| Cinema of Iran | |
|---|---|
 | |
| No. ofscreens | 596 (2018)[1] |
| • Per capita | 0.7 per 100,000 (2018) |
| Produced feature films (2017)[2] | |
| Total | 200 |
| Number of admissions (2018)[3] | |
| Total | 28,537,410 |
| National films | 28,514,921 |
| Gross box office (2018)[3] | |
| Total | $23.8 million |
| Part ofa series on the |
| Culture of Iran |
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Thecinema of Iran (Persian:سینمای ایران), or ofPersia, refers to the film industry inIran. In particular, Iranianart films have garnered international recognition.[4] Iranian films are usually written and spoken in thePersian language.[5]
Iran has been lauded as one of the best exporters of cinema in the 1990s.[6] Some critics now rank Iran as the world's most important national cinema, artistically, with a significance that invites comparison toItalian neorealism and similar movements in past decades.[4] A range of international film festivals have honoured Iranian cinema in the last twenty years. Many film critics from around the world have praised Iranian cinema as one of the world's most important artistic cinemas.[7]
The earliest examples of visual representations inIranian history may be traced back to thebas-reliefs inPersepolis (c. 500 BC). Bas relief is a method of sculpting which entails carving or etching away the surface of a flat piece of stone or metal. Persepolis was the ritual center of the ancient kingdom ofAchaemenids and "the figures at Persepolis remain bound by the rules of grammar and syntax of visual language."[8]
Iranian visual arts may be said to have peaked about a thousand years later during theSassanian reign. Abas-relief from this period inTaq Bostan (western Iran) depicts a complex hunting scene. Similar works from the period have been found to articulate movements and actions in a highly sophisticated manner. It is even possible to see the progenitor of the cinema close-up: a wounded wild pig escaping from the hunting ground,[9] among these works of art.
After the conversion fromZoroastrianism toIslam; Persian art continued its visual practices. Persian miniatures provide great examples of such continued attempts. The deliberate lack of perspective in Persian miniature enabled the artist to have different plots and sub-plots within the same image space. A very popular form of such art wasPardeh Khani. Another type of art in the same category wasNaqqali.[9]
Popular dramatic performance arts in Iran, before the advent of cinema, includeMarionette, Saye-bazi (shadow plays), Rouhozi (comical acts), andTa'zieh.[10]
cinema entered into the public realm, but, its cultural and economic capabilities were still unknown. As a consequence, theaters experienced a growing trend at the outset as to reveal economic attractions of cinema. Due to equating him with the Iranian Constitutional Revolutionaries, Mirza Ebrahim Khan Sahhafbashi's Kinetoscopes corridor didn't last for even a month and was closed, resulting in his leaving Iran. Then, it was the turn of Rousi Khan's public theater. It, too, didn't survive for a long time as the public theater was plundered during conflicts between Mohammad Ali Shah and Constitution Revolutionaries and, moreover, he himself fled abroad. After him, it was' Ardeshir Khan Armeni' who introduced the real meaning of running and using cinema, continuing until long after him.[11]
Cinema was only five years old when it came to Persia at the beginning of the 20th century. The first Persian filmmaker wasMirza Ebrahim Khan Akkas Bashi, the official photographer ofMuzaffar al-Din Shah, theKing of Persia from 1896–1907. After a visit to Paris in July 1900,Akkas Bashi obtained a camera and filmed theShah's visit to Europe upon the Shah's orders. He is said to have filmed the Shah's private and religious ceremonies, but no copies of such films exist today. A few years after Akkas Bashi started photography,Khan Baba Motazedi, another pioneer in Iranian motion picture photography emerged.[12] He shot a considerable amount of newsreel footage during the reign ofQajar to thePahlavi dynasty.[13]
The first public screening took place in Tehran in 1904, presented by Mirza Ebrahim Khan Sahaf Bashi. He arranged the screening in the back of his antique shop. In 1905, Sahaf Bashi opened the first movie theater in Cheragh Gaz Avenue in the national capital.In 1909, withfall of theMohammad Ali Shah Qajar heir ofMozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar and the success of the constitutionalists, Russi Khan lost his support. Consequently, his film theatre and photography studios were destroyed by the public. Soon after, other cinema theatres in Tehran closed down. Movie theatres sprang up again in 1912 with the help of Ardeshir Khan, an Armenian-Iranian.[9]In 1904,Mirza Ebrahim Khan Sahhafbashi opened the first movie theater inTehran.[12] The cinematographic camera was introduced to Iran in 1929, as yet another tool of modernization. After Mirza Ebrahim Khan, several others like Russi Khan, Ardeshir Khan, and Ali Vakili tried to establish new movie theaters in Tehran. Until the early 1930s, there were little more than 15 theatres in Tehran and 11 in other provinces.[9] In 1925,Ovanes Ohanian, decided to establish the first film school in Iran. Within five years he managed to run the first session of the school under the name "Parvareshgahe Artistiye Cinema".[14]
In 1930 the first Iranian silent film was made by Professor Ovanes Ohanian calledAbi and Rabi. In 1933 he made his second film titledHaji Agha. Later that year,Abdolhossein Sepanta made the first Iraniansound film, entitledLor Girl, which was released in 1933 in two Tehran cinemas, Mayak and Sepah. The story of the film was based on a comparison between the state of security in Iran at the end of theQajar dynasty and duringReza Shah period. Sepanta would go on to direct movies such asFerdowsi (the life story of the most celebrated epic poet of Iran),Shirin and Farhad (a classic Iranian love story), andBlack Eyes (the story ofNader Shah's invasion of India). In 1937, he directedLaili and Majnoon, an Eastern love story similar to the English story ofRomeo and Juliet.
