Iranian film showcase

EIranian cinema has its followers and both the new films that are released and the retrospective and monographic cycles are always eagerly awaited events. Iranian cinema is usually an auteur cinema, easily recognizable by its narrative proposals and scripts, which shows the good training of its filmmakers. On this occasion, we have put together a group of five movies that we can screen with the collaboration of the Cultural Council of the Iranian Embassy in Spain and the Farabi Foundation, whose interest in distributing this cinema is more than evident. The titles that are part of the showcase are of recent production, since they are dated between 2020 and 2022, and their makers are young directors born between the seventies and the eighties of the 20th century. This program joins the large number of films from this country that we program annually at Cinemes Girona in Barcelona, MK2 Cine Paz in Madrid, on the television channel BETEVÉ and the CASA ASIA Channel within the online platform FILMIN.

PROGRAM

Thursday February 15th, 2024, at 8:15PM 

No Prior Appointment

Behrooz Shoaibi | Irán | 2022 | 120’| VOSE 

When Yasmin was six years old, the same age as her son in the present, her family emigrated to Berlin. Now, she must return to Iran because of her father’s death, but the journey is not easy since her son is autistic. Arriving in Iran, Yasmin, who hardly knew her father, is astonished by the inheritance he has left her. Her brief and unwanted stay in her father’s hometown, which allows her to meet those who were related to him, gives Yasmin a new understanding of human beings, life and death. 

Behrooz Shoaibi was born in 1979, in Mashhad, and has worked in different branches of cinema. As an actor, he started his career with Ebrahim Hatamikia’s The Glass Agency (1998), and gained critical and public attention with Homayoun Asadian’s Gold & Copper (2010). His films and TV series include: The Sloe Garden (2005); Wings of Happiness (2008); Abandoned (2009); Somewhere Between Staying and Going (2010); and Secluded (2014). With his first feature film, The Corridor, Shoaibi won Best Debut Film at the 2013 Fajr Film Festival. 

Saturday February 17th, 2024, at 8PM 

Sea Boys

Afshin Hashemi, Hossein Jami | Irán | 2021 | 95’ | VOSE | Drama 

It tells the story of two boys who live in opposite sides of the country with the shared story of both have lost one of their parents. The boy living in the North has lost his father, while the boy living in the South has lost his mother. Both are in search of that which can replace the love lost in the loss of their parents. 

Afshin Hashemi, born 1975 in Tehran, is an actor, writer and director of Iranian cinema. He began his professional career in theatre in 1993, acting and directing more than 20 plays. He is best known for the movies Don’t Be Tired (2013, co-directed alongside Mohsen Gharaie), Soft Voice (2015), Temporary License (2017), Auntie Frog (2018), Goodbye Shirazi Girl (2019) and his latest feature film, Sea Boys (2021). 

Saturday, March 2nd, 2024, at 8PM

Emad and Tuba’s Romanticism

Kaveh Sabaghzadeh | Irán | 2021 | 97’ | VOSE | Romance

When fate makes Emad and Tuba meet and get to know each other for the first time, they know perfectly well that love is a skill, not just pure enthusiasm, beauty, or a pressing itch. 

Kaveh Sabaghzadeh, born in 1980, is the son of a well-known Iranian film director, Mehdi Sabaghzadeh. Active as an assistant director, production manager and cinematographer since 1998, he made his feature film debut with the feature film Italy Italy, in 2017. Emad and Tuba’s Romanticism is his second film. 

Saturday, March 16th, 2024, at 8PM   

Mehran

Roqiye Tavakoli | Irán | 2020 | 78’ | VOSE | Drama 

A war-torn family from a border town called Mahran must flee to Yazd, a city in the center of the country. There they become embroiled in the personal affairs of their hosts, who are looking for a new partner for their widowed son. 

Roqiye Tavakoli, born in 1985, studied Cinematic Arts and a master’s degree in Dramatic Literature at Sooreh University, which is in Tehran. She is a lecturer and head of the department at Yazd University of Arts and Culture. Tavakoli is a member of the Iranian Short Film Association of Khaneh Cinema. The director has made more than 30 short and documentary films, which have been presented and widely applauded in more than 50 local and international festivals. She has won awards at festivals such as the Armenian International Women’s Film Festival Kin, Dubai Idba Awards, Rooyesh Film Festival and Parvin Etesami Film Festival. 

Saturday, March 23rd, 2024, at 8PM 

Wolf Cubs of the Apple Valley

Fereydoun Najafi | Irán | 2020 | 85’ | VOSE | Drama 

Asho, 11, whose father is accused of murder believes he lost his mother during childhood. On a journey he is forced to take, he discovers some of the realities he was unaware of and finds himself facing new obstacles and adventures. 

Freydoun Najafi, born 1977 in Koohrang, has a degree in cinematography from Soureh Film University. He has made several short films and documentaries. His films have been screened at more than 100 national and international film festivals and he has received some 40 awards. The Skier was his feature debut and was nominated for the APSA Awards for Best Young Feature. The director has also participated in more than 10 international festivals such as Cambridge and Olympia. Nejafi was the recipient of the Crystal Simorgh Award at the 27th Fajr International Film Festival for the film Where is Fatemeh’s House? which was also selected for the 61st Berlin Film Festival. He has won five Golden Butterfly Awards from the ICFF with Where is Fatemeh’s House?, The Skier, The Rooster, and The Twelfth Team-mate. The Last Migration was part of the Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival and the Montreal Film Festival, won the London SWEEFT Award for Best Documentary as well as the Best Documentary Award from the 6th Iran International Documentary Festival.