997 for Taste of Cherry. His most recent films Certified Copy and Like Someone in Love ventured out of Iran, but it's his homegrown meditations on death like Cherry and The Wind Will Carry Us are what instantly come to mind on this sad news.
Kiarostami wasn't just a film artist but a poet as well, though poetic language heightened much of his film work. His films were soulfully awake and fiercely personal - Cherry being the brusing and enlightening standout, with Copy's...
- 7/5/2016
- by Chris Feil
- FilmExperience
With the death of Abbas Kiarostami, Iran’s leading director, world cinema loses one of its true guiding lights. His work in the 1980s, beginning with the utterly simple tale of anguished childhood Where Is the Friend’s Home?, earned him international recognition, while the purity of its documentary, no-budget style and compassionate humanism was much imitated by young directors from emerging countries. As he evolved as a filmmaker with award-winning features like Close Up, Taste of Cherry (Palme d’Or, 1997) and The Wind Will Carry Us (Grand Jury Prize in Venice, 1999), his creativity simultaneously blossomed in other media.
read more...
read more...
- 7/5/2016
- by Deborah Young
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Editor’s note: Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani has been a major presence in American independent film since his 2005 debut, “Man Push Cart.” His most recent film, “99 Homes,” was released last year. The filmmaker’s style in his early work is heavily influenced by the late Abbas Kiarostami, with whom Bahrani formed a relationship over the course of his career. With the news of Kiarostami’s death at the age of 76, Bahrani shared the following tribute to his longtime mentor.
When I saw “Where is the Friend’s House?” as a teenager, my path as a burgeoning filmmaker was irrevocably altered. I immediately tracked down VHS copies (badly dubbed, pirated) of “Close Up” and “Life and Nothing Else…” and watched them in my hometown of Winston-Salem, Nc, wondering how the prosaic can be revealed with such a profound depth of poetry. Can cinema be like this?
See MoreAbbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He...
When I saw “Where is the Friend’s House?” as a teenager, my path as a burgeoning filmmaker was irrevocably altered. I immediately tracked down VHS copies (badly dubbed, pirated) of “Close Up” and “Life and Nothing Else…” and watched them in my hometown of Winston-Salem, Nc, wondering how the prosaic can be revealed with such a profound depth of poetry. Can cinema be like this?
See MoreAbbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He...
- 7/5/2016
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
One of the most interesting collisions of the public perception of Iran’s Islamic state and its reality is how, out of an apparently repressive state hostile to the creative arts, Abbas Kiarostami became the essential free filmmaker. “Freedom” is always a relative term when it comes to cinema, which, like politics, unfortunately runs on money. But it’s easy to spot the genuinely free filmmakers when they come along. Despite their varying struggles to get their movies made, the work that results is directly personal and unbound by prevailing cultural trends and diktats. They range from Jean Vigo to Kidlat Tahimik, Pedro Costa to Shirley Clarke, Stan Brakhage to Jose Luis Guerin. Kiarostami was the free filmmaker par excellence, since he managed to find his ever-developing acute approach to modernism through whatever system in which he might find himself working.
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami, Palme d’Or-Winning Director Of...
Read More: Abbas Kiarostami, Palme d’Or-Winning Director Of...
- 7/5/2016
- by Robert Koehler
- Indiewire
A year that may be most remembered for the number of monumental artists who passed during its twelve months has just dealt one of its greatest losses: various Iranian news outlets are reporting that Abbas Kiarostami — the man who changed many a Western viewer’s conception of his native country with masterpieces such as Close-Up, Taste of Cherry, the Koker Trilogy, Like Someone in Love, Certified Copy, Ten, and The Wind Will Carry Us, to name but a few — has passed away at age 76 in Paris, following an extended battle with gastrointestinal cancer.
Pinpointing the particulars of Kiarostami’s oeuvre is a task too large for what is, admittedly, a quickly assembled obituary, and those who’ve known his work longer will do a more probing job at various places — how many non-Western artists earn this level of love upon passing away, anyhow? — so I’ll tread lightly by noting,...
Pinpointing the particulars of Kiarostami’s oeuvre is a task too large for what is, admittedly, a quickly assembled obituary, and those who’ve known his work longer will do a more probing job at various places — how many non-Western artists earn this level of love upon passing away, anyhow? — so I’ll tread lightly by noting,...
- 7/4/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Palme d’Or-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, best known for films like “Taste of Cherry” (which earned him the Cannes accolade in 1997), “Close-Up” and “Certified Copy,” has died. He was 76.
The news was first reported by the Iranian Students’ New Agency (Isna) on Monday afternoon, who wrote “Abbas Kiarostami, who had travelled to France for treatment, has died.” Other news outlets, including The Guardian, have also begun reporting the news.
Born in 1940 in Tehran, the filmmaker first studied painting at the University of Tehran; later, he worked as a graphic designer and commercial director. Kiarostami credited a job in the film department at Kanun (the Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults) for shaping him into a filmmaker.
He made his first feature, “The Report,” in 1977, just two years before the 1979 revolution that saw so many of his creative peers leave the country. Kiarostami, however, stayed and...
The news was first reported by the Iranian Students’ New Agency (Isna) on Monday afternoon, who wrote “Abbas Kiarostami, who had travelled to France for treatment, has died.” Other news outlets, including The Guardian, have also begun reporting the news.
Born in 1940 in Tehran, the filmmaker first studied painting at the University of Tehran; later, he worked as a graphic designer and commercial director. Kiarostami credited a job in the film department at Kanun (the Centre for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults) for shaping him into a filmmaker.
He made his first feature, “The Report,” in 1977, just two years before the 1979 revolution that saw so many of his creative peers leave the country. Kiarostami, however, stayed and...
- 7/4/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has died in Paris at the age of 76. The acclaimed helmer had been receiving treatment for gastrointestinal cancer and had traveled to France for a series of operations.
The Tehran-born Kiarostami first started making shorts, documentaries and local films back in the 1970s and stayed in Iran after the revolution where he made the famed Koker trilogy. He first came to prominence on the international scene with 1990's "Close-Up" in which he got the actual people in a real-life incident to re-enact events in a man defrauds a family and ultimately went to trial.
His 1997 film "Taste of Cherry," about a man searching for someone to bury him after he commits suicide, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He followed that with "The Wind Will Carry Us," "Ten," "Tickets" and "Shirin" along with his most recent and widely viewed films - the Juliette Binoche...
The Tehran-born Kiarostami first started making shorts, documentaries and local films back in the 1970s and stayed in Iran after the revolution where he made the famed Koker trilogy. He first came to prominence on the international scene with 1990's "Close-Up" in which he got the actual people in a real-life incident to re-enact events in a man defrauds a family and ultimately went to trial.
His 1997 film "Taste of Cherry," about a man searching for someone to bury him after he commits suicide, won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He followed that with "The Wind Will Carry Us," "Ten," "Tickets" and "Shirin" along with his most recent and widely viewed films - the Juliette Binoche...
