Wednesday, April 30, 2025
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‘The Persians’ by Sