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The '''cinema of Iran''' (or '''Persian cinema''') is a flourishing film industry with a long history. Many popular commercial films are made in Iran, and Iranian art films have won many international film awards. Festivals of Iranian films are held annually around the globe. Along with China, Iran has been lauded as one of the best exporters of cinema in the 1990s.<ref></ref>
== Early Persian cinema==


Many critics now rank Iran as the world's most important national cinema artistically, with a significance that invites comparison to Italian Neorealism and similar movements in past decades.<ref></ref> World-renowned German filmmaker ], along with many film critics from around the world, has praised Iranian cinema as one of the world's most important artistic cinemas.<ref></ref>
If one were to trace the first visual representations in Iranian history, the bas-reliefs in Persepolis (c.500 B. C) would be one of the earliest examples.
The first Iranian filmmaker was Mirza Ebrahim Khan Akkas Bashi, the official photographer of ], the king of ]. After a visit to ] in July ], ] obtained a camera and filmed the ]'s visit to ].


Besides cinema made in Iran, the terms "Iranian cinema" and "Persian cinema" can also refer to the cinema of the ] ("Greater Iran"), such as ] and ]. It may also refer to movies made in the ] in other regions, such as Europe and the United States or to movies made by Iranians in languages other than ].
== Contemporary Iranian cinema ==


==History==
In recent years, post-revolutionary Iranian cinema has been praised in many international forums due to its distinct style, themes, authors, idea of nationhood, and manifestation of culture. Many world class Iranian directors emerged during last few decades as ] and ].
===Visual arts in Persia===
''See also: ]''
]
If one were to trace the first visual representations in Iranian history, the bas-reliefs in ] (c. 500 B.C.) would be one of the earliest examples. Persepolis was the ritual center of the ancient kingdom of Achaemenids. As Honour and Fleming state, "the figures at Persepolis remain bound by the rules of grammar and syntax of visual language."<ref>Honour, Hugh and John Fleming, The Visual Arts: A History. New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc, 1992. Page: 96.</ref>


This style of visual representation reached its high peak about a thousand years later during the Sassanian reign. A bas-relief in ] (western Iran) depicts a complex hunting scene. Movements and actions are articulated in a sophisticated manner. We can even see the progenitor of the cinema close-up: a wounded wild pig escaping from the hunting ground.<ref></ref>
==See also==


After the Arab invasion and conversion from ] to Islam &mdash; a religion in which visual symbols were avoided &mdash; Persian art continued its visual practices. Persian miniatures are great examples of such attempts. The deliberate lack of perspective enabled the artist to have different plots and sub-plots within the same space of the picture. A very popular form of such art was ]. Another type of art in the same category was ].<ref></ref>

That there were many other dramatic performance arts that were popular before the advent of cinema in Iran. ] (puppet show), Saye-bazi (shadow plays), Rouhozi (comical acts), and ] are just a few examples.<ref>M. Ali Issari, Cinema in Iran: 1900-1979 pages 40-67.</ref>

===Early Persian cinema===
Cinema was only five years old when it came to Persia at the beginning of the 20th century. The first Persian filmmaker was ], the official photographer of ], the ] from ]&ndash;]. After a visit to ] in July ], ] obtained a camera and filmed the ]'s visit to ] upon the Shah's orders. He is said to have filmed the Shah’s private and religious ceremonies, but no copies of such films are extant. A few years after Akkas Bashi started photography, ], another pioneer in Iranian motion picture photography emerged.<ref></ref> He shot a considerable amount of newsreel footage during the reign of ] to the ].<ref>M.A Issari, Cinema in Iran, page 96.</ref>

In 1904, ] opened the first movie theater in ].<ref></ref> After Mirza Ebrahim Khan, several others like ], ], and ] 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.<ref></ref>

In 1925 an Armenian-Iranian cinematographer, ], 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" (The Cinema Artist Educational Centre).<ref>Omid, Jamal. THE HISTORY OF IRANIAN CINEMA 1900-1978. Tehran: Rozaneh Publication, 1995, 1174 pgs (Persian).</ref>

===1930s and 40s===

In 1932, ] made the first Iranian ], entitled '']''. Later, in 1935, he directed movies such as '']'' (the life story of the most celebrated epic poet of Iran), ''Shirin and Farhaad'' (a classic Iranian love story), and ''Black Eyes'' (the story of ]'s invasion of India). In 1937, he directed '']'', an Eastern love story similar to the English story of '']''.

The present day Iranian film industry owes a lot of its progress to two industrious personalities, ] and ]. By establishing the first ] in 1949 at the Iran 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 like ] and ] took advantage of the richness of ] and ancient ]. In their work, they put emphasised ] and ].<ref></ref>

=== Pre-revolutionary cinema, 1950s-70s ===
]
The 1960s was a significant decade for Iranian cinema, with 25 commercial films produced annually on average throughout the early ‘60s, increasing to 65 by the end of the decade. The majority of production focused on melodrama and thrillers.

The movie that really boosted the economy of Iranian cinema and initiated a new genre was Ganj-e-Qarun (Croesus Treasure), made in 1965 by Siamak Yasami. Four years later Masud Kimiaie made ]. With Kaiser (Qeysar), Kimiaie depicted the ethics and morals of the romanticised poor working class of the Ganj-e-Qarun genre through his main protagonist, the titular Qeysar. But Kimiaie's film generated another genre in Iranian popular cinema: the tragic action drama.<ref></ref>

With the screening of the films '']'' and '']'', produced by ] and ] in 1969, ]s established their status in the film industry. Attempts to organize a film festival that had begun in 1954 within the framework of the ], bore fruits with the ] in 1969 and the endeavors of ] which resulted in the formation of the ] in 1973.

Pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema produced notable movies such as:
* '']'', by the late Arman (1965)
* '']'', by the late ] (1967)
* '']'', by ] (1967)
* '']'', by ] (1966)
* '']'', by ] (1968)

===Post-revolutionary cinema===
Post-revolutionary Iranian cinema has been praised in many international forums due to its distinct style, themes, authors, idea of nationhood, and cultural references. Many world class Iranian directors have emerged in the last few decades, such as ] and ]. Kiarostami, who some critics regard as one of the few great directors in the history of cinema,<ref></ref> planted Iran firmly on the map of world cinema when he won the ] at the ] for '']'' in 1997.