- 7/4/2016
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Jonathan Rosenbaum's posted entries on three of the films on the Asian Cinema 100 list: Lee Chang-dong's Poetry, Abbas Kiarostami's The Wind Will Carry Us and Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day. Also in today's roundup: A guide to Alfred Hitchcock's "visual proclivities," two interviews with John Carpenter and one with Sion Sono, Charles Mudede on why Alien is not a horror movie, Mike D'Angelo on what makes It Follows an instant classic of the genre and news of projects in the works: Jennifer Jason Leigh joins Twin Peaks, Adrian Lyne returns to direct Nicole Kidman—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 10/30/2015
- Keyframe
Jonathan Rosenbaum's posted entries on three of the films on the Asian Cinema 100 list: Lee Chang-dong's Poetry, Abbas Kiarostami's The Wind Will Carry Us and Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day. Also in today's roundup: A guide to Alfred Hitchcock's "visual proclivities," two interviews with John Carpenter and one with Sion Sono, Charles Mudede on why Alien is not a horror movie, Mike D'Angelo on what makes It Follows an instant classic of the genre and news of projects in the works: Jennifer Jason Leigh joins Twin Peaks, Adrian Lyne returns to direct Nicole Kidman—and more. » - David Hudson...
- 10/30/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
The real magic of the I for Iran series in Toronto lies in curation: the talent they have recruited to present and contextualize the various films screened is a testament to their commitment to offering the best possible cinematic experience. More so than not, each film is accompanied by a presenter – a variety of filmmakers, writers and scholars – who offer invaluable insight and context. While this has always been the case, the I for Iran series has been particularly rich.
Presenting the opening screening was Roya Akbari, who participated with Abbas Kiarostami on the film Ten and is a filmmaker in her own right. Her poetic short Only Image Remains was the opening film of the series, and featured her own reminiscence as well as interviews with many top Iranian filmmakers. This set the tone for presenters like Shahram Tabe, Hamid Naficy, Amir Soltani and, perhaps most notably, acclaimed Iranian...
Presenting the opening screening was Roya Akbari, who participated with Abbas Kiarostami on the film Ten and is a filmmaker in her own right. Her poetic short Only Image Remains was the opening film of the series, and featured her own reminiscence as well as interviews with many top Iranian filmmakers. This set the tone for presenters like Shahram Tabe, Hamid Naficy, Amir Soltani and, perhaps most notably, acclaimed Iranian...
- 3/27/2015
- by Justine Smith
- SoundOnSight
In the political discourse, when a country addresses another, whether in positive or negative terms, such statements often fail to differentiate between said country’s government and its people, between the government’s policies and the people’s unheard sentiment towards these.
While useful in the theoretical realm in which politics take place, these generalizations create a distorted image of the foreign nation fed by assumptions and dangerously insensitive stereotypes. It’s much easier for rulers to justify their actions if the adversary is made out to look like an irredeemable villain. Sensationalism and ignorance are weapons far more destructive than missiles, because once the smoke dissipates hatred remains.
On that note, it should be clear that the Iranian people are not the Iranian government. Their rich cultural history is not reflected in the actions of those in power, but in the prevailing elegance and allure of their artwork. Remarkable poets, musicians, painters, and, what we are mostly concerned with here, filmmakers.
The history of Iranian cinema is vast and has survived the many transitions and troubling periods the country has experienced. Even more impressive is the fact that as masterfully as Iranian filmmakers and actors understand the medium, they have never watered down their individuality for the sake of mainstream international success. Instead, they’ve managed to create their unique cinematic language that aligns with their idiosyncrasies and that is not silenced despite the hardships they face, but finds a way around censorship or defies it altogether.
Certainly not a definitive list, the following collection of films aims to be an introduction to the compelling and diverse voices within this captivating national cinema and to encourage you to seek out other films in the future. There are films here that are concerned with rural and working class lifestyles, others that focus on the traditions of ethnic minorities, those that deal with the modern middle class, and also several works denouncing the country’s political situation and the oppression that comes with it.
There are also some films that are note worthy even if they don’t easily fit within the parameters of what an Iranian film is.
Special Mentions:
-Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour and her outstanding Farsi-language debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” a visually striking vampire story set in a fictional Iranian town.
-American filmmaker Till Schauder and his documentary “The Iran Job,” which follows Kevin Sheppard, an American professional basketball player in Iran, and uses his experience to build cultural bridges between the two countries.
-Farhadi’s “The Past,” which though is not precisely an Iranian story, continues to show the director’s specific talent for greatly written, puzzling narratives both in his home country and abroad.
-Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's “Chicken with Plums,” a gorgeously whimsical and darkly comedic love story set in pre-revolutionary Tehran starring Mathieu Amalric.
Lastly, in honor of Nowruz or Persian New Year, which is a peaceful celebration of renewal and rebirth that takes place from March 20-24 in Iran and Iranian communities around the world, let’s remember the deeply moving and wise words that Asghar Farhadi gifted us during his acceptance speech on Oscar night a few years back. No one could have said it better than him.
“At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but because at a time in which talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people that respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.” –Director Asghar Farhadi after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for “A Separation” on February 26, 2012
1. "About Elly" (2009)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
In Farhadi's tense psychological drama a casual trip to the sea evolves into a subtly plotted mystery. The director's depiction of the Iranian middle class in such a fascinatingly unexpected story connected with both local and international audiences earning him awards at home and abroad, among them Berlin's Silver Bear.
*The Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2015
2. "Baran" (2001)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Taking a look at the diverse ethnic groups that coexist in Iran, the film follows a love story between a man and a young Afghan woman who must pretend to be a man in order to work. Eliciting truly naturalistic performance from his cast Majidi gives voice to his almost silent protagonist, a woman caught up in a system designed by men.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3. "Children of Heaven" (1997)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Iran's first ever Academy Award nominated film is also Majidi's most renowned work. Innocence permeates this sweet story about two siblings from a working class family trying to find a pair of missing shoes. Their adventure delivers valuable life lessons that are at once heartwarming and profound. Unquestionably a classic.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Lionsgate
4. "Closed Curtain" (2013)
Dir. Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi
In this enigmatic observation on repression and surveillance an anonymous screenwriter, played by co-director Kambuzia Partovi, hides with his dog in a secluded location. Eventually, as other surprising characters appear, the film becomes a complex dance between reality and fabrication. Both filmmakers had their passports confiscated by the Iranian government due to the subversive content of the film.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
5. "Close-Up" (1990)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
In one of the greatest examples of reality and fiction blending in almost seamless ways, Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork poses complex questions about identity. When a film buff impersonates his favorite director, who happens to Mohsen Makhmalbaf , a series of events unravel as he plans his next, fake, film. Surreally enough the film is based on a true story and stars the actual people involved. It's all brilliantly meta.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Criterion
6. "The Color of Paradise" (1999)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Though rejected by his father, a young blind boy rejoices in nature’s beauty and tries to understand the meaning of his struggles with the help of a mentor with the same condition. Showcasing Iran’s visually stunning rural landscapes and delicately embedding with philosophical concerns, Majidi’s poetic film delivers wisdom in wondrously unassuming ways.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
7. "The Cow" (1969)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Considered a turning point in the nation’s cinematic history, this black-and-white work revolves around a man’s devotion for his cow and how its disappearance drives him into madness. While seemingly simple in its conception, Mehrjui manages to compellingly highlight the country’s traditional lifestyles.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
8. "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Intimate conflicts in the Iranian middle class are Farhadi’s expertise and this domestic drama, set fittingly during the celebrations prior to the Persian New Year, is no exception. When a soon-to-be bride in need of money for her wedding gets a job cleaning a family’s house, their secrets begin to unravel through their interaction and confrontations.