The present day Iranian film industry owes much of its progress to two industrious personalities,Esmail Koushan andFarrokh Ghaffari. By establishing the firstNational Iranian Film Society in 1949 at theIran Bastan Museum and organizing the first Film Week during which English films were exhibited, Ghaffari laid the foundation for alternative and non-commercial films in Iran.
Early Persian directors likeAbdolhossein Sepanta andEsmail Koushan took advantage of the richness ofPersian literature and ancientPersian mythology. In their work, they emphasizedethics andhumanity.[15]
In the early 1970s, a New Iranian Cinema emerged (cinema motefävet). However, following the Revolution in 1979, a few filmmakers and actors went into exile per new governmental regulations. Between 1979 and 1985, about 100 features were released.[16] While Khomeini's censorship remained, the small number of features produced focused on sexual display and European influence.[16]
In 1982, the annualFajr Film Festival financed films. TheFarabi Cinema Foundation then stepped in to try and reassemble the disorganized cinema. The following year, the government began to provide financial aid. This change in regime encouraged a whole new generation of filmmakers, which included female directors as well. With this, the focus shifted to children overcoming obstacles: true stories, lyrical, mystical drama, real-life problems, documentary footage, etc.
Post-revolutionary Iranian cinema has been celebrated in many international forums and festivals for its distinct style, themes, authors, idea of nationhood, and cultural references. Starting WithViva... byKhosrow Sinai and followed by many excellent Iranian directors who emerged in the last few decades, such asAbbas Kiarostami andJafar Panahi. Kiarostami, who some critics regard as one of the few great directors in the history of cinema,[17] planted Iran firmly on the map of world cinema when he won thePalme d'Or at theCannes Film Festival forTaste of Cherry in 1997.
The continuous presence of Iranian films in prestigious international festivals such as theCannes Film Festival, theVenice Film Festival, and theBerlin Film Festival attracted world attention to Iranian masterpieces.[permanent dead link]. In 2006, six Iranian films, of six different styles, represented Iranian cinema at the Berlin Film Festival. Critics considered this a remarkable event in the history of Iranian cinema.[18][19]
An important step was taken in 1998 when the Iranian government began to fund ethnic cinema. Since thenIranian Kurdistan has seen the rise of numerous filmmakers. In particular, the film industry got momentum in Iranian Kurdistan and the region has seen the emergence of filmmakers such asBahman Ghobadi, actually the entire Ghobadi family, Ali-Reza Rezai, Khosret Ressoul and many other younger filmmakers.[20]
There is also movie-documentary production, often critical of the society in the name of the Islamic revolution ideal, like the films directed byMohammedreza Eslamloo.
By the year 2001 the number of features produced in Iran rose to 87 (from 28, which is the number of films that were produced in 1980, after the fall of the Shah). The most popular genres were melodramas and historical pageants which seldom went to festivals. In 1997, the newly elected president, Mohammed Khatemi, would eventually come to play a role in helping filmmakers achieve a certain degree of artistic freedom.[21]
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Today, the Iranian box office is dominated by commercial Iranian films. Western films are occasionally shown in movie theaters. and contemporary Hollywood productions are shown on state television. Iranian art films are often not screened officially, and are viewable via unlicensed DVDs which are available. Some of these acclaimed films were screened in Iran and had box office success. Examples include Rassul Sadr Ameli's "I'm Taraneh, 15", Rakhshan Bani-Etemad's "Under the skin of the City", Bahman Ghobadi's "Marooned in Iraq" and Manijeh Hekmat's "Women's Prison".[22]
The internationally award-winning cinema of Iran is quite different from the domestically oriented films. The latter caters to an entirely different audience, which is largely under the age of 25. This commercial Iranian cinema genre is largely unknown in the West, as the films are targeted at local audiences. There are Three categories of this type of film:
Lor Girl,A Party in Hell,Qeysar,Dar Emtedade Shab,Amir Arsalan, andGanj-e Qarun.