The continuous presence of Iranian films in prestigious international festivals such as Cannes, the ], and ] attracted world attention to Iranian masterpieces, as Iranian films have repeatedly been nominated for or won prestigious prizes at those festivals. In 2006, six Iranian films, with six different styles, represented Iranian cinema at the Berlin Film Festival, and critics considered this a remarkable event in the history of Iranian cinema. <ref></ref><ref></ref>

An important step was taken in 1998 when the Iranian government began to fund ethnic cinema. Since then ] has seen the emergence of numerous filmmakers.

==Contemporary Iranian cinema==
=== Commercial cinema in Iran ===
] stars in the box office hit "Mozahem".]]
For many years the most visible face of ]ian commercial cinema was ], who starred in a number of popular successful films. In the more conservative social climate of Iran after the ] of ], however, he came to be considered an embarrassment to Iranian national identity and his films &mdash; which depicted romance, alcohol, scantily-clad women, and a lifestyle now condemned by the Islamic government &mdash; were ]. 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 in ] was attended by 20,000 mourners.<ref>BBC News. (2000). . ''BBC News''. Retrieved November 8, 2006.</ref> Before Fardin, one could argue, Iran simply did not have a commercial cinema.<ref></ref>

The commercial Iranian cinema genre is largely unknown in the West as the films are targeted at the local audiences. There are two categories of this type of film:
*The first is what many critics label as “propaganda” films. Many of these films relate to the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the ensuing Iran–Iraq war, and are filled with strong religious motifs.
*The second category, loosely defined as the "unofficial Hollywood remake", consists of movies that are highly formulaic, cast with popular actors and possess the typical elements of India's popular cinema in their appeal (of course, with distinct differences). They tell stories of unrequited love where the hero and his love interest don't so much kiss but walk off into the metaphorical sunset as the end-credits roll. The appeal of these films lies in their “western” attributes, which contributes significantly to the escapism they offer. Part of the appeal of these commercial “remakes” is in their "non-Iranian" identity.<ref></ref>

There is an Iranian presence in Hollywood commercial cinema. Persian actress and artist ] appears in '']'' and the feature film '']'' as well as ] in the '']'' which portrays the life of ]s and was nominated for three Oscars. ] appears in the award wining '']''. Controversial comedian ] is of ] descent. Iranian ] ] has appeared in numerous notable television shows, films and plays, acting in a wide range of roles opposite many of Hollywood's leading actors and received rave reviews as an actor and director. She was also an actress in ''Rendition'' directed by Oscar winner ] and also starring ] and ].

===Iranian New Wave films===
{{main|Iranian New Wave}}
] and ] belong to the so called ''New wave'' of Persian cinema]]
In the 1960s, there were 'New Wave' movements in the cinema of numerous countries. The pioneers of the Iranian New Wave were directors like ], ], ], and ]. 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 are ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].

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 ] ] 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 contemporary ].<ref></ref>

Features of New Wave Iranian film, in particular the works of legendary ], can be classified as ].<ref></ref>

Iranian New Wave films shared some characteristics with the European art films of the period, in particular ]. However, in her article 'Real Fictions', Rose Issa argues that Iranian films have a distinctively Iranian cinematic language
:"that champions the poetry in everyday life and the ordinary person by blurring the boundaries between ] and reality, feature film with documentary." She also argues that this unique approach has inspired European cinema directors to emulate this style, citing ]'s award-winning '']'' (2002) as an homage to contemporary Iranian cinema. Issa claims that "This new, humanistic aesthetic language, determined by the film-makers’ individual and national identity, rather than the forces of globalism, has a strong creative dialogue not only on homeground but with audiences around the world." <ref></ref>

In his monumental book '''' (2001) ] describes modern Iranian cinema and the phenomenon of 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."<!---This is very difficult to understand and needs contexctualizing-->

While ] and ] represent the first and second generations of New wave filmmakers respectively, the third generation is represented by ], ], ], ] and ].<ref></ref><ref></ref>

=== Iranian popular art films===
Parallel to the Iranian New Wave, with its ] and ] art cinema, there also exists a so-called "popular art cinema" in Iran. Filmmakers who belong to this circle make films with a broader range of audience the narrow spectrum of highly educated people who admire the New Wave, but believe that their movies are also artistically sound. Filmmakers such as ] and ] are the best examples of this cinematic movement (some of these filmmakers also make New Wave films (e.g. ] by ]).

In ], ] has established a bridge between the ''Khorassani'' and ''Nima'' Schools. That is what ] has done in ''Kaiser'': he established a connection between ''intellectual'' and ''popular'' films.<ref></ref>

=== Iranian women's cinema ===
]'s film "Zir-e poost-e shahr"]]
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 has been a higher percentage of women directors in Iran than in most countries in the West.<ref></ref>

], writer and director is probably Iran's best known and certainly most prolific female filmmaker. She has established herself as the elder stateswoman of Iranian cinema with documentaries and films dealing with social ]. Samira Makhmalbaf directed her first film, '']'', when she had only 17 years old and won the ] Jury Prize in 2000 for her following film ''The Blackboard''.

The success and hard work of the pioneering ] is an example that many women directors in Iran were following much before ] made the headlines. Internationally recognised figures in ] are:
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
{{col-break}}
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
{{col-end}}
</ref>]]
Besides women involved in screenwriting and filmmaking, there are numerous award winning Iranian actresses whose uniques styles and talents attracted critics. The most notable Iranian actresses are:
* ], Simorgh award for best actress six times from Fajr Int. Film Festival.
* ], Best Actress Award from Moscow International Film Festival 1977.
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] (Best actress award, ] and Montreal World Film Festival(2002))
* ] (Best actress award, Locarno International Film Festival (2002))
* ] (Best Actress Award, the 23rd Cairo International Film Festival)
* ] (Simorgh for the Best Actress, the 17th Fajr Int. Film Festival)
* ] (First Iranian woman to be nominated for an ])
* ], Best Actress Award at the third Eurasia International Film Festival in 2006.

In 2006, ], become a member of the Cannes Film festival Jury. She is an Iranian contemporary graphic novelist, illustrator and author of the best selling "Perspolis".

=== Iranian war films ===
War cinema in Iran was born simultaneously with the beginning of ]. However it took many years until it found its way and identity by defining characteristics of ''Iranian war cinema''. Many renowned directors were involved in developing ''Iranian war cinema'':
], Film Center (2007)]]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

=== Iranian animations ===
The following are makers of Iranian animated films:
* ]
* ]

===Timeline of Iranian films===
:'']''

==Ethnic cinema in Iran==
] made the film score for "Half moon", directed by ]. Inspired by ]'s Requiem, ] and Behnam Behzadi wrote the film's scripts.]]
=== Iranian Azeri Cinema ===
In 2002, Iranian director, ], shot a documentary on ] filmmaking. On ], ], The Azeri cinema event "Prospects of Azeri Cinema" opened at Tehran's Contemporary Arts Museum. In 1990, ] made "]". The film's dialogues are both in Turkish and Persian language.