*Available on DVD from Facets
9. "Gabbeh" (1996)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Taking its name from a type of Persian carpet, this stunningly evocative fable is adorned with mysticism and magical realist elements that shine through its colorful visual palette. Gabbeh, a young nomadic woman who is likely the incarnation of one of these traditional rugs, falls in love with horseman, but her community follows beliefs that hinder her desire.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
10. "The Green Wave" (2010)
Dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi
Told through striking animated sequences, interviews and footage from the protests, this documentary constructs a bold portrait of the 2009 Green Movement following Ahmadinejad’s reelection. The regime's strong grip over its citizens is exposed, but the spirit of the Iranian people demanding change is even stronger.
*Available on DVD from Strand Releasing
11. "Hamoun" (1990)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Underscored by subdued comedy and poignant dream sequences, Mehrjui’s visionary drama centers on the decaying relationship between Hamoun, a businessman with hopes of becoming a writer, and his wife Mahshid, a painter. Insanity takes over him when she decides to divorce him because of his angry outbursts. A series of drastic occurrences ensue.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
12. "Kandahar" (2001)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Despite being set in Afghanistan, this Iranian production is a powerful achievement that unveils the unjust treatment of women, not only under the Taliban’s control, but also in the entire region. Nafas, an Afghan women living in Canada, decides to return to her homeland to find her depressed sister. Through this dangerous journey she discovers much more about life in the war-torn country than she expected.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
13. "Leila" (1997)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Starting famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami in one her earliest roles as a married woman unable to have children, this conjugal drama explores the role of women within Iranian society. Leila’s husband, Reza (played by “The Past” star Ali Mosaffa), loves her, but his mother wants him to get another wife that can give him a son. The title character is divided between her happiness and what others think is best for her marriage.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
14. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (2013)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Rasoulof’s brave and searing political statement was shot illegally going against the20-year-ban from filmmaking imposed on him by the Iranian government. It denounces the terrifying lack of freedom of expression via the thrilling story a pair of writers risking it all to protect an incendiary manuscript that authorities are eager to destroy.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
15. "Marooned in Iraq" (2002)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Highlighting the rich Kurdish culture, both in Iran and Iraq, Ghobadi’s film is set in the aftermath of the ravaging Gulf War. Marooned is an elderly man who must travel across the mountainous landscape that divides the two countries to find his ex-wife. While portraying the horrors of war in an affecting manner, the film is also a life-affirming work that finds hope in the most surprising places.
*Available on DVD from Wellspring
16. "My Tehran for Sale"
Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Devastating and current, this debut feature from renowned poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi is a hard-hitting critique on the blatant criminalization of artists in Iran. An actress banned from her profession questions whether she should remain in the country or flee. Getting to safety means leaving everything she knows behind. There are no easy options for her.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
17. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Music as the banner of freedom is the focus of Ghobadi’s film about the underground rock scene in Tehran. Secular music is essentially forbidden, and playing in public is considered a criminal act punished with prison. Crafted between reality and fiction, this quasi-documentary takes a look at a group of young musicians desperate to express themselves through their art.
*Available on DVD from Mpi Home Video
18. "Offside" (2006)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Attending sporting events is prohibited for women in Iran, but that doesn’t stop many of them who go as far as to dress like men to get in. Panahi’s touching and insightful film takes place during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, and follows several girls who despite being excluded cheer for their team as joyfully as any fan would.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
19. "Persepolis" (2007)
Dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this French-language marvel is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel by the same name. With eye-popping hand-drawn animation, the film revisits the director’s childhood and teenage years in Iran during the events leading up to the Islamic Revolution. It’s a love letter to the bittersweet memories of the Iran Satrapi knew.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
20. "A Separation" (2011)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Dealing with a marriage in turmoil facing the country's peculiar judicial system, Farhadi’s masterpiece is the most acclaimed film in the history of Iranian cinema and earned the country's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for its enthralling thriller-like narrative that grips the audience until its unnerving conclusion. A must see!
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
21. "The Song of Sparrows" (2008)
Dir. Majid Majidi
When Karim (played by Berlin’s Silver Bear Winner Reza Naji), an ostrich farm worker, is forced to find a new job in the city to pay for his daughter’s hearing aid, Iran’s rural and urban realms collide. Thanks to the captivating grace that characterizes Majidi’s films, poverty and misfortune are observed here not with pity but with an optimistic and undefeated perspective.
*Available on DVD from E1 Entertainment
22." Taste of Cherry" (1997)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
This quiet and minimalist meditation on death and the simple joys of its antithesis is the first and only Iranian film to have won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Kiarostami follows a man who has decided to commit suicide and is looking for someone to help him achieve this. However, those he recruits along the way come with their own views on the meaning of our existence and attempt to persuade him to reconsider.
*Available on DVD from Criterion
23. "Ten" (2002)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
A female cabbie drives through the streets of Tehran picking up an array of characters that via their casual conversations shine a light on the Iranian society’s expectations of women. Constructed of ten individual scenes in which the only constant is the driver, this heavily improvised and peculiarly shot cinematic experiment is a work of fiction embedded with truth in every frame.
*Available on DVD from Zeitgeist Films
24. "This is Not a Film" (2011)
Dir. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi
In an effort to tell his story despite being banned from filmmaking and under house arrest, filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes his frustration and ingeniously turns it into a courageous visual statement. Whether is shooting video with his cell phone or blocking an imaginary scene in his living room, his passion for storytelling is resilient even when confronting such suffocating censorship.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Palisades Tartan
25. "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
With the snow-covered Zagros Mountains as backdrop, Ghobadi’s debut feature tells the story of Ayoub, a young Kurdish boy who must provide for his siblings after their mother’s death. Added to the already difficult circumstances, his handicapped brother desperately needs a surgery. This pushes the heroic kid to persevere against all odds in the hostile environment.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
26. "Turtles Can Fly" (2004)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Commanding a cast made almost entirely of children Ghobadi sets his film in an Iraqi Kurdish refugee camp just before the American occupation of 2003. Making a living by clearing the hazardous minefields that surround them, a group of orphan children create a small community to survive. The atrocities of war are ever-present, but like in most of the director’s works, the triumph of the human spirit is at the film's core.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
27. "The White Balloon" (1995)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Written by Kiarostami and directed by Panahi this is another film set during the important Persian New Year celebrations. It centers on a little girl trying to convince her parents to buy her a goldfish and who gets in a couple mishaps along the way. With utmost innocence, the seemingly simple premise manages to be a charming delight that showcases family values and ancient virtues with a nice dose of humor. It’s an uplifting gem.