Eagles,Barzakhiha,The Viper,Dadshah,Boycott,Duel,Taraj,Ekhrajiha,The Glass Agency,Kani Manga,Ofogh,Bashu, the Little Stranger,Leily Ba Man Ast,M as in Mother andThe Night Bus.
For many years, the most visible face ofIranian commercial cinema wasMohammad Ali Fardin, who starred in a number of popular successful films. In the more conservative social climate of Iran after theIranian Revolution of 1979, however, he came to be considered an embarrassment to Iranian national identity and his films — which depicted romance, alcohol, vulgarity, objectification of women, scantily-dressed men and women, nightclubs, and a vulgar lifestyle now condemned by the Islamic government — werebanned. Although this would effectively prevent Fardin from making films for the remainder of his life, the ban did little to diminish his broad popularity with Iranian moviegoers: His funeral inTehran was attended by 20,000 mourners.[27] Before Fardin, one could argue, Iran simply did not have a commercial cinema.[28]
During the war years, crime thrillers such asSenator,The Eagles,Boycott,The Tenants, andKani Manga occupied the first position on the sales charts.[29]
Officially, the Iranian government disdains American cinema: in 2007 President Ahmadinejad's media adviser told the Fars news agency, "We believe that the American cinema system is devoid of all culture and art and is only used as a device."[30] However, numerous Western commercial films such asJaws,The Illusionist,Passion of the Christ,House of Sand and Fog,Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow,Sherlock Holmes,Alpha and Omega,Scarface,Casino Royale,The Mechanic, andThe Aviator have been screened in Iranian cinemas and Iranian film festivals since the revolution. Despite great pride in the country's more than 100-year film history, Western cinema is enormously popular among Iran's young people, and practically every recent Hollywood film is available on CD, DVD, or video.[22][31][32][33] State television has also broadcast more Western movies—partly because millions of Iranians have been switching to the use of banned satellite television equipment.[33]
Iranian New Wave refers to a new movement inIranian cinema. According to film critic Eric Henderson, the acclaimed documentaryThe House Is Black (خانه سیاه است) directed byForough Farrokhzad (famous Iranian poet and director) paved the way for the Iranian New Wave.[34] The movement started in 1964 withHajir Darioush's second filmSerpent's Skin, which was based onD.H. Lawrence'sLady Chatterley's Lover featuringFakhri Khorvash andJamshid Mashayekhi. Darioush's two important early social documentariesBut Problems Arose in 1965, dealing with the cultural alienation of the Iranian youth, andFace 75, a critical look at the westernization of the rural culture, which was a prizewinner at the 1965Berlin Film Festival, were also contributing significantly to the establishment of the New Wave.
In 1968, after the release of Shohare Ahoo Khanoom directed by Davoud Mollapour, and the 1969 release ofThe Cow directed byDarius Mehrjui followed byMasoud Kimiai'sQeysar, andNasser Taqvai'sTranquility in the Presence of Others, the New Wave became well established as a prominent cultural, dynamic and intellectual trend. The Iranian viewer became discriminating, encouraging the new trend to prosper and develop.[35]In the 1960s, there were 'New Wave' movements in the cinema of numerous countries. The pioneers of the Iranian New Wave were directors likeForough Farrokhzad,Sohrab Shahid Saless,Bahram Beizai, andParviz Kimiavi. They made innovative art films with highly political and philosophical tones and poetic language. Subsequent films of this type have become known as the New Iranian cinema to distinguish them from their earlier roots. The most notable figures of the Iranian New Wave areAbbas Kiarostami,Jafar Panahi,Majid Majidi, Bahram Beizai,Darius Mehrjui,Mohsen Makhmalbaf,Khosrow Sinai,Sohrab Shahid-Saless, Parviz Kimiavi,Samira Makhmalbaf,Amir Naderi, andAbolfazl Jalili.
The factors leading to the rise of the New Wave in Iran were, in part, due to the intellectual and political movements of the time. A romantic climate was developing after the 19 August 1953 coup in the sphere of arts. Alongside this, a socially committed literature took shape in the 1950s and reached a peak in the 1960s, which may consider as the golden era of contemporaryPersian literature.[36]
Features of New Wave Iranian film, in particular the works of legendaryAbbas Kiarostami, can be classified aspostmodern.[37]
Iranian New Wave films shared some characteristics with the European art films of the period, in particularItalian Neorealism. However, in her article 'Real Fictions', Rose Issa argues that Iranian films have a distinctively Iranian cinematic language
In his bookClose Up: Iranian Cinema, Past, Present, Future (2001)Hamid Dabashi describes modern Iranian cinema and the phenomenon of [Iranian] national cinema as a form of cultural modernity. According to Dabashi, "the visual possibility of seeing the historical person (as opposed to the eternal Qur'anic man) on screen is arguably the single most important event allowing Iranians access to modernity."