===Iranian Kurdish cinema===
In ], '']'', by ], was the first movie to be partly shot in Iran's ] province. It was presented at both the ] and the ].

Kurdish cinema came to international prominence in 2000 with the screening of two ] movies simultaneously at the Cannes Film Festival, namely, '']'' by ] (entirely in Kurdish) and '']'' by ] (in Kurdish and Persian).

In 2000, ] made "The Legend of Love" which tells the story of Khazara, a young female medical student who wanders courageously among nomadic Kurdish tribes looking for her fiancé, who has set off to tend the wounded in a town besieged by Iraqi attacks. <ref></ref> The film won Special Jury Award in Santa Barbara International Film Festival (2001).

In 2002, ''Songs from my Motherland'' (aka '']''), another movie by ] in Kurdish and Persian, was presented at Cannes. The movie won prizes at several other international festivals.

In 2005, Iranian director ] won the ]'s Simorgh for Best Director in Asia and Middle East for his Kurdish language movie '']'' written by ]. In 2006, Ghobadi's ''Half Moon'' (in Kurdish and Persian) won the Golden Seashell at the ]. The film was shot in Iranian Kurdistan and Iran's renowned actors ], ] and ] (also executive and assistant director) acted in this movie. The music in the movie was made by Iran's world-class musician ].

==Iranian cinema and other Persian-speaking countries==
] and ] on the poster of Rotterdam International Fim Festival (2007)]]
=== Afghanistan ===
Cinema of Afghanistan is slowly rising after a long period of silence. Before September 11th attacks, Iranian director ] attracted world attention to Afghanistan by his celebrated movie, ]. It was an attempt to tell the world about a forgotten country. The film brought cinema of Afghanistan to Cannes film festival for the first time in history. Later on, ], ], ], and ] did significant contribution to Persian cinema in Afghanistan. Barmak's first Persian film ] (2003) won several awards in Cannes and London film festivals. Siddiq Barmak is also director of the ] (ACEM), an association that promotes literacy, culture and the arts, founded by Iranian film director ]. The school trains actors and directors for the emerging cinema of Afghanistan.

The situation of ] immigrants has been also addressed extensively by Iranian cinematographers. The first step in this field was taken by Mohsen Makhmalbaf in ''Bicycle ran'' in 1998. Other examples in this line are Jafar Panahi's ] in 1994, Abbas Kiarostami's ] in 1997, Majid Majidi's ] and Bahram Beizaei's ].

In 2000, ] made by one of ]’s assistants, ]; the story focuses on the plight of one of the two million young ] refugees in Iran without legal status. When the non-professional ] actor, used in this film, was invited to the ], and then denied re-entry to Iran, his story became another film, ] in 2002, by the architect-actor-film-maker ], who lives in Germany.

===Tajikistan ===

In ], Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the internationally known Iranian movie director, is playing the same role as he played in the reconstruction of the cinema of post-Taliban Afghanistan. The first Didar Film Festival, the first film festival to be held in Tajikistan, took place in 2004. The festival and the House of Cinema of Makhmalbaf (in Iran) allocated grants for the creation of short-feature film by young and gifted film makers ], ], ], ], and grant to ] for the creation of a cartoon.

In 2002, ] won FIPRESCI Prize at London film festival for his Persian language comedy, ''Angel on the Right''.

In 2003, Iran’s Film Week was held in ], Tajikistan. Several Iranian films including ], ], ], ], and ], went on screen at the ''Vatan Cinema'' in Dushanbe.

Tajikistan’s Filmmakers Guild which is an affiliate of Moscow Filmmakers Guild, in a ceremony on ], ] held in Dushanbe’s House of Cinema, presented the Guild’s honorary membership to Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Makhmalbaf made two of his 18 feature films in Tajikistan; "Silence" in Persian and "Sex and Philosophy" in Russian are the titles.

==Influence of Iranians on French New Wave==
Amongst the pioneers of ] were ], ], ] and ] or ] (born in ], Iran in 1941 where his German geologist Father was on assignment).

Throughout the first half of the 20th century France was the major destination for Iranian students. Iranian Ambassador to the ] ] was one of them. Fereydoun Hoveyda was also to play a major role in French cultural scene and particularly in the field of Cinema for he was the protégé of ] whome he befriended and with whome he helped create the now prestigious and incisive film magazine ] that spearheaded the French Nouvelle Vague or New Wave Cinema. He also worked closely with Italian filmmaker ] on several film scripts during that era. Fereydoun Hoveyda was not the only Iranian of his generation to play an active role in promoting the French Cinéma d'Auteur. ] born in Tehran in 1940 lives in Paris since 1958. He studied Cinema at l'École Louis Lumière and l'IDHEC) and has written extensively on Films and the Nouvelle Vague pioneers which he befriended and followed the works. He has since become a respected specialist of the director/actor of Citizen Kane with a prized anthology on the Legendary Orson Welles who shot several of his films in Paris such as the famous adaptation of Kafka's Trial with Truffaut's égérie Jeanne Moreau and one of Hitchcock's favorite actors Anthony Perkins (Psycho).<ref></ref>

Another Iranian figure in French New Wave was ] a singer, writer and filmmaker who was ]'s girl friend. However the most significative contribution to the French New Wave cinema is that of ] an Iranian poet born in Tehran in 1928. He was to play a major role as music composer of both ] ''Jules et Jim'' and ] ''Pierrot le Fou'', considered as land marks of French New Wave Cinema.
] co-produced by ] was an Academy Award nominee for sound editing done by ].]]
] 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 French Academie des Beaux Arts .

Born in Paris on December 30th 1927, Iranian ] (son of legendary musician Aminollah Hossein) started his acting carreer with his French Armenian friend Chahnour Varinag Aznavourian (known as the famed crooner ]) in the mid fifties essentially type casted as " Mr. Tough Guy ". However he attained international fame in the early Sixties particularily 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 of Angélique Marquise des Anges . In the seventies and eighties he was to play opposite ] in police thrillers like The Professional . Hossein became particularily known for being a talented theater director and his taste for popular historical vehicles involving large sets and numerous actors. He continues to be active and is to deliver a much-expected spectacle Ben Hur this year at the Stade de France.<ref></ref>

After the overthrow of French President ], Iranian ] became known under the screen name Anicée Alvina, playing a French girl in a British film hit called Friends , the music score of which propelled British Pop Star Elton John. She was also to take on a courageous Lesbian role in the screen adaptation of Françoise Mallet-Joris' novel Le Rempart des Béguines.

