Mideast Film

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire: A Review of Trishna

There is a line in Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d'Urbervilles, when a character remarks that Tess has jumped “out of the frying pan and into the fire!” It is an apt characterization that comes to life in Michael Winterbottom’s film adaptation of the classic novel, Trishna.

Winterbottom and the film’s star, Frieda Pinto (of Slumdog Millionaire fame) were both present at the Tribeca Film Festival in April to introduce the film, where they also praised the festival for its dedication to independent filmmaking.

Transporting the story from 19th century England to modern-day India, Trishna follows its namesake protagonist (Pinto), a peasant from the villages of Rajasthan, and her relationship with Jay (Riz Ahmed), the wealthy and charismatic hotelier. How the initial attraction develops into a complexly dangerous relationship forms the crux of the plot.

Of Films and Bombs: A Review of “Separation”

Amidst talk of bombs and wars, a small Iranian film sweeps up the highest honors in western cinema. Its unassuming director goes up on stage, faces Hollywood aristocracy and his voice, soft and humble, flows across the airways reaching millions dedicating his golden statue to the good people of his ancient land.

The following day various sites hailed the event as an example of cultural camaraderie ignoring the threats of imminent strikes and annihilation red lines; and YouTube videos of Iranian families sitting spellbound in front of their satellite TVs, holding their breath to be ushered into the hall of fame by their archenemy, spiraled throughout the Internet. Once again it was clear — people will ignore the rantings of their politicians to come together in celebration of all that their humanity has in common while embracing diversity.

The Iranian PR machine predictably declared the whole thing to be a triumph over Israel – since the “Zionist Nation” was also competing in the same category. Well thank goodness for small nothings. That’s what I love about movies.

It can be all things to all people — and come Kodak day, those who lose can snub the whole thing as a meaningless self-congratulation exercise, while winners graciously fumble for words in front of a blank teleprompter basking in their two minutes of sun in front of Hollywood royalty. As for the peanut gallery, they can thank whomever they want.

Education Under Fire: The Dangers of Seeking to Learn

Iran is a country with around 75 million people. However, the Islamic Republic has a number of religious minorities, including Christians, Jews and Zoarastrians. One minority, numbering around 300,000, has been singled out and persecuted at great length since the 1979 revolution.

The Baha'i faith, founded in Iran in the 19th century, is an offshoot of Shia Islam, but has been targeted by the government. Islamic officials including Ayatollah Khomenei have sanctioned that persecution. Among the laws against the Baha'i is one that bars them from receiving any form of higher education.

Co-sponsored by Amnesty International, Jeff Kaufman's new documentary, Education Under Fire, explores the Baha'i plight and the efforts of activists to bypass the education ban. In the 1980s, Baha'i citizens formed the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education, a loose collection of students and teachers that provided college-level classes to members of the faith.

Five Reasons Why Iranians Cried for A Separation’s Golden Globe Win

On Sunday, January 15, at the 69th Golden Globes, “A Separation” by Iranian director Asghar Farhadi won the award for Best Foreign Language Film. Already a winner in various international film festivals including the Berlin Film Festival, Asia Pacific Screen Awards, and New York Film Critics Circle, the film’s success at the Golden Globes did not necessarily come as a surprise to either its Western or Iranian audiences alike.

Not surprisingly, the film comes with its own baggage of criticisms, oppositions, and accusations. Internationally, conservative Iranian figures and filmmakers called Farhadi’s work an unrealistic image of the Iranian people and devalued the Golden Globes as yet another “Western plot against Islamic culture.” Amongst Iran’s people, the reaction could not be more different. Since the film’s win, celebrations have been taking place on social media websites and inside Iran through various messages and letters written by prominent public figures, including filmmakers and former President Mohammad Khatami. The reaction many Iranians had to the winning of the A Separation is not one of mere happiness or pride, but rather ecstaticism with a ting of anxiety.

Here are five reasons why Iranians cried for A Separation:

1-The film was made by Asghar Farhadi, Not Abbas Kiarostami

Asghar Farhadi is from a suburban, small town called Khomeinishahr, located northwest of Isfahan and known for its conservative, religious, lower to middle class residents. From here, Farhadi found his way to the Iranian capital and studied in two of the country’s most prestigious universities.

Abbas Kiarostami and the Return to Uncertainty: An Interview with Geoff Andrew

In the ever-growing canon of Iranian filmmaking, one name unmistakably stands out: Abbas Kiarostami. Since staking out his reputation as an internationally acclaimed director and screenwriter, his films, though deceptively simple in structure, have become famous for taking on complex issues: the legitimacy of suicide in Taste of Cherry; gender equality in The Wind Will Carry Us; Iran’s socio-political landscape as seen through the eyes of one woman in Ten; and most recently, relationship drama Certified Copy, his second film shot and produced outside of Iran.

Among Kiarostami’s entourage of critics and supporters, only a minority have garnered more acclaim than Geoff Andrew, who takes his expertise on the filmmaker a step further. While other film scholars just simply respect Kiarostami’s work from an academic distance, Andrew is one of the few people who brought his admiration for the filmmaker under a more analytical and speculative lens, which has played a significant role in introducing Kiarostami to the western audience. Andrew’s 2005 book, 10, looks at Kiarostami’s challenging 2002 film of the same name, carefully weaving his commentary on the film’s political and aesthetic relevance with the broader contexts of Kiarostami’s career and Iran’s international film culture.

Film scholar and Aslan Media Contributor Ehsan Khoshbakht sat down with Andrew in London’s National Film Theatre to talk about Kiarostami’s use of craft and narrative, as well as the future challenges he faces making films abroad as a result of censorship in Iran.