WhileBeyzai andTaghvai represent the first generation andKarim-Masihi andKiarostami represent the second generation of New wave filmmakers, the third generation is represented byRafi Pitts,Bahman Ghobadi,Maziar Miri,Asghar Farhadi,Mani Haghighi, andBabak Payami,[39][40] along with newly emerged filmmakers such asSaman Salur andAbdolreza Kahani.
Parallel to the Iranian New Wave, with itsneorealist andminimalist art cinema, there exists a so-called "popular art cinema" in Iran. Filmmakers who belong to this circle make films with a broader range of audience than the narrow spectrum of highly educated people who admire the New Wave, but believe that their movies are also artistically sound. Filmmakers such asNasser Taghvaee andAli Hatami are the best examples of this cinematic movement (some of these filmmakers also make new wave films e.g.Mum's Guest byDarius Mehrjui).[36] The Demon and the Bald Hassan, Adam and Eve, The Fisherman's Story, City of Oranges, and Talisman are some of Hatami's works.
Following the rise of the Iranian New Wave, there are now record numbers of film school graduates in Iran and each year more than 20 new directors make their debut films, many of them women. In the last two decades, there have been a higher percentage of women directors in Iran than in most countries in the West.[38]Samira Makhmalbaf directed her first film,The Apple, when she was only 17 years old and won theCannes Jury Prize in 2000 for her following filmThe Blackboard.
The success and hard work of the pioneeringRakhshan Bani-Etemad is an example that many women directors in Iran were following much beforeSamira Makhmalbaf made the headlines and the currentTahmineh Milani,Niki Karimi.[41] Internationally recognized figures inIranian women's cinema are:
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Besides women involved in screenwriting and filmmaking, numerous award-winning Iranian actresses with uniques styles and talents attract critic. The first Iranian actress who won an award for acting in a major film festival wasMary Apick. The most notable Iranian actresses are:
Furthermore, women's resistance against the symbolic order in the society has been demonstrated in different movies such asThe Little Rusty Brains by Houman Seyedi
War cinema in Iran was born simultaneously with the beginning ofIran–Iraq War. However, it took many years until it found its way and identity by defining characteristics ofIranian war cinema.In the Alleys of Love (1990), byKhosrow Sinai, shows the most poematic view on the Iran Iraq war and still after years, is one of the leading films about this historical event from a humanistic aspect, although unlike other Iranian war cinema which are fully supported by theIranian government this film was made with numerous difficulties.In the past decades, the Iranian film industry has produced many war films. In the Iranian war film genre, war has often been portrayed as glorious and "holy", bringing out the good in the protagonist and pandering to nationalist sentiments withpropagandistic messaging.Tears of Cold andDuel were two films that have gone beyond the traditional view of war.[42]Many renowned directors were involved in developingIranian war cinema:[43]
Other films famous and popular Iran Iraq War:Goodbye Life directed by Ensieh Shah-Hosseini,Heeva,Mazrae-ye pedari andSafar be Chazabeh directed byRasoul Mollagholipour,Kirkuk Operation,Hoor on Fire andKani Manga directed bySeifollah Dad.Che,Az Karkheh ta Rhein,Mohajer andThe Red Ribbon directed byEbrahim Hatamikia.Big Drum Under Left Foot directed by Kazem Masoumi.Gilaneh directed byRakhshan Bani-E'temad.The Day Third directed byMohammad Hossein Latifi.The Reward of Silence directed byMaziar Miri.Sizdah 59 directed bySaman Salur.The Queen directed byMohammad Ali Bashe Ahangar.Mardi shabih-e baran directed by Saeed Soheili.Bashu, the Little Stranger directed byBahram Beyzai.Snake Fang directed byMasoud Kimiai andHoor dar Atash directed by Azizollah Hamidnezhad.
There are some evidences suggesting that Ancient Iranians made animations. An animated piece on an earthen goblet made 5000 years ago was found in Burnt City in Sistan-Baluchistan province, southeastern Iran. The artist has portrayed a goat that jumps toward a tree and eats its leaves.[44]
The first Tehran International Animation Festival was held in the year 1999, four decades after the time the production of first animation films in Iran. The Second Tehran International Animation Festival was held in February 2001. Apart from Iranian films, animations from 35 foreign countries participated in the festival.[45]
The following are among the notable filmmakers of Iranian animated films:
Although early attempts also existed, the Iranian children and youth cinema came of age with acclaimed director Mohammad Ali Talebi (b. 1958). He started his career in the 1980s and achieved success beyond Iran withBag of Rice (1997) andWillow and Wind (2000), whose script was written byAbbas Kiarostami.[46]
Talebi believed that producing movies for children and teenagers was a service to "the most fragile and vulnerable of the Iranian society." In the 2010s, he became somewhat skeptical about the future of children and youth cinema in Iran, and in 2018 moved toSlovakia.[47]
Amongst the pioneers ofFrench New Wave wereFrançois Truffaut,Jean-Luc Godard,Claude Chabrol andEric Rohmer orBarbet Schroeder (born inTehran, Iran in 1941 where his German geologist Father was on assignment).