Two major documentaries were produced in these post-68 years by respectively ] and the duo Claude Lelouche-Claude Pinoteau.

Agnès Varda who first to revealed young actor ] in her 1970 film Nausicaa , was to direct a love story set in ] between a French women (Valérie Mairesse) visiting Iran as a tourist and her guide an Iranian Man (Ali Raffi). The film was entitled Plaisir D'Amour en Iran. The romantic film was shot on location in The Masjed Shah in 1976.

] and ] on the other hand were to shoot their documentary shortly after the ] Celebrations in 1971. They decided to focus on the urban transformations and cultural emancipation that the country was subject to by the early seventies.

Several Iranian expats such as ] or Persian play writer/actor ] have also gained notice in recent years. The latter is particularly known for her highly intellectual introspections in such plays like Art (Sean Connery bought the film rights advised by his French wife).<ref></ref>

==Iranian-American cinema==

2006 film ] was written by ]n-]n ] and ]ian ] who was also a producer. It earned ], ] and ] nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film. It was nomminated for 79th Academy Award for Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Makeup. Sound editing of the film was done by another Iranian sound editor ].<ref></ref>

The following are films made by Iranian-Americans:

*]
*I Am A Sex Addict <ref></ref>
*Daybreak <ref></ref>
*The Keeper <ref></ref>

== Music in Iranian cinema ==
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 like ], ], Ahmad Pejman, Majid Entezami, Babak Bayat, Naser Cheshmazar and ] were some of the most successful score composers for Iranian films in the past decades.<ref></ref>

==Iranian international film festivals ==
]
Film festivals have a rather long history in Iran which goes back to 1950s. The first ''Tehran International Film Festival'' opened in April 1973. Althouh the festival never reached the level of Cannes and Venice, however, it managed to become well known as a class A festival. It was a highly reputable festival and many well-known filmmakers took part in it with their films. Great filmmakers such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ] won the festival's awards.<ref></ref>

=== Fajr Film Festival ===
{{main|Fajr International Film Festival}}

The Fajr 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. <ref></ref> 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 tope prize is called '''Crystal Simorgh'''.<ref></ref>

=== Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children & Young Adults ===
This festival 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 in 1996 it was held in Kerman. The festival features international and national film and video competitions. The top prize is called '''Golden Butterfly'''.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Isfahan_International_Festival_of_Films_for_Children_And_Young_Adults/
Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children & Young Adults on IMDb]</ref>

=== Iran Cinema Celebration Awards ===
On ], the national day of Iranian cinema, a celebration is held annually by the House of Cinema. In the 2006 event, ] was honored.
* 2006 Best film: ''Crossroad'' directed by Abolhassan Davudi.
* 2005 Best film: ''So Close, So Far'' directed and produced by Reza Mir-Karimi.

== International recognition of Iranian cinema ==
Here is a list of '''Grand prizes''' awarded to Iranian cinema by the most prestigious film fetivals:<ref></ref><ref></ref>
===Cannes===
]
First presence of Iranian cinema in Cannes dates back to 1992 when ''Life and nothing more'' by Abbas Kiarostami represented Iran in the festival.
*Golden Palm: ] (1997)
*Grand Prize of the Jury: ''Not yet''
*Jury prize: ] (2000 & 2003)
*Golden Camera: ] (2004), ] (2000), ] (2000), ] (1995)

===Venice===
*Golden Lion: ] (2000)
*Silver Lion: ] (for best direction-1995), ] (Grand Jury Prize 1999)
]

===Berlinale===
*Golden Bear: ''several nominations''
*Silver Bear: ] (2006), ] (1976), ] (1974)

===Locarno===
The first film from Iranian cinema that won a prize in Locarno festival was ''khaneie doost kojast'' directed by Abbas Kiarostami (1989).
*Golden Leopard: ] (2006), ] (2005), ] (1997).
*Silver Leopard: ] (2004), ] (1998)

===London===
*Sutherland Trophy: ] (2003), ] (1998)

=== San Sebastian ===
*Golden Shell: ] (2004 & 2006)
*Silver Shell: ] (1993)

=== FIPRESCI ===
*Grand Prize: ] (2001)
*] prize: ] (1995 & 1998), ] (1999), ] (2000), ] (2001), ] (2002), Atiq Rahimi & ] (2004), ](2005), ] (2006), ] (2000 & 2006).

===Life long achievement awards ===
* Abbas Kiarostami: ], Cannes Festival (1992)
* Abbas Kiarostami: ] (1992)
* Abbas Kiarostami: Honorary doctorate, ] (2003)
* Abbas Kiarostami: ] Gold Medal, UNESCO (1997)
* ]: The ] Award (2002)
* Abbas Kiarostami: ] Prize (2006)
* ]: ] for outstanding Artistic contribution to the world cinema (2006)
* Mohsen Makhmalbaf: ] Gold Medal, UNESCO (2001)
* ]: ] (1998)
* ]: ] award (2006)
* ]: ] (2004)
* ], San Francisco International Film Festival "The Unvanquished" honoree (2006)
* ]: Podo Award, at Valdivia Film Festival (2007)

===The Annual Academy Awards (Oscar) ===
*1997 and 2001: Habib Zargarpour (2 Nominations) Best Visual Effects for; Twister 1997, and The Perfect Storm 2001
*1998: Zahra Dowlatabadi (Nomination)
*1999: ] (Nomination)
*2004: ] (Nomination)
*2007: ], (Nomination) best Sound Editing on Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto.<ref></ref>

==References==
]
<references/>

==See also==
]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ]
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Revision as of 20:11, 19 February 2007

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The cinema of Iran (or Persian cinema) is a flourishing film industry with a long history. Many popular commercial films are made in Iran, and Iranian art films have won many international film awards. Festivals of Iranian films are held annually around the globe. Along with China, Iran has been lauded as one of the best exporters of cinema in the 1990s.

Many critics now rank Iran as the world's most important national cinema artistically, with a significance that invites comparison to Italian Neorealism and similar movements in past decades. World-renowned German filmmaker Werner Herzog, along with many film critics from around the world, has praised Iranian cinema as one of the world's most important artistic cinemas.

Besides cinema made in Iran, the terms "Iranian cinema" and "Persian cinema" can also refer to the cinema of the Iranian Cultural Continent ("Greater Iran"), such as Tajikistan and Afghanistan. It may also refer to movies made in the Persian language in other regions, such as Europe and the United States or to movies made by Iranians in languages other than Iranian ones.