*Sadly the film is not curently availble in any format in the U.S. Hopefully Criterion or another distributor will fix this soon.
28. "The White Meadows" (2009)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
While ethereal, almost otherworldly imagery achieved by cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori is reason enough to see this film, Rasoulof’s poetic storytelling elevates it to even greater intellectual heights. By using a barren coastal land and its inhabitant as a metaphor for the intolerance and injustice that many of his compatriots -creative people in particular - confront everyday, the filmmaker denounces these evils through melancholic beauty.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
29. "The Willow Tree" (2005)
Dir. Majid Majidi
A writer, who had been blinded in an accident as a child, regains his vision as a middle aged adult only to be challenged by a world that has become foreign to him. At first, his miraculous new situation appears to be an answer to a prayer, but Majidi soon shows us how vision can become a curse in this spiritual drama about fate and regret. Exquisitely shot and sporting visceral performances, the film is both heart-rending and though provoking.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Films
30. "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Taking the audience on a trip to an untainted region of Iran where tradition hasn’t yet been disrupted by modernity, the acclaimed director crafted another unforgettable experience. Sublimely executed, the film joins four journalists pretending to be engineers as they document the funerary rituals of the local Kurdish people. More than learning about them as researchers, their interactions force them to engage on a much more human level.
*Availble on Blu-ray and DVD from Cohen Media Group...
While useful in the theoretical realm in which politics take place, these generalizations create a distorted image of the foreign nation fed by assumptions and dangerously insensitive stereotypes. It’s much easier for rulers to justify their actions if the adversary is made out to look like an irredeemable villain. Sensationalism and ignorance are weapons far more destructive than missiles, because once the smoke dissipates hatred remains.
On that note, it should be clear that the Iranian people are not the Iranian government. Their rich cultural history is not reflected in the actions of those in power, but in the prevailing elegance and allure of their artwork. Remarkable poets, musicians, painters, and, what we are mostly concerned with here, filmmakers.
The history of Iranian cinema is vast and has survived the many transitions and troubling periods the country has experienced. Even more impressive is the fact that as masterfully as Iranian filmmakers and actors understand the medium, they have never watered down their individuality for the sake of mainstream international success. Instead, they’ve managed to create their unique cinematic language that aligns with their idiosyncrasies and that is not silenced despite the hardships they face, but finds a way around censorship or defies it altogether.
Certainly not a definitive list, the following collection of films aims to be an introduction to the compelling and diverse voices within this captivating national cinema and to encourage you to seek out other films in the future. There are films here that are concerned with rural and working class lifestyles, others that focus on the traditions of ethnic minorities, those that deal with the modern middle class, and also several works denouncing the country’s political situation and the oppression that comes with it.
There are also some films that are note worthy even if they don’t easily fit within the parameters of what an Iranian film is.
Special Mentions:
-Iranian-American director Ana Lily Amirpour and her outstanding Farsi-language debut “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,” a visually striking vampire story set in a fictional Iranian town.
-American filmmaker Till Schauder and his documentary “The Iran Job,” which follows Kevin Sheppard, an American professional basketball player in Iran, and uses his experience to build cultural bridges between the two countries.
-Farhadi’s “The Past,” which though is not precisely an Iranian story, continues to show the director’s specific talent for greatly written, puzzling narratives both in his home country and abroad.
-Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's “Chicken with Plums,” a gorgeously whimsical and darkly comedic love story set in pre-revolutionary Tehran starring Mathieu Amalric.
Lastly, in honor of Nowruz or Persian New Year, which is a peaceful celebration of renewal and rebirth that takes place from March 20-24 in Iran and Iranian communities around the world, let’s remember the deeply moving and wise words that Asghar Farhadi gifted us during his acceptance speech on Oscar night a few years back. No one could have said it better than him.
“At this time many Iranians all over the world are watching us, and I imagine them to be very happy. They are happy not just because of an important award, or a film, or a filmmaker, but because at a time in which talk of war, intimidation, and aggression is exchanged between politicians, the name of their country, Iran, is spoken here through her glorious culture, a rich and ancient culture that has been hidden under the heavy dust of politics. I proudly offer this award to the people of my country, a people that respect all cultures and civilizations and despise hostility and resentment. Thank you so much.” –Director Asghar Farhadi after winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award for “A Separation” on February 26, 2012
1. "About Elly" (2009)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
In Farhadi's tense psychological drama a casual trip to the sea evolves into a subtly plotted mystery. The director's depiction of the Iranian middle class in such a fascinatingly unexpected story connected with both local and international audiences earning him awards at home and abroad, among them Berlin's Silver Bear.
*The Cinema Guild will release the film theatrically on April 17, 2015
2. "Baran" (2001)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Taking a look at the diverse ethnic groups that coexist in Iran, the film follows a love story between a man and a young Afghan woman who must pretend to be a man in order to work. Eliciting truly naturalistic performance from his cast Majidi gives voice to his almost silent protagonist, a woman caught up in a system designed by men.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch
3. "Children of Heaven" (1997)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Iran's first ever Academy Award nominated film is also Majidi's most renowned work. Innocence permeates this sweet story about two siblings from a working class family trying to find a pair of missing shoes. Their adventure delivers valuable life lessons that are at once heartwarming and profound. Unquestionably a classic.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Lionsgate
4. "Closed Curtain" (2013)
Dir. Jafar Panahi & Kambuzia Partovi
In this enigmatic observation on repression and surveillance an anonymous screenwriter, played by co-director Kambuzia Partovi, hides with his dog in a secluded location. Eventually, as other surprising characters appear, the film becomes a complex dance between reality and fabrication. Both filmmakers had their passports confiscated by the Iranian government due to the subversive content of the film.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
5. "Close-Up" (1990)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
In one of the greatest examples of reality and fiction blending in almost seamless ways, Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork poses complex questions about identity. When a film buff impersonates his favorite director, who happens to Mohsen Makhmalbaf , a series of events unravel as he plans his next, fake, film. Surreally enough the film is based on a true story and stars the actual people involved. It's all brilliantly meta.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Criterion
6. "The Color of Paradise" (1999)
Dir. Majid Majidi
Though rejected by his father, a young blind boy rejoices in nature’s beauty and tries to understand the meaning of his struggles with the help of a mentor with the same condition. Showcasing Iran’s visually stunning rural landscapes and delicately embedding with philosophical concerns, Majidi’s poetic film delivers wisdom in wondrously unassuming ways.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
7. "The Cow" (1969)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Considered a turning point in the nation’s cinematic history, this black-and-white work revolves around a man’s devotion for his cow and how its disappearance drives him into madness. While seemingly simple in its conception, Mehrjui manages to compellingly highlight the country’s traditional lifestyles.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
8. "Fireworks Wednesday" (2006)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Intimate conflicts in the Iranian middle class are Farhadi’s expertise and this domestic drama, set fittingly during the celebrations prior to the Persian New Year, is no exception. When a soon-to-be bride in need of money for her wedding gets a job cleaning a family’s house, their secrets begin to unravel through their interaction and confrontations.