During the first half of the 20th century, France was the major destination for Iranian students who wished to study abroad. Iranian ambassador to theUnited NationsFereydoun Hoveyda was one of them. Fereydoun Hoveyda played a major role in French cultural scene and especially in the field of Cinema, for he was the protégé ofFrançois Truffaut whom he befriended and with whom he helped create the well-known film magazineLes Cahiers du Cinéma that spearheaded the French Nouvelle Vague orNew Wave Cinema. He also worked closely with Italian film directorRoberto Rossellini on several film scripts during that period. Fereydoun Hoveyda was not the only Iranian of his generation to play an active role in promoting the French Cinéma d'Auteur.Youssef Ishaghpour is another example.[48]
Another Iranian figure in French New Wave wasShusha Guppy a singer, writer and filmmaker who wasJacques Prévert's girlfriend. However, the most important contribution to the French New Wave cinema is that ofSerge Rezvani an Iranian poet born in Tehran in 1928. He played a major role as music composer of bothFrançois TruffautJules et Jim andJean-Luc GodardPierrot le Fou, considered as landmarks of French New Wave Cinema.Farah Diba studied at the Beaux Arts and became the focus of attention and the French press was to see her as the new Persian Cinderella. Farah Diba was one of the rare foreign dignitaries to become a permanent member of the FrenchAcadémie des Beaux-Arts.
IranianRobert Hossein (son of legendary musicianAminollah Hossein) started his acting career with his French Armenian friend Chahnour Varinag Aznavourian (known as the famed croonerCharles Aznavour) in the mid fifties essentially type cast as "Mr. Tough Guy". However he got international acclaim in the early Sixties particularly in Europe, Russia and Asia as the mysterious "Jeoffrey, Comte de Peyrac" lover of the lovely Michèle Mercier in the soft erotic-adventure film series ofAngélique Marquise des Anges. In the seventies and eighties he was to play oppositeJean-Paul Belmondo in police thrillers likeThe Professional. Hossein became known for being a talented theater director and his taste for popular historical vehicles involving large sets and numerous actors.[48]
After the resignation of French presidentCharles de Gaulle, IranianAnicée Shahmanesh became known under the screen name Anicée Alvina, playing a French girl in a British film hit calledFriends, themusic score of which propelled British pop starElton John. She was also to take on a courageouslesbian role in the screen adaptation of Françoise Mallet-Joris' novelLe Rempart des Béguines.
Two major documentaries were produced in these years by respectivelyAgnès Varda and the duoClaude Lelouch andClaude Pinoteau:
Several Iranian expats such asPhilippe Khorsand or Persian play writer/actorYasmina Reza have also gained notice in recent years. The latter is particularly known for her highly intellectual introspection in such plays likeArt (for whichSean Connery bought the film rights, advised by his French wife).[48]
Although Iranian composers usually have their own special style and music structure, they all share one thing: melodic, lively rhythms. That might be because they often begin with folkloric songs and shift to film music. In the past few decades, a few composers have emerged in the Iranian cinema with highly appraised works. Composers likeHormoz Farhat,Morteza Hannaneh,Fariborz Lachini,Ahmad Pejman,Majid Entezami, Babak Bayat, Karen Homayounfar, Naser Cheshmazar andHossein Alizadeh were some of the most successful score composers for Iranian films in the past decades.[49]
Film festivals have a long history in Iran that goes back to the 1950s. The firstTehran International Film Festival opened in April 1973. Although the festival never reached the level ofCannes andVenice, it managed to become well known as a class A festival. It was a highly reputable festival and many well-known filmmakers took part. Great filmmakers such asFrancesco Rosi,Michelangelo AntonioniGrigori Kozintsev,Elizabeth Taylor,Pietro Germi,Nikita Mikhalkov,Krzysztof Zanussi, andMartin Ritt won the festival's awards.[50]
The Fajr International Film Festival has taken place since 1983. It was intended to be as magnificent and spectacular as possible from its very onset. It had a background as powerful as that of the Tehran International Film Festival and wanted to remain on the same track. Although the Fajr Film Festival is not yet classed among the top film festivals, it has been successful in making policies and setting examples for the future of Iranian cinema.[50] In its early years it had a competition section for professional as well as amateur film (8 mm, 16 mm). Since 1990, there has been an international along with the national competition. The festival also features a competition for advertisement items like posters, stills and trailers. In 2005, the festival added competitions for Asian as well as spiritual films. The top prize is calledCrystal Simorgh.[51][better source needed][unreliable source?]