History

Visual arts in Persia

See also: Persian theatre

File:Gaav.jpg
Gaav (The Cow) is a 1969 Iranian movie directed by Dariush Mehrjui, written by Gholam-Hossein Saedi based on his own play and novel, and staring Ezatolah Entezami as Masht Hasan.

If one were to trace the first visual representations in Iranian history, the bas-reliefs in Persepolis (c. 500 B.C.) would be one of the earliest examples. Persepolis was the ritual center of the ancient kingdom of Achaemenids. As Honour and Fleming state, "the figures at Persepolis remain bound by the rules of grammar and syntax of visual language."

This style of visual representation reached its high peak about a thousand years later during the Sassanian reign. A bas-relief in Taq-e-Bostan (western Iran) depicts a complex hunting scene. Movements and actions are articulated in a sophisticated manner. We can even see the progenitor of the cinema close-up: a wounded wild pig escaping from the hunting ground.

After the Arab invasion and conversion from Zoroastrianism to Islam — a religion in which visual symbols were avoided — Persian art continued its visual practices. Persian miniatures are great examples of such attempts. The deliberate lack of perspective enabled the artist to have different plots and sub-plots within the same space of the picture. A very popular form of such art was Pardeh-Khani. Another type of art in the same category was Nagali.

That there were many other dramatic performance arts that were popular before the advent of cinema in Iran. Khaymeshab-bazi (puppet show), Saye-bazi (shadow plays), Rouhozi (comical acts), and Ta'zieh are just a few examples.

Early Persian cinema

Cinema was only five years old when it came to Persia at the beginning of the 20th century. The first Persian filmmaker was Mirza Ebrahim Khan Akkas Bashi, the official photographer of Muzaffar al-Din Shah, the Shah of Persia from 1896–1907. After a visit to Paris in July 1900, Akkas Bashi obtained a camera and filmed the Shah'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 are extant. A few years after Akkas Bashi started photography, Khan Baba Motazedi, another pioneer in Iranian motion picture photography emerged. He shot a considerable amount of newsreel footage during the reign of Qajar to the Pahlavi dynasty.

In 1904, Mirza Ebrahim Khan Sahhafbashi opened the first movie theater in Tehran. 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.

In 1925 an Armenian-Iranian cinematographer, 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" (The Cinema Artist Educational Centre).

1930s and 40s

In 1932, Abdolhossein Sepanta made the first Iranian sound film, entitled Lor Girl. Later, in 1935, he directed movies such as Ferdowsi (the life story of the most celebrated epic poet of Iran), Shirin and Farhaad (a classic Iranian love story), and Black Eyes (the story of Nader Shah's invasion of India). In 1937, he directed Laili and Majnoon, an Eastern love story similar to the English story of Romeo and Juliet.

The present day Iranian film industry owes a lot of its progress to two industrious personalities, Esmail Koushan and Farrokh Ghaffari. By establishing the first National Iranian Film Society in 1949 at the Iran 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 like Abdolhossein Sepanta and Esmail Koushan took advantage of the richness of Persian literature and ancient Persian mythology. In their work, they put emphasised ethics and humanity.

Pre-revolutionary cinema, 1950s-70s

File:Sham e akhar.jpg
"The Last Supper" touches on traditional Iranian cinema taboos such as inter-generational marriage.

The 1960s was a significant decade for Iranian cinema, with 25 commercial films produced annually on average throughout the early ‘60s, increasing to 65 by the end of the decade. The majority of production focused on melodrama and thrillers.

The movie that really boosted the economy of Iranian cinema and initiated a new genre was Ganj-e-Qarun (Croesus Treasure), made in 1965 by Siamak Yasami. Four years later Masud Kimiaie made Kaiser. With Kaiser (Qeysar), Kimiaie depicted the ethics and morals of the romanticised poor working class of the Ganj-e-Qarun genre through his main protagonist, the titular Qeysar. But Kimiaie's film generated another genre in Iranian popular cinema: the tragic action drama.

With the screening of the films Kaiser and The Cow, produced by Masoud Kimiay and Darius Mehrjui in 1969, alternative films established their status in the film industry. Attempts to organize a film festival that had begun in 1954 within the framework of the Golrizan Festival, bore fruits with the Sepas Festival in 1969 and the endeavors of Ali Mortazavi which resulted in the formation of the Tehran World Festival in 1973.

Pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema produced notable movies such as:

Post-revolutionary cinema

Post-revolutionary Iranian cinema has been praised in many international forums due to its distinct style, themes, authors, idea of nationhood, and cultural references. Many world class Iranian directors have emerged in the last few decades, such as Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi. Kiarostami, who some critics regard as one of the few great directors in the history of cinema, planted Iran firmly on the map of world cinema when he won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival for A Taste of Cherry in 1997.

The continuous presence of Iranian films in prestigious international festivals such as Cannes, the Venice Film Festival, and Berlin Film Festival attracted world attention to Iranian masterpieces., as Iranian films have repeatedly been nominated for or won prestigious prizes at those festivals. In 2006, six Iranian films, with six different styles, represented Iranian cinema at the Berlin Film Festival, and critics considered this a remarkable event in the history of Iranian cinema.

An important step was taken in 1998 when the Iranian government began to fund ethnic cinema. Since then Iranian Kurdistan has seen the emergence of numerous filmmakers.

Contemporary Iranian cinema

Commercial cinema in Iran

File:Mozahem.jpg
The international award winning cinema of Iran is quite different from its domestically geared genre. The latter caters to an entirely different audience, which is under the age of 25. Actress La'ya Zanganeh stars in the box office hit "Mozahem".

For many years the most visible face of Iranian commercial cinema was Mohammad Ali Fardin, who starred in a number of popular successful films. In the more conservative social climate of Iran after the Iranian Revolution of 1979, however, he came to be considered an embarrassment to Iranian national identity and his films — which depicted romance, alcohol, scantily-clad women, and a lifestyle now condemned by the Islamic government — were banned. 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 in Tehran was attended by 20,000 mourners. Before Fardin, one could argue, Iran simply did not have a commercial cinema.

The commercial Iranian cinema genre is largely unknown in the West as the films are targeted at the local audiences. There are two categories of this type of film:

  • The first is what many critics label as “propaganda” films. Many of these films relate to the victory of the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the ensuing Iran–Iraq war, and are filled with strong religious motifs.
  • The second category, loosely defined as the "unofficial Hollywood remake", consists of movies that are highly formulaic, cast with popular actors and possess the typical elements of India's popular cinema in their appeal (of course, with distinct differences). They tell stories of unrequited love where the hero and his love interest don't so much kiss but walk off into the metaphorical sunset as the end-credits roll. The appeal of these films lies in their “western” attributes, which contributes significantly to the escapism they offer. Part of the appeal of these commercial “remakes” is in their "non-Iranian" identity.

