A short film on early 1950s Iran.
Social & External
Case history of an Iranian patient bitten by a rabid wolf.
Deng Xiaoping's economic and political opening in China. Margaret Thatcher's extreme economic measures in the United Kingdom. Ayatollah Khomeini's Islamic Revolution in Iran. Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland. Saddam Hussein's rise to power in Iraq. The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The nuclear accident at the Harrisburg power plant and the birth of ecological activism. The year 1979, the beginning of the future.
In this guided tour of a unique Persian carpet, a close-up of the delicate "spine" of a tree branches out into the discovery of a fantastical world.
Follows Anna Williams, an Oriental carpet repairer from New Zealand, on a pilgrimage to Iran, where she stays with the Qashqai, and then to London where she meets Sir David Attenborough to talk about the Qashqai and their traditionally woven rugs.
Leyla and her six-year-old daughter Nila live in the holy city of Mashhad in Iran. Nila is the result of a temporary marriage, which allows a man to marry a woman even if he is already married. Children born from such a relationship are legally non-existent. As long as the father does not recognize the child, no birth certificate can be issued and Nila cannot attend school. The documentary depicts Leyla's tireless efforts to clarify Nila's legal status in order to offer her a perspective for her future. In a never-ending bureaucratic battle, Leyla fights not only against the legal system, but also against a judgmental society.
When an Iranian-Canadian filmmaker hears the story of Master Ghadamyar- a Kurdish 120-year-old Tanbur player, he takes off on a mission to discover more about this spiritual master's musical and enchanting life. The film follows his journey to Western Iran, where he unearths the ancient traditions and teachings of Ghadamyar's faith known as Yarsanism, and its relationship to the mysterious Tanbur as a meditative instrument. The film takes audiences on a musical and visual quest among rugged landscapes of Western Iran to experience undiscovered voices and spiritual awakening. We witness the collective prayer of Yarsani Tanburists, as a practice to maintain their spiritual identity and search for inner beauty.
In 1972, Bahman Maghsoudlou made a short film about Iranian artist Ardeshir Mohasses. For 36 years, this remained the only film about this internationally acclaimed artist. In 2008, spurred by a New York retrospective of Mohasses's work and the artist's passing, Maghsoudlou finally began work on the extended film he knew its subject deserved. Thus was born, Ardeshir Mohasses: The Rebellious Artist.
The creation of Iannis Xenakis’ « Persephassa » at the Shiraz-Persepolis Art Festival. There are only a few archives left of this piece, for its ring-like disposition around the audience made it difficult for people to record it or take pictures of it. When it was created in Persepolis, each percussionist was settled on the stump of a column of the Palace of Darius. The distance between them could go as far as 164 feet (50 metres).
It's a satirical comedy that chronicles 3 young Canadian film makers from Yellowknife as they travel from northern Canada to the middle east just as the Iraq war is erupting. As well as being very funny, it is also quite thought provoking. The trio travels through Canada, Turkey, Israel, Jordan and finally Washington DC interviewing "regular people" for their comments on the impending war. This film won best documentary at the 2003 Whistler Film Festival in Canada.
A documentary about the life and works of the maestros of Imaginary Painting School who made Iranian popular old style Khialisazi or Coffee-House Painting.
In 1979, after the Soviet Union attacked Afghanistan, millions of Afghans were forced to leave their homeland to save their lives, and in the meantime, a huge wave of them immigrated to Iran.
Filmed in Canada, Iran, and the United States, Secrets of the Surface: The Mathematical Vision of Maryam Mirzakhani examines the life and mathematical work of Maryam Mirzakhani, an Iranian immigrant to the United States who became a superstar in her field. In 2014, she was both the first woman and the first Iranian to be honored by mathematics' highest prize, the Fields Medal. Mirzakhani's contributions are explained by leading mathematicians and illustrated by animated sequences. Her mathematical colleagues from around the world, as well as former teachers, classmates, and students in Iran today, convey the deep impact of her achievements. The path of her education, success on Iran's Math Olympiad team, and her brilliant work, make Mirzakhani an ideal role model for girls looking toward careers in science and mathematics. Written by George Csicsery
Russia, China and Iran: three former empires are determined to take their revenge and reassert their power after centuries of humiliation. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, they have never been so aligned on the international stage. Their common goal: to put an end to Western hegemony, restore their zone of influence and propose a new model of society. To achieve this, they are waging a hybrid war against the democracies: military, technological, economic, informational and ideological. Are they on the verge of joining forces to create a new world order?
"Everybody should have a home. If you punish a nation, this is so abstract, it's very mean to use your power to put another country in your control... Instead of punishment, maybe we should have love." Eliane from Chile, Milad from Iran, and Georgia from Greece, three migrants in the UK and their thoughts on love, home, family, and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
After seven years in prison, a female student in Tehran is hanged for murder. She had acted in self-defence against a rapist. For a pardon, she would have had to retract her testimony. This moving film reopens the case.
A harrased dog is found by animal helpers near a small village in Iran, they take him to the shelter and cure his disease but soon they find out Attila the dog suffers from an infected leg. As the helpers don't want his leg to be cut off They manage to send Attila to the USA via an unbelievable story.
A story about the lives of Leila Avakh and Sedigheh Momennia who have chosen, with much love and passion, carpentry as a profession, a profession that is considered extremely masculine in the traditional society of Iran. As such, these two face many difficulties and obstacles. However, they are determined to prove to themselves and their society that it is not impossible to achieve your dreams. Leila and Sedigheh are amongst the first female carpenters in Iran.
Planned by Britain’s MI6 and then executed by America’s C.I.A., the coup d’état which follows will destroy Iran’s last democracy, and relations between Iran and the West until the present day. Most shocking of all, the truth about Her Majesty’s role will be hidden from the Queen herself, and even the all-powerful Shah who will be used by Britain and American to replace Iran’s last democratic Prime Minister. The coup will lead to political upheaval all over the Middle East for decades to come, eventually resulting in the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which will end the reign of the Shah, and British and American influence in Iran, inspiring countless other Islamist revolutions around the world.
Starting with her own memories of working as an actress on Abbas Kiarostami's Ten, filmmaker Roya Akbari proceeds to elicit other testimonies on the masters of Iranian cinema from three people who are themselves among the foremost Iranian directors: Rafi Pitts on Parviz Kimiavi; Amir Naderi on Sohrab Shahid Saless; and Bahram Bayzai on Arby Ovanessian. Bayzai also analyses Haji Agha, the Cinema Actor (1933) by Ovanes Ohanian, considered the first feature film made in Iran.