*Available on DVD from Facets
9. "Gabbeh" (1996)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Taking its name from a type of Persian carpet, this stunningly evocative fable is adorned with mysticism and magical realist elements that shine through its colorful visual palette. Gabbeh, a young nomadic woman who is likely the incarnation of one of these traditional rugs, falls in love with horseman, but her community follows beliefs that hinder her desire.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
10. "The Green Wave" (2010)
Dir. Ali Samadi Ahadi
Told through striking animated sequences, interviews and footage from the protests, this documentary constructs a bold portrait of the 2009 Green Movement following Ahmadinejad’s reelection. The regime's strong grip over its citizens is exposed, but the spirit of the Iranian people demanding change is even stronger.
*Available on DVD from Strand Releasing
11. "Hamoun" (1990)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Underscored by subdued comedy and poignant dream sequences, Mehrjui’s visionary drama centers on the decaying relationship between Hamoun, a businessman with hopes of becoming a writer, and his wife Mahshid, a painter. Insanity takes over him when she decides to divorce him because of his angry outbursts. A series of drastic occurrences ensue.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
12. "Kandahar" (2001)
Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf
Despite being set in Afghanistan, this Iranian production is a powerful achievement that unveils the unjust treatment of women, not only under the Taliban’s control, but also in the entire region. Nafas, an Afghan women living in Canada, decides to return to her homeland to find her depressed sister. Through this dangerous journey she discovers much more about life in the war-torn country than she expected.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Video
13. "Leila" (1997)
Dir. Dariush Mehrjui
Starting famous Iranian actress Leila Hatami in one her earliest roles as a married woman unable to have children, this conjugal drama explores the role of women within Iranian society. Leila’s husband, Reza (played by “The Past” star Ali Mosaffa), loves her, but his mother wants him to get another wife that can give him a son. The title character is divided between her happiness and what others think is best for her marriage.
*Available on DVD from First Run Features
14. "Manuscripts Don't Burn" (2013)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
Rasoulof’s brave and searing political statement was shot illegally going against the20-year-ban from filmmaking imposed on him by the Iranian government. It denounces the terrifying lack of freedom of expression via the thrilling story a pair of writers risking it all to protect an incendiary manuscript that authorities are eager to destroy.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
15. "Marooned in Iraq" (2002)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Highlighting the rich Kurdish culture, both in Iran and Iraq, Ghobadi’s film is set in the aftermath of the ravaging Gulf War. Marooned is an elderly man who must travel across the mountainous landscape that divides the two countries to find his ex-wife. While portraying the horrors of war in an affecting manner, the film is also a life-affirming work that finds hope in the most surprising places.
*Available on DVD from Wellspring
16. "My Tehran for Sale"
Dir. Granaz Moussavi
Devastating and current, this debut feature from renowned poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi is a hard-hitting critique on the blatant criminalization of artists in Iran. An actress banned from her profession questions whether she should remain in the country or flee. Getting to safety means leaving everything she knows behind. There are no easy options for her.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
17. "No One Knows About Persian Cats" (2009)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Music as the banner of freedom is the focus of Ghobadi’s film about the underground rock scene in Tehran. Secular music is essentially forbidden, and playing in public is considered a criminal act punished with prison. Crafted between reality and fiction, this quasi-documentary takes a look at a group of young musicians desperate to express themselves through their art.
*Available on DVD from Mpi Home Video
18. "Offside" (2006)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Attending sporting events is prohibited for women in Iran, but that doesn’t stop many of them who go as far as to dress like men to get in. Panahi’s touching and insightful film takes place during the 2006 World Cup Qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain, and follows several girls who despite being excluded cheer for their team as joyfully as any fan would.
*Available on DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
19. "Persepolis" (2007)
Dir. Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud
Nominated for the Best Animated Feature Oscar, this French-language marvel is based on Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novel by the same name. With eye-popping hand-drawn animation, the film revisits the director’s childhood and teenage years in Iran during the events leading up to the Islamic Revolution. It’s a love letter to the bittersweet memories of the Iran Satrapi knew.
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
20. "A Separation" (2011)
Dir. Asghar Farhadi
Dealing with a marriage in turmoil facing the country's peculiar judicial system, Farhadi’s masterpiece is the most acclaimed film in the history of Iranian cinema and earned the country's first Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay for its enthralling thriller-like narrative that grips the audience until its unnerving conclusion. A must see!
*Available on Blu-ray & DVD from Sony Pictures Classics
21. "The Song of Sparrows" (2008)
Dir. Majid Majidi
When Karim (played by Berlin’s Silver Bear Winner Reza Naji), an ostrich farm worker, is forced to find a new job in the city to pay for his daughter’s hearing aid, Iran’s rural and urban realms collide. Thanks to the captivating grace that characterizes Majidi’s films, poverty and misfortune are observed here not with pity but with an optimistic and undefeated perspective.
*Available on DVD from E1 Entertainment
22." Taste of Cherry" (1997)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
This quiet and minimalist meditation on death and the simple joys of its antithesis is the first and only Iranian film to have won the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Kiarostami follows a man who has decided to commit suicide and is looking for someone to help him achieve this. However, those he recruits along the way come with their own views on the meaning of our existence and attempt to persuade him to reconsider.
*Available on DVD from Criterion
23. "Ten" (2002)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
A female cabbie drives through the streets of Tehran picking up an array of characters that via their casual conversations shine a light on the Iranian society’s expectations of women. Constructed of ten individual scenes in which the only constant is the driver, this heavily improvised and peculiarly shot cinematic experiment is a work of fiction embedded with truth in every frame.
*Available on DVD from Zeitgeist Films
24. "This is Not a Film" (2011)
Dir. Mojtaba Mirtahmasb & Jafar Panahi
In an effort to tell his story despite being banned from filmmaking and under house arrest, filmmaker Jafar Panahi takes his frustration and ingeniously turns it into a courageous visual statement. Whether is shooting video with his cell phone or blocking an imaginary scene in his living room, his passion for storytelling is resilient even when confronting such suffocating censorship.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Palisades Tartan
25. "A Time for Drunken Horses" (2000)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
With the snow-covered Zagros Mountains as backdrop, Ghobadi’s debut feature tells the story of Ayoub, a young Kurdish boy who must provide for his siblings after their mother’s death. Added to the already difficult circumstances, his handicapped brother desperately needs a surgery. This pushes the heroic kid to persevere against all odds in the hostile environment.