There is an Iranian presence in Hollywood commercial cinema. Persian actress and artist Nazanin Boniadi appears in The Snitch and the feature film Gameface as well as Shohreh Aghdashloo in the House of Sand and Fog which portrays the life of Iranian-Americans and was nominated for three Oscars. Bahar Soomekh appears in the award wining Crash. Controversial comedian Sacha Baron Cohen is of Jewish-Iranian descent. Iranian Assyrian Rosie Malek-Yonan has appeared in numerous notable television shows, films and plays, acting in a wide range of roles opposite many of Hollywood's leading actors and received rave reviews as an actor and director. She was also an actress in Rendition directed by Oscar winner Gavin Hood and also starring Reese Witherspoon and Meryl Streep.

Iranian New Wave films

Main article: Iranian New Wave
File:Persian filmmakers.jpg
Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi belong to the so called New wave of Persian cinema

In the 1960s, there were 'New Wave' movements in the cinema of numerous countries. The pioneers of the Iranian New Wave were directors like Forough Farrokhzad, Sohrab Shahid Saless, Bahram Beizai, and Parviz 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 are Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, Majid Majidi, Bahram Beizai, Darius Mehrjui, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Masoud Kimiay, Sohrab Shahid-Saless, Parviz Kimiavi, Samira Makhmalbaf, Amir Naderi, and Abolfazl 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 contemporary Persian literature.

Features of New Wave Iranian film, in particular the works of legendary Abbas Kiarostami, can be classified as postmodern.

Iranian New Wave films shared some characteristics with the European art films of the period, in particular Italian Neorealism. However, in her article 'Real Fictions', Rose Issa argues that Iranian films have a distinctively Iranian cinematic language

"that champions the poetry in everyday life and the ordinary person by blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, feature film with documentary." She also argues that this unique approach has inspired European cinema directors to emulate this style, citing Michael Winterbottom's award-winning In This World (2002) as an homage to contemporary Iranian cinema. Issa claims that "This new, humanistic aesthetic language, determined by the film-makers’ individual and national identity, rather than the forces of globalism, has a strong creative dialogue not only on homeground but with audiences around the world."

In his monumental book Close Up: Iranian Cinema, Past, Present, Future (2001) Hamid Dabashi describes modern Iranian cinema and the phenomenon of 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."

While Kiarostami and Panahi represent the first and second generations of New wave filmmakers respectively, the third generation is represented by Saman Salvar, Maziar Miri, Mohsen Amiryoussefi, Asghar Farhadi and Mani Haghighi.

Iranian popular art films

Parallel to the Iranian New Wave, with its neorealist and minimalist art cinema, there also exists a so-called "popular art cinema" in Iran. Filmmakers who belong to this circle make films with a broader range of audience the narrow spectrum of highly educated people who admire the New Wave, but believe that their movies are also artistically sound. Filmmakers such as Nasser Taghvaee and Ali Hatami are the best examples of this cinematic movement (some of these filmmakers also make New Wave films (e.g. Mum's guests by Darius Mehrjui).

In Persian poetry, Mehdi Akhavan-Sales has established a bridge between the Khorassani and Nima Schools. That is what Masoud Kimiay has done in Kaiser: he established a connection between intellectual and popular films.

Iranian women's cinema

File:Zire Pooste Shahr.gif
Rakhshan Bani-Etemad's film "Zir-e poost-e shahr"

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 has been a higher percentage of women directors in Iran than in most countries in the West.

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, writer and director is probably Iran's best known and certainly most prolific female filmmaker. She has established herself as the elder stateswoman of Iranian cinema with documentaries and films dealing with social pathology. Samira Makhmalbaf directed her first film, The Apple, when she had only 17 years old and won the Cannes Jury Prize in 2000 for her following film The Blackboard.

The success and hard work of the pioneering Rakhshan Bani-Etemad is an example that many women directors in Iran were following much before Samira Makhmalbaf made the headlines. Internationally recognised figures in Persian women's cinema are:

The White Balloon, among 50 best films of all times

Besides women involved in screenwriting and filmmaking, there are numerous award winning Iranian actresses whose uniques styles and talents attracted critics. The most notable Iranian actresses are:

In 2006, Marjane Satrapi, become a member of the Cannes Film festival Jury. She is an Iranian contemporary graphic novelist, illustrator and author of the best selling "Perspolis".

Iranian war films

War cinema in Iran was born simultaneously with the beginning of Iran-Iraq war. However it took many years until it found its way and identity by defining characteristics of Iranian war cinema. Many renowned directors were involved in developing Iranian war cinema:History of Iranian war cinema (in Persian)

File:War Iranian Cinema.jpg
"War in Iranian Cinema", an Iranian war film festival organized by New York University, Film Center (2007)

Iranian animations

The following are makers of Iranian animated films:

Timeline of Iranian films

List of Iranian films

Ethnic cinema in Iran

File:Half Moon film.jpg
Hossein Alizadeh made the film score for "Half moon", directed by Bahman Ghobadi. Inspired by Mozart's Requiem, Bahman Ghobadi and Behnam Behzadi wrote the film's scripts.

Iranian Azeri Cinema

In 2002, Iranian director, Mehdi Parizad, shot a documentary on Azeri filmmaking. On January 10, 2005, The Azeri cinema event "Prospects of Azeri Cinema" opened at Tehran's Contemporary Arts Museum. In 1990, Mohsen Makhmalbaf made "Time of Love". The film's dialogues are both in Turkish and Persian language.

Iranian Kurdish cinema

In 1999, The Wind Will Carry Us, by Abbas Kiarostami, was the first movie to be partly shot in Iran's Kurdistan province. It was presented at both the Venice Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival.

Kurdish cinema came to international prominence in 2000 with the screening of two Kurdish language movies simultaneously at the Cannes Film Festival, namely, The Blackboard by Samira Makhmalbaf (entirely in Kurdish) and A Time for Drunken Horses by Bahman Ghobadi (in Kurdish and Persian).

In 2000, Farhad Mehranfar made "The Legend of Love" which tells the story of Khazara, a young female medical student who wanders courageously among nomadic Kurdish tribes looking for her fiancé, who has set off to tend the wounded in a town besieged by Iraqi attacks. The film won Special Jury Award in Santa Barbara International Film Festival (2001).