Cinéma Vérité is a documentary film festival held in Tehran in December each year. The 2024 festival is its 18th edition.[52][53]
Iran is the current president of the Non-Aligned Movement and hosted the 16th NAM summit between 26 and 31 August 2012, after which the presidency was handed to Ahmadinejad on 1 September. The latest move by the NAM Chairman has been to organise a NAM filmmakers' meeting in order to discuss the establishment of a NAM filmmakers' union. The meeting is to be held in February 2013, concurrently with the 31st Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran.[54]
TheInternational Film Festival for Children and Youth has taken place since 1985. In its first three years, it was part of the Fajr Film Festival. From 1988 to 1989, it was located in Tehran, and since then in Isfahan, except for 1996 when it was held in Kerman. The festival features international and national film and video competitions. The top prize is calledGolden Butterfly.[55]
On September 12, the national day of Iranian cinema, a celebration is held annually by the House of Cinema. In the 2006 event,Akira Kurosawa was honored.[citation needed]
Founded in 2007, theNoor Iranian Film Festival is held annually inLos Angeles, California.[citation needed]
Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco (IFF), the first independent Iranian film festival outside of Iran, launched in 2008, is an annual event showcasing independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world.[56][citation needed]
is an annual, independent film festival held inLondon, United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Roshd International Film Festival was first staged in 1963 by the Bureau of Audio-visual Activities of the Ministry of Education of Iran. It is centered on the films with educational and pedagogical themes and is staged every year by the Supplying Educational Media Center, a sub-branch of the Ministry of Education of the I.R.Iran. The Festival seeks the main objectives of identifying and selecting the best educational and pedagogical films in order to introduce them to the educational systems.[citation needed]
Persian International Film Festival is an independent cultural film event, that brings together screen stories of diverse global Persian communities. Founded in 2012 by Amin Palangi, it is Located inSydney, Australia.[citation needed]
Iranian Film Festival of Zürich (IFFZ), is being organized[when?] to fulfill the cultural gap between Iranians and Swiss along with the foreigners living in Switzerland.[citation needed]
The Festival of Iranian Films in Prague, later known as ÍRÁN:CI, was a film festival held inPrague andBrno in the Czech Republic from 2012. From 2025 its focus has widened to include other regions of the world, and it is known asKOM:PAS.[57][58]
Iranian film Festival is programmed to be held in the city ofCologne in Germany[when?] to represent the country Cinema industry. House of Cinema in collaboration with Cologne Municipality paved the way for holding the festival.[citation needed]
Iranian film festival (Cinéma d'Iran) is scheduled to kick off on June 26[when?] and will run until July 2, 2013 inParis.[citation needed]
The Houston Iranian Film Festival showcases the best in new cinema from Iran. Iranian film varied by jury is, InHouston, America will be held.[citation needed]
International Animation Festival, held in Tehran.[citation needed]
Other valid festivals have included: Iran International Documentary Film Festival, Moqavemat International Film Festival, International Film Festival 100, International Urban Film Festival, International Parvin Etesami Film Festival, Jasmine International Film Festival (TJIFF), Celebration of Iran Cinematic Critics and Writers, Rouyesh Religious Short Film Festival, Iranian Youth Cinema Society, Edinburgh Iranian Festival, Iranian Film Festival (IFF), Iranian Film Festival Chandigarh, Varesh Short Film Festival, Tehran International Video Film Festival, International Festival of Independent Filmmakers, and Canada's Iranian Film Festival.[citation needed]
Here is a list ofGrand prizes awarded to Iranian cinema by the most prestigious film festivals:[59][60]
First presence of Iranian cinema in Cannes dates back to 1991 whenin the alleys of love byKhosrow Sinai and then 1992 whenLife and nothing more byAbbas Kiarostami represented Iran in the festival.
The first film from Iranian cinema that won a prize in Locarno festival wasWhere Is the Friend's Home? directed by Abbas Kiarostami (1989).
Although the Iranian film industry is flourishing, its filmmakers have operated under censorship rules, both before and after the revolution. Some Iranian films that have been internationally acclaimed are banned in Iran itself. Conversely, some Iranian filmmakers have faced hostility in other countries.