*Available on Netflix Instant Watch and on DVD from Kino Lorber
26. "Turtles Can Fly" (2004)
Dir. Bahman Ghobadi
Commanding a cast made almost entirely of children Ghobadi sets his film in an Iraqi Kurdish refugee camp just before the American occupation of 2003. Making a living by clearing the hazardous minefields that surround them, a group of orphan children create a small community to survive. The atrocities of war are ever-present, but like in most of the director’s works, the triumph of the human spirit is at the film's core.
*Available on Amazon Instant Video
27. "The White Balloon" (1995)
Dir. Jafar Panahi
Written by Kiarostami and directed by Panahi this is another film set during the important Persian New Year celebrations. It centers on a little girl trying to convince her parents to buy her a goldfish and who gets in a couple mishaps along the way. With utmost innocence, the seemingly simple premise manages to be a charming delight that showcases family values and ancient virtues with a nice dose of humor. It’s an uplifting gem.
*Sadly the film is not curently availble in any format in the U.S. Hopefully Criterion or another distributor will fix this soon.
28. "The White Meadows" (2009)
Dir. Mohammad Rasoulof
While ethereal, almost otherworldly imagery achieved by cinematographer Ebrahim Ghafori is reason enough to see this film, Rasoulof’s poetic storytelling elevates it to even greater intellectual heights. By using a barren coastal land and its inhabitant as a metaphor for the intolerance and injustice that many of his compatriots -creative people in particular - confront everyday, the filmmaker denounces these evils through melancholic beauty.
*Available on DVD from Global Lens
29. "The Willow Tree" (2005)
Dir. Majid Majidi
A writer, who had been blinded in an accident as a child, regains his vision as a middle aged adult only to be challenged by a world that has become foreign to him. At first, his miraculous new situation appears to be an answer to a prayer, but Majidi soon shows us how vision can become a curse in this spiritual drama about fate and regret. Exquisitely shot and sporting visceral performances, the film is both heart-rending and though provoking.
*Available on DVD from New Yorker Films
30. "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999)
Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Taking the audience on a trip to an untainted region of Iran where tradition hasn’t yet been disrupted by modernity, the acclaimed director crafted another unforgettable experience. Sublimely executed, the film joins four journalists pretending to be engineers as they document the funerary rituals of the local Kurdish people. More than learning about them as researchers, their interactions force them to engage on a much more human level.
*Availble on Blu-ray and DVD from Cohen Media Group...
- 3/23/2015
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami has been considered one of the most unique and respected voices in international cinema for more than four decades. The average American filmgoer may not be very familiar with his work, but the vast majority of scholars and critics are infatuated with his elegant, conversational, often documentary-style narratives about life. One of these films, The Wind Will Carry Us (1999), has now been re-released on Blu-ray by Cohen Media Group to commemorate its 15th anniversary. It epitomizes many of Kiarostami’s qualities as an auteur, and walks the fine tightrope between fascinating and dull that so many art house films seem wrapped so tightly around.
Read more...
Read more...
- 10/8/2014
- by Lee Jutton
- JustPressPlay.net
The Wind Will Carry Us
Written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Iran 1999
To say that Abbas Kiarostami’s The Wind Will Carry Us is an unhurried film would be quite the understatement. This deliberately crafted and contemplative work, one of the great Iranian director’s finest films, moves at the pace of life. Not life as in the hustle and bustle or stolid banality of one’s everyday experiences, but life as in the gradual evolution of humankind’s basic existence. Reflecting the lives of those who inhabit the rural Kurdish village that serves as the film’s setting, The Wind Will Carry Us unfolds slowly and episodically, with its drama, or lack thereof, coming and going at a capricious moment’s notice.
Kiarostami begins the film as we follow a car driven by disembodied voices that bicker about directions and banter about the countryside. They drive and drive, along winding roads,...
Written and directed by Abbas Kiarostami
Iran 1999
To say that Abbas Kiarostami’s The Wind Will Carry Us is an unhurried film would be quite the understatement. This deliberately crafted and contemplative work, one of the great Iranian director’s finest films, moves at the pace of life. Not life as in the hustle and bustle or stolid banality of one’s everyday experiences, but life as in the gradual evolution of humankind’s basic existence. Reflecting the lives of those who inhabit the rural Kurdish village that serves as the film’s setting, The Wind Will Carry Us unfolds slowly and episodically, with its drama, or lack thereof, coming and going at a capricious moment’s notice.
Kiarostami begins the film as we follow a car driven by disembodied voices that bicker about directions and banter about the countryside. They drive and drive, along winding roads,...
- 8/5/2014
- by Jeremy Carr
- SoundOnSight
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: July 22, 2014
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray $39.98
Studio: Cohen Media
The great Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s (Certified Copy) acclaimed 1999 drama The Wind Will Carry Us arrives as a digitally remastered release on Blu-ray and DVD, an “acknowledgement” of the film’s 15th anniversary that marks its Blu-ray debut.
The Wind Will Carry Us film follows the changes in the daily routines of the inhabitants of a mountain village after a small group of outsiders arrives, claiming to be “communication engineers.” As the deceptive story unfolds, we learn that the mysterious strangers are on a secret mission: They are a television crew sent from Tehran to await the death of an old woman in order to cover the funeral practices of the village. But the village operates on its own schedule, forcing the TV crew to remain much longer than planned. The leader of the crew (Behzad Dorani) winds...
Price: DVD $29.98, Blu-ray $39.98
Studio: Cohen Media
The great Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s (Certified Copy) acclaimed 1999 drama The Wind Will Carry Us arrives as a digitally remastered release on Blu-ray and DVD, an “acknowledgement” of the film’s 15th anniversary that marks its Blu-ray debut.
The Wind Will Carry Us film follows the changes in the daily routines of the inhabitants of a mountain village after a small group of outsiders arrives, claiming to be “communication engineers.” As the deceptive story unfolds, we learn that the mysterious strangers are on a secret mission: They are a television crew sent from Tehran to await the death of an old woman in order to cover the funeral practices of the village. But the village operates on its own schedule, forcing the TV crew to remain much longer than planned. The leader of the crew (Behzad Dorani) winds...
- 7/14/2014
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
The mastery of Abbas Kiarostami is most evident, perhaps, in his restraint, in the depth he suggests through omission. His films routinely aspire to the frustration of curiosity: Audiences are intrigued by their mysteries, teased into fascination, and finally abandoned without the satisfaction of closure. But it's precisely the absence of answers that makes the questions endure. This is the key to their richness.