In 2002, Songs from my Motherland (aka Marooned in Iraq), another movie by Bahman Ghobadi in Kurdish and Persian, was presented at Cannes. The movie won prizes at several other international festivals.

In 2005, Iranian director Jamil Rostami won the Fajr Festival's Simorgh for Best Director in Asia and Middle East for his Kurdish language movie Requiem of Snow written by Sholeh Shariati. In 2006, Ghobadi's Half Moon (in Kurdish and Persian) won the Golden Seashell at the San Sebastian Film Festival. The film was shot in Iranian Kurdistan and Iran's renowned actors Golshifteh Farahani, Hassan Poorshirazi and Hedyeh Tehrani (also executive and assistant director) acted in this movie. The music in the movie was made by Iran's world-class musician Hossein Alizadeh.

Iranian cinema and other Persian-speaking countries

File:Rotterdam-Iranians.jpg
Reza Abedini and Mohsen Namjoo on the poster of Rotterdam International Fim Festival (2007)

Afghanistan

Cinema of Afghanistan is slowly rising after a long period of silence. Before September 11th attacks, Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf attracted world attention to Afghanistan by his celebrated movie, Kandahar. It was an attempt to tell the world about a forgotten country. The film brought cinema of Afghanistan to Cannes film festival for the first time in history. Later on, Yassamin Maleknasr, Abolfazl Jalili, Samira Makhmalbaf, and Siddiq Barmak did significant contribution to Persian cinema in Afghanistan. Barmak's first Persian film Osama (2003) won several awards in Cannes and London film festivals. Siddiq Barmak is also director of the Afghan Children Education Movement (ACEM), an association that promotes literacy, culture and the arts, founded by Iranian film director Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The school trains actors and directors for the emerging cinema of Afghanistan.

The situation of Afghanistani immigrants has been also addressed extensively by Iranian cinematographers. The first step in this field was taken by Mohsen Makhmalbaf in Bicycle ran in 1998. Other examples in this line are Jafar Panahi's White Balloon in 1994, Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry in 1997, Majid Majidi's Rain and Bahram Beizaei's Killing Mad Dogs.

In 2000, Djomeh made by one of Abbas Kiarostami’s assistants, Hassan Yektapanah; the story focuses on the plight of one of the two million young Afghanistani refugees in Iran without legal status. When the non-professional Afghanistani actor, used in this film, was invited to the Hamburg Film Festival, and then denied re-entry to Iran, his story became another film, Heaven's Path in 2002, by the architect-actor-film-maker Mahmoud Behraznia, who lives in Germany.

Tajikistan

In Tajikistan, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, the internationally known Iranian movie director, is playing the same role as he played in the reconstruction of the cinema of post-Taliban Afghanistan. The first Didar Film Festival, the first film festival to be held in Tajikistan, took place in 2004. The festival and the House of Cinema of Makhmalbaf (in Iran) allocated grants for the creation of short-feature film by young and gifted film makers Mirzob Nugmanov, Aloviddin Abdullaev, Denis Mechetov, Shahruyor Nazari, and grant to Bakhtiyor Kakhorov for the creation of a cartoon.

In 2002, Jamshid Usmonov won FIPRESCI Prize at London film festival for his Persian language comedy, Angel on the Right.

In 2003, Iran’s Film Week was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Several Iranian films including My Eyes for You, Last Supper, Bride, Avicenna, and Passion, went on screen at the Vatan Cinema in Dushanbe.

Tajikistan’s Filmmakers Guild which is an affiliate of Moscow Filmmakers Guild, in a ceremony on August 26, 2005 held in Dushanbe’s House of Cinema, presented the Guild’s honorary membership to Mohsen Makhmalbaf. Makhmalbaf made two of his 18 feature films in Tajikistan; "Silence" in Persian and "Sex and Philosophy" in Russian are the titles.

Influence of Iranians on French New Wave

Amongst the pioneers of French New Wave were François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Goddard, Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer or Barbet Shroeder (born in Tehran, Iran in 1941 where his German geologist Father was on assignment).

Throughout the first half of the 20th century France was the major destination for Iranian students. Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Fereydoun Hoveyda was one of them. Fereydoun Hoveyda was also to play a major role in French cultural scene and particularly in the field of Cinema for he was the protégé of François Truffaut whome he befriended and with whome he helped create the now prestigious and incisive film magazine Les Cahiers du Cinéma that spearheaded the French Nouvelle Vague or New Wave Cinema. He also worked closely with Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossilini on several film scripts during that era. Fereydoun Hoveyda was not the only Iranian of his generation to play an active role in promoting the French Cinéma d'Auteur. Youssef Ishaghpour born in Tehran in 1940 lives in Paris since 1958. He studied Cinema at l'École Louis Lumière and l'IDHEC) and has written extensively on Films and the Nouvelle Vague pioneers which he befriended and followed the works. He has since become a respected specialist of the director/actor of Citizen Kane with a prized anthology on the Legendary Orson Welles who shot several of his films in Paris such as the famous adaptation of Kafka's Trial with Truffaut's égérie Jeanne Moreau and one of Hitchcock's favorite actors Anthony Perkins (Psycho).

Another Iranian figure in French New Wave was Shusha Guppy a singer, writer and filmmaker who was Jacques Prévert's girl friend. However the most significative contribution to the French New Wave cinema is that of Serge Rezvani an Iranian poet born in Tehran in 1928. He was to play a major role as music composer of both François Truffaut Jules et Jim and Jean Luc Godard Pierrot le Fou, considered as land marks of French New Wave Cinema.

File:Apocalypto teaser.jpg
Golden Globe winner Apocalypto co-produced by Farhad Safinia was an Academy Award nominee for sound editing done by Kami Asgar.

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 French Academie des Beaux Arts .

Born in Paris on December 30th 1927, Iranian Robert Hossein (son of legendary musician Aminollah Hossein) started his acting carreer with his French Armenian friend Chahnour Varinag Aznavourian (known as the famed crooner Charles Aznavour) in the mid fifties essentially type casted as " Mr. Tough Guy ". However he attained international fame in the early Sixties particularily 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 of Angélique Marquise des Anges . In the seventies and eighties he was to play opposite Jean Paul Belmondo in police thrillers like The Professional . Hossein became particularily known for being a talented theater director and his taste for popular historical vehicles involving large sets and numerous actors. He continues to be active and is to deliver a much-expected spectacle Ben Hur this year at the Stade de France.