Dariush Mehrjui's seminal filmGaav (The Cow, 1969) is now considered a pioneering work of theIranian New Wave. The film was sponsored by the state, but they promptly banned it upon completion because its vision of rural life clashed with the progressive image of Iran that the Shah wished to project, while its prominence at international film festivals annoyed the regime.[98]
After theIranian revolution, filmmakers experienced more restrictions. Since the mid-1980s, Iran's policy on film censorship has been changed in order to promote domestic film production: the strict censorship eased after December 1987. Old directors resurfaced and new ones emerged.[98] However, the application of the rules is often inconsistent. Several films have been refused release inside Iran, but have been given export permits to enter international film festivals. Even here, the censorship is inconsistent:May Lady by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad (1998) got through but her contribution toStories of Kish (1999) did not.[99]
All of Jafar Panahi's films[100] have been banned from public theaters in Iran.[101]Offside was relegated to "a guest slot" at theInternational Fajr Film Festival. "It was not shown as an important film", says Panahi. "They didn't give any value to it."[101] Several of Mohsen Makhmalbaf's films are also banned in Iran. For example,Time of Love andThe night of Zaiandeh-rood were banned for dealing with physical love and for raising doubts about the revolution.[102]
In 2001, feminist filmmakerTahmineh Milani who madeThe Hidden Half was jailed because her movie was presumed anti-revolution (against the 1979 Islamic revolution). Many Iranian and international artists and filmmakers demanded her release. After 8 days of imprisonment, eventuallyPresident Khatami and the minister of culture were able to secure her release. InNargess, Rakhshan Bani-Etemad who is a pioneer among female Iranian film directors, pushes censorship codes to the limits, questioning the morals of society, showing desperate people overwhelmed by social conditions and a couple living together without being married.[103]
Abbas Kiarostami was significantly acclaimed in Europe but the Islamic government has refused screening of his films in his own country. Kiarostami's films have been banned in his country for more than 10 years.[104] They are only accessible there through unauthorized DVDs and private screenings. Kiarostami is uncertain what the government dislikes about his films, saying "I think they don't understand my films and so they prevent them being shown just in case there is a message they don't want to get out."[1]. Despite this, Kiarostami has displayed an extraordinarily benign perspective, at least in recorded interviews: "The government is not in my way, but it is not assisting me either. We lead our separate lives."[105] Despite the censorship, Kiarostami insists on working in Iran, saying "I think I really produce my best work in Iran."[105] He believes that throughout the ages and all over the world censorship has existed in one form or another and artists have managed to live with this, saying "Today, the most important thing is that, although there is censorship, Iranian filmmakers are doing their job and they surpass the difficulties of censorship showing and discussing many things. So why ask me about what's not in the films? It has happened many times that a filmmaker hides a weakness under the excuse of censorship but difficulties have always existed in our lifestyle and our role is to surpass them."[106] The director Mohammed Rasoulof, was convicted of charges relating to state security and anti-government propaganda.[107] In 2009 and 2013 the number of political films and drama likeKhers,Guidance Patrol,The Wooden Bridge,I am a Mother andPrivate Life (Zendegi Khosoosi) were Sanctioned.
In September 2011, House of Cinema issued a statement in support of several filmmakers detained for contact with the BBC. They questioned the legal basis for the arrests, pointing out that the government itself has contact with international news organizations.[108] As a result, they received an official rebuke.[109][110]
In December 2011, Iran's Council of Public Culture declared its 'House of Cinema', the country's largest professional organisation for film makers, illegal.[111] Authorities state the organization was shut down because of secret amendments to its charter.[112] House of Cinema came under pressure when it challenged the detention of filmmakers accused of selling films to the BBC.[113]
In September 2013, House of Cinema has been reopened by the new government.[114]
Given the tense relationship between Iran and the United States, Iranian filmmakers have faced hostility there, even if they have also been banned in their own country. Abbas Kiarostami was refused avisa to attend theNew York Film Festival,Ohio University andHarvard University in 2002, in the wake of theSeptember 11 attacks.[115][116][117] Festival directorRichard Pena, who had invited him, said: "It's a terrible sign of what's happening in my country today that no one seems to realize or care about the kind of negative signal this sends out to the entire Muslim world".[118]Finnish film directorAki Kaurismäki boycotted the festival in protest.[119] Similarly,Bahman Ghobadi, winner of the Golden Plaque at theChicago International Film Festival, refused to accept the prize in protest of the U.S. government's refusal to issue him a visa.[120][unreliable source?] In 2007, Ahmed Issawi, the abashed Arab director of the New York South Asian Film Festival admitted that a conscious decision was made not to invite any Iranian filmmakers, saying "That's a territory I no longer want to tread [...] It's over. Given the whole thing with Iran—I refuse to approach it."[121]