In Taste of Cherry, the fate of a man seeking death is obscured by an invitation to ponder our own morality. In Shirin, we study the faces of women as they remain transfixed by a movie screen we never see. The Wind Will Carry Us, one of Kiarostami's greatest, likewise bristles with secrecy, and much of its mystique is derived from the sensation tha...
In Taste of Cherry, the fate of a man seeking death is obscured by an invitation to ponder our own morality. In Shirin, we study the faces of women as they remain transfixed by a movie screen we never see. The Wind Will Carry Us, one of Kiarostami's greatest, likewise bristles with secrecy, and much of its mystique is derived from the sensation tha...
- 5/30/2014
- Village Voice
Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami will give a masterclass at the 54th edition of the International Film Festival of Cartagena de Indias –Ficci.
Cartagena’s festival, which runs March 13-19, will also feature a retrospective of his work.
His films to be screened include Taste of Cherry (1997); The Wind Will Carry Us (1999); Shirín (2008); Ten (2002); Ten by Ten (2004); Certified Copy (2010); Close Up (1990); Where is the Friend’s Home? (1987); Life Goes on (1992) and Through the Olive Trees (1994).
These screenings will make his work better known to the Colombian public; his films have never been shown commercially in Colombia before.
His visit to Cartagena is sponsored by the University of Magdalena and made possible thanks to producer Blackfactory Cinema in alliance with Medio de Contención Productions, companies that will organize the workshop “Filming in Colombia with Abbas Kiarostami” in Bogotá from March 3-12 at the Centro ÁTICO of the Universidad Javeriana of Bogota.
Cartagena’s festival, which runs March 13-19, will also feature a retrospective of his work.
His films to be screened include Taste of Cherry (1997); The Wind Will Carry Us (1999); Shirín (2008); Ten (2002); Ten by Ten (2004); Certified Copy (2010); Close Up (1990); Where is the Friend’s Home? (1987); Life Goes on (1992) and Through the Olive Trees (1994).
These screenings will make his work better known to the Colombian public; his films have never been shown commercially in Colombia before.
His visit to Cartagena is sponsored by the University of Magdalena and made possible thanks to producer Blackfactory Cinema in alliance with Medio de Contención Productions, companies that will organize the workshop “Filming in Colombia with Abbas Kiarostami” in Bogotá from March 3-12 at the Centro ÁTICO of the Universidad Javeriana of Bogota.
- 12/19/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Other masterclasses to be held by Dumont, Gray, Kiarostami and philosopher Debray.
The 13th Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 29-Dec 7) has announced the directors who will conduct this year’s masterclasses.
The first masterclass, on Dec 1, will be held by French director and screenwriter Bruno Dumont whose Camille Claudel 1915 played in competition at this year’s Berlinale.
Dumont is currently finishing P’tit Quinquin, a police miniseries for the Franco-German channel Arte.
Us director, screenwriter and producer James Gray will host the next masterclass on Dec 2. This year, Gray directed Cannes competition title The Immigrant and produced Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties. He will preside over the international jury at the Rome Film Festival this month.
The following day (Dec 3), Iran director and screenwriter Abbas Kiarostami will share his memories and thoughts about film.
His credits include Taste of Cherry, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1997, and The Wind Will Carry Us, which...
The 13th Marrakech International Film Festival (Nov 29-Dec 7) has announced the directors who will conduct this year’s masterclasses.
The first masterclass, on Dec 1, will be held by French director and screenwriter Bruno Dumont whose Camille Claudel 1915 played in competition at this year’s Berlinale.
Dumont is currently finishing P’tit Quinquin, a police miniseries for the Franco-German channel Arte.
Us director, screenwriter and producer James Gray will host the next masterclass on Dec 2. This year, Gray directed Cannes competition title The Immigrant and produced Guillaume Canet’s Blood Ties. He will preside over the international jury at the Rome Film Festival this month.
The following day (Dec 3), Iran director and screenwriter Abbas Kiarostami will share his memories and thoughts about film.
His credits include Taste of Cherry, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 1997, and The Wind Will Carry Us, which...
- 11/5/2013
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The Doha Film Institute will organise a retrospective devoted to Abbas Kiarostami at the Museum of Islamic Art in Doha.
The programme, which runs Sept 13-21, will include 14 short and feature films. Kiarostami himself is expected to attend and to make appearances at screenings.
Abdulaziz Al Khater, CEO of Doha Film Institute, said: “Dfi is proud to present this rich selection of Abbas Kiarostami’s great works for the first time in the region. We are not only sharing some of the finest world cinema with Qatar’s audiences, but we also hope to inspire local and regional talent to expand boundaries of traditional filmmaking to experiment with various media, styles, and interpretations.”
Ludmila Cvikova, Head of Film Programming at Doha Film Institute, said: “One of the most admired contemporary auteurs of cinema, Abbas Kiarostami is an inspiration for emerging as well as established filmmakers. His approach to filmmaking, which often defies conventional techniques, is much discussed...
The programme, which runs Sept 13-21, will include 14 short and feature films. Kiarostami himself is expected to attend and to make appearances at screenings.
Abdulaziz Al Khater, CEO of Doha Film Institute, said: “Dfi is proud to present this rich selection of Abbas Kiarostami’s great works for the first time in the region. We are not only sharing some of the finest world cinema with Qatar’s audiences, but we also hope to inspire local and regional talent to expand boundaries of traditional filmmaking to experiment with various media, styles, and interpretations.”
Ludmila Cvikova, Head of Film Programming at Doha Film Institute, said: “One of the most admired contemporary auteurs of cinema, Abbas Kiarostami is an inspiration for emerging as well as established filmmakers. His approach to filmmaking, which often defies conventional techniques, is much discussed...
- 8/21/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Chicago – Minor Abbas Kiarostami is still a reason for celebration. While the internationally acclaimed auteur’s latest work, “Like Someone in Love,” opening tomorrow at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, is a bit more frustrating than his best films (“Certified Copy,” “The Wind Will Carry Us”), it still contains such confident, intriguing filmmaking that it merits consideration for your movie dollar this weekend.
An Asian cousin to the European “Certified Copy,” “Like Someone in Love” often begs for similar degrees of interpretation and, once again, it feels like Kiarostami is purposefully trying to make a specific reading of the film impossible, asking viewers to become engrossed in theme more than plot. His reliance on long takes, natural lighting, crowd noise, and other trademarks of his style lend an air of importance to everything, as if we should be asking ourselves “what this means,” when the answer may mean...
Chicago – Minor Abbas Kiarostami is still a reason for celebration. While the internationally acclaimed auteur’s latest work, “Like Someone in Love,” opening tomorrow at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago, is a bit more frustrating than his best films (“Certified Copy,” “The Wind Will Carry Us”), it still contains such confident, intriguing filmmaking that it merits consideration for your movie dollar this weekend.