After the overthrow of French President Charles De Gaulle, Iranian Anicée Shahmanesh became known under the screen name Anicée Alvina, playing a French girl in a British film hit called Friends , the music score of which propelled British Pop Star Elton John. She was also to take on a courageous Lesbian role in the screen adaptation of Françoise Mallet-Joris' novel Le Rempart des Béguines.

Two major documentaries were produced in these post-68 years by respectively Agnès Varda and the duo Claude Lelouche-Claude Pinoteau.

Agnès Varda who first to revealed young actor Gérard Depardieu in her 1970 film Nausicaa , was to direct a love story set in Isfahan between a French women (Valérie Mairesse) visiting Iran as a tourist and her guide an Iranian Man (Ali Raffi). The film was entitled Plaisir D'Amour en Iran. The romantic film was shot on location in The Masjed Shah in 1976.

Claude Pinoteau and Claude Lelouche on the other hand were to shoot their documentary shortly after the Persepolis Celebrations in 1971. They decided to focus on the urban transformations and cultural emancipation that the country was subject to by the early seventies.

Several Iranian expats such as Philippe Khorsand or Persian play writer/actor Yasmina Reza have also gained notice in recent years. The latter is particularly known for her highly intellectual introspections in such plays like Art (Sean Connery bought the film rights advised by his French wife).

Iranian-American cinema

2006 film Apocalypto was written by Australian-American Mel Gibson and Iranian Farhad Safinia who was also a producer. It earned Golden Globe, BAFTA and BFCA nominations for Best Foreign-Language Film. It was nomminated for 79th Academy Award for Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Makeup. Sound editing of the film was done by another Iranian sound editor Kami Asgar.

The following are films made by Iranian-Americans:

Music in Iranian cinema

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 like Morteza Hannaneh, Fariborz Lachini, Ahmad Pejman, Majid Entezami, Babak Bayat, Naser Cheshmazar and Hossein Alizadeh were some of the most successful score composers for Iranian films in the past decades.

Iranian international film festivals

File:SimorghFajr.jpg
The Crystal Simorgh

Film festivals have a rather long history in Iran which goes back to 1950s. The first Tehran International Film Festival opened in April 1973. Althouh the festival never reached the level of Cannes and Venice, however, it managed to become well known as a class A festival. It was a highly reputable festival and many well-known filmmakers took part in it with their films. Great filmmakers such as Francesco Rosi, Grigori Kozintsev, Alain Tanner, Pietro Germi, Nikita Mikhalkov, Krzysztof Zanussi, Martin Ritt won the festival's awards.

Fajr Film Festival

Main article: Fajr International Film Festival

The Fajr 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. 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 tope prize is called Crystal Simorgh.

Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children & Young Adults

This festival 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 in 1996 it was held in Kerman. The festival features international and national film and video competitions. The top prize is called Golden Butterfly.

Iran Cinema Celebration Awards

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.

  • 2006 Best film: Crossroad directed by Abolhassan Davudi.
  • 2005 Best film: So Close, So Far directed and produced by Reza Mir-Karimi.

International recognition of Iranian cinema

Here is a list of Grand prizes awarded to Iranian cinema by the most prestigious film fetivals:

Cannes

Cannes Film Festival logo.
Cannes Film Festival logo.

First presence of Iranian cinema in Cannes dates back to 1992 when Life and nothing more by Abbas Kiarostami represented Iran in the festival.

Venice

File:The Wind Will Carry Us VHS.jpg
The Wind Will Carry Us (Bād mā rā khāhad bord) is a 1999 Iranian film by Abbas Kiarostami.The title is a reference to a poem written by iranian famous modern female poet Forough Farrokhzad.

Berlinale

Locarno

The first film from Iranian cinema that won a prize in Locarno festival was khaneie doost kojast directed by Abbas Kiarostami (1989).

London

San Sebastian

FIPRESCI

Life long achievement awards

The Annual Academy Awards (Oscar)

  • 1997 and 2001: Habib Zargarpour (2 Nominations) Best Visual Effects for; Twister 1997, and The Perfect Storm 2001
  • 1998: Zahra Dowlatabadi (Nomination)
  • 1999: Majid Majidi (Nomination)
  • 2004: Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nomination)
  • 2007: Kami Asgar, (Nomination) best Sound Editing on Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto.

References

File:Childrenofheavenposter.jpg
OSCAR nominee, "Children of Heaven"
  2. The Iranian Cinema
  3. The Iranian Cinema: A Dream With No Awakening
  4. Honour, Hugh and John Fleming, The Visual Arts: A History. New Jersey, Prentice Hall Inc, 1992. Page: 96.
  5. Iranian Cinema: Before the Revolution
  6. Iranian Cinema: Before the Revolution
  7. M. Ali Issari, Cinema in Iran: 1900-1979 pages 40-67.
  8. The history of Iranian cinema, Part I by Masoud Mehrabi
  9. M.A Issari, Cinema in Iran, page 96.
  10. The history of Iranian cinema, Part I by Masoud Mehrabi
  11. Iranian Cinema: Before the Revolution
  12. Omid, Jamal. THE HISTORY OF IRANIAN CINEMA 1900-1978. Tehran: Rozaneh Publication, 1995, 1174 pgs (Persian).
  13. Iranian fimmakers and influence of Ancient Persian literature
  14. Shahin Parhami, Iranian Cinema: Before the Revolution
  15. Kiarostami Will Carry Us; The Iranian Master Gives Hope
  16. Iran's strong presence in 2006 Berlin Film Festival
  17. Iran films return to Berlin festival
  18. BBC News. (2000). "Iranian 'King of Hearts' dies". BBC News. Retrieved November 8, 2006.
  19. Farewell to Fardin: Death of legendary actor marks end of an era
  20. Imagining Iran: A Symposium on Iranian Cinema
  21. The New Wave in Iranian Cinema - From Past to Present
  22. Abbas Kiarostami ? The Truth Behind Reality
  23. Real Fictions
  26. The New Wave in Iranian Cinema - From Past to Present
  27. Real Fictions
  34. I Am A Sex Addict
  35. Daybreak
  36. The Keeper
  37. Music in Iranian cinema
  38. F for Festival
  39. F for Festival
  40. Fajr Film Festival on IMDb
  41. [http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Isfahan_International_Festival_of_Films_for_Children_And_Young_Adults/ Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children & Young Adults on IMDb]
  42. Film Festival Guide
  43. Locarno festival ranked 4th after Cannes, Venice and Berlin

See also

File:Cinema kiarostami.jpg
Abbas Kiarostami's Cinema

Iranian film critics:

External links

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