Several other Iranian filmmakers have experienced hostilities from other countries. In November 2001 inAfghanistan, Taliban officials, who banned movies and most filmmaking, arrested three ofMajid Majidi's crew members who were helping him secretly shootBarefoot to Herat, a documentary on the country's internal refugees.[122]Samira Makhmalbaf also survived a kidnapping in Afghanistan. {West, Dennis and Makhmalbaf, Mohsen. "I Make Cinema in Order to Breathe: An Interview with Mohsen Makhmalbaf".Cinéaste. 34.4, Fall 2009: 10–15. JSTOR Web. 24 Apr. 2014}
In March 2007, a bomb explosion severely injuring several actors and crew members halted production in Afghanistan ofTwo Legged Horse, the film by Iranian helmerSamira Makhmalbaf. Mohsen Makhmalbaf was the target of two unsuccessful murder attempts when he shotKandahar in Iran near the Afghan border in 2000, and his daughter Hana was twice the victim of a failed abduction attempt during the shooting of Samira's last filmAt Five in the Afternoon in the Afghan capital Kabul in 2002.[123]
On 1 March 2010,Jafar Panahi was arrested. He was taken from his home along with his wife Tahereh Saidi, daughter Solmaz Panahi, and 15 of his friends by plain-clothes officers toEvin Prison. Most were released 48 hours later,Mohammad Rasoulof and Mehdi Pourmoussa on 17 March 2010, but Panahi remained insection 209 inside Evin Prison. Panahi's arrest was confirmed by the government, but the charges were not specified. On April 14, 2010, Iran's Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said that Panahi was arrested because he "tried to make a documentary about the unrest that followed the disputed2009 re-election of PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad."On 18 May, Panahi sent a message to Abbas Baktiari, director of the Pouya Cultural Center, an Iranian-French cultural organization in Paris, stating that he was being mistreated in prison and his family threatened and as a result had begun a hunger strike. On 25 May, he was released on$200,000 bail while awaiting trial. On 20 December 2010, Panahi, after being convicted for "assembly and colluding with the intention to commit crimes against the country's national security and propaganda against the Islamic Republic," theIslamic Revolutionary Court sentenced Panahi to six years imprisonment and a 20-year ban on making or directing any movies, writing screenplays, giving any form of interview with Iranian or foreign media as well as leaving the country except for Hajj holy pilgrimage toMecca ormedical treatment. Panahi's colleague,Mohammad Rasoulof also received six years imprisonment but was later reduced to one year on appeal. On October 15, 2011, a court in Tehran upheld Panahi's sentence and ban. Following the courts decision, Panahi was placed underhouse arrest. He has since been allowed to move more freely but he cannot travel outside Iran.[124][125]
Hossein Rajabian, an Iranian independent filmmaker, After finishing his first feature film, was arrested by Iranian security forces on 5 October 2013 outside his office [inSari] alongside two musicians, and was transferred to Ward 2-A ofEvin Prison where all three of them were held in solitary confinement for more than two months and were threatened with televised confessions. He was released on bail (around $66,000) in mid-December, pending trial. Two years later, his case was heard at Branch 28 of Tehran Revolutionary Court which was presided over by JudgeMoghisseh (Summer 2015). He was sentenced to six years in prison and fines for pursuing illegal cinematic activities, launching propaganda against the establishment and hurling insults at sanctities. On appeal, his sentence was changed to three years imprisonment and three years of suspended jail and fines. Hossein Rajabian was sent to the ward 7 of Evin Prison in Tehran. After spending one third of his total period of imprisonment (that is 11 months), he went onhunger strike to protest against unjust trial, lack of medical facilities, and transfer of his brother to another ward called section 8 of the same prison. During the first hunger strike period, which lasted 14 days, he was transferred to hospital because of pulmonary infection and he could not continue his hunger strike because of the interference of the representative of the prosecutor who was sent as an intermediary. After some time, he sent an open letter to the judicial authorities of Iran and went again on strike which brought him the supports of international artists. After 36 days of hunger strike, he could convince the judicial authorities of Iran to review his case and grant him medical leave for the treatment of his left kidney suffered from infections and blood arising out of hunger strike. He, after a contentious struggle with the judicial officer of the prison was sent to the ward 8 for punishment.[126][127][128][129][130]
Cinemapeople in theIranian diaspora, such asShohreh Aghdashloo,Zuleikha Robinson,Nadia Bjorlin,Shirin Neshat,Adrian Pasdar,Amir Mokri,Bahar Soomekh, Amir Talai,Catherine Bell,Nazanin Boniadi,Samira Makhmalbaf,Freema Agyeman,Sarah Shahi,Hughes brothers,Nasim Pedrad, Daryush Shokof,Bijan Daneshmand andFarhad Safinia are also popular.
Several institutes, both government run and private, provide formal education in various aspects of filmmaking. Some of the prominent ones include: Farabi Cinema Foundation, Hedayat Film Co, Sourehcinema, Documentary & Experimental Film Center, Filmiran, Kanoon Iran Novin, Boshra Film, Bamdad Film, TDH Film, Hilaj Film, Tgpco, Karname, Rasaneha, Nama Film company, AvinyFilm, 7spfs and Honar Aval.
Most famous of them like:Houshang Golmakani,Fereydoun Jeyrani, Parviz Davaei,Massoud Farasati, Abbas Baharloo,Hamid Reza Sadr,Cyrus Ghani, Javad Toosi,Negar Mottahedeh, Ahmad Talebinejad, Mohammad Tahami Nezhad, Ali Moallem andParviz Nouri,behrouz sebt rasoul
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