An Asian cousin to the European “Certified Copy,” “Like Someone in Love” often begs for similar degrees of interpretation and, once again, it feels like Kiarostami is purposefully trying to make a specific reading of the film impossible, asking viewers to become engrossed in theme more than plot. His reliance on long takes, natural lighting, crowd noise, and other trademarks of his style lend an air of importance to everything, as if we should be asking ourselves “what this means,” when the answer may mean...
- 3/1/2013
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Like Someone in Love: Filmmaker Kiarostami has created a 'lovely' drama The 73-year-old, Iranian-born filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami is among the freshest and most energetic directors working today. His ideas always intrigue without wandering aimlessly; his screenwriting is sparse, but always rings true; his execution is stylistic and beautiful. Kiarostami has worked on shorts, documentaries, and narrative features that deal with a wide range of topics, from students' homework (in Homework) to Iran's sociopolitical landscape. (Pictured above: Actress Rin Takanashi in the Tokyo-set Like Someone in Love, written and directed by Kiarostami.) His new effort opens in New York and L.A. on Friday; the film can be considered a solid addition to his canon. Like Someone in Love leaves audiences with the sense of having watched a story deliberately unfinished. The film tackles a similar topic to the one found in the director's Tuscany-set movie Certified Copy, starring Juliette Binoche...
- 2/15/2013
- by Tim Cogshell
- Alt Film Guide
What follows is an exchange between Josh Timmermann (a fellow critic and Vancouver resident, who you may recall from this) and I, wherein we discuss the Vancouver International Film Festival and its individual parts, a chance to color outside the lines a bit and discuss the ins and outs of our festival experiences.
Context!
Above: Granville 7 Theatre, Viff's primary venue.
Adam Cook: I’ve been attending Viff since 2008—and you’ve been attending since 2007—so it seems kind of safe to say we’re well on our way to being veterans of the festival; although, this claim is humbled when encountering someone like Chuck Stephens—a member of this year’s Dragons & Tigers jury—who has been coming (from out of town, no less) for something like twenty years. However, five years of Viff-going has equipped me with a knack for knowing how to approach the festival, how to navigate the programming—and,...
Context!
Above: Granville 7 Theatre, Viff's primary venue.
Adam Cook: I’ve been attending Viff since 2008—and you’ve been attending since 2007—so it seems kind of safe to say we’re well on our way to being veterans of the festival; although, this claim is humbled when encountering someone like Chuck Stephens—a member of this year’s Dragons & Tigers jury—who has been coming (from out of town, no less) for something like twenty years. However, five years of Viff-going has equipped me with a knack for knowing how to approach the festival, how to navigate the programming—and,...
- 11/8/2012
- by Adam Cook
- MUBI
Cannes romance Like Someone in Love helmed by Abbas Kiarostami goes to Sundance Selects The MK2 and Eurospace Production made its world premiere in competition at Cannes and is scripted by Certified Copy's Kiarostami. Rin Takanashi, Tadashi Okuno and Ryo Kase star in the Kenzo Horikoshi and Nathanaël Karmitz-produced Palme d'Or-nominated film which tells of an old man and young woman who meet in Tokyo. Experienced filmmaker Kiarostami's previous helming credits include Tickets, Ten and The Wind Will Carry Us. IFC Films/Sundance Selects also recently acquired On the Road helmed by Walter Salles, starring Tom Sturridge...
- 5/29/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Cannes romance Like Someone in Love helmed by Abbas Kiarostami goes to Sundance Selects The MK2 and Eurospace Production made its world premiere in competition at Cannes and is scripted by Certified Copy's Kiarostami. Rin Takanashi, Tadashi Okuno and Ryo Kase star in the Kenzo Horikoshi and Nathanaël Karmitz-produced Palme d'Or-nominated film which tells of an old man and young woman who meet in Tokyo. Experienced filmmaker Kiarostami's previous helming credits include Tickets, Ten and The Wind Will Carry Us. IFC Films/Sundance Selects also recently acquired On the Road helmed by Walter Salles, starring Tom Sturridge...
- 5/29/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Unable to film in his native Iran, Abbas Kiarostami now has to shoot his enigmatic films abroad. Does it matter that Cannes audiences found his new work exasperating?
It's hard to spot Abbas Kiarostami amid the gloom of the Cannes beachfront pavilion. There he is, behind the curtain, still as a millpond, his clothes dark and his glasses darker. "I am not a creature of the red carpet," he explains, lest there be any doubt of that. Today he could pass for a fugitive from justice or a supergrass on witness protection, set to dish the dirt from his base in the shadows.
Once, not so long ago, Kiarostami was the de facto leader of the Iranian new wave, the creator of soulful, enigmatic human stories rooted in his home soil. Now the movement is defunct and the 71-year-old director in effect stateless, flushed from his habitat by the Ahmadinejad...
It's hard to spot Abbas Kiarostami amid the gloom of the Cannes beachfront pavilion. There he is, behind the curtain, still as a millpond, his clothes dark and his glasses darker. "I am not a creature of the red carpet," he explains, lest there be any doubt of that. Today he could pass for a fugitive from justice or a supergrass on witness protection, set to dish the dirt from his base in the shadows.
Once, not so long ago, Kiarostami was the de facto leader of the Iranian new wave, the creator of soulful, enigmatic human stories rooted in his home soil. Now the movement is defunct and the 71-year-old director in effect stateless, flushed from his habitat by the Ahmadinejad...
- 5/28/2012
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
One of the best films of 2011, currently playing in New York and Los Angeles, begins rolling out across the Us over next two months. Check the site for cities and dates.
"A Separation literally makes the viewer judge its protagonists," notes Vadim Rizov at GreenCine Daily: "in the opening scene, wife Simin (Leila Hatami) pleads for a divorce from husband Nader (Peyman Maadi). The Pov is the judge's, who skeptically asks why an Iranian woman would possibly want her daughter to grow up anywhere else. The offscreen interrogator/filmmaker is a familiar figure in Iranian cinema, with Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi often breaking the fourth walls in their films, often directly appearing (and/or heard off-camera) asking their characters questions. Kiarostami's seemingly given up on making films in Iran at all, while Panahi's imprisoned; for many, Iranian cinema's currently more associated right now with its absentees than actual films.
"A Separation literally makes the viewer judge its protagonists," notes Vadim Rizov at GreenCine Daily: "in the opening scene, wife Simin (Leila Hatami) pleads for a divorce from husband Nader (Peyman Maadi). The Pov is the judge's, who skeptically asks why an Iranian woman would possibly want her daughter to grow up anywhere else. The offscreen interrogator/filmmaker is a familiar figure in Iranian cinema, with Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi often breaking the fourth walls in their films, often directly appearing (and/or heard off-camera) asking their characters questions. Kiarostami's seemingly given up on making films in Iran at all, while Panahi's imprisoned; for many, Iranian cinema's currently more associated right now with its absentees than actual films.
- 1/2/2012
- MUBI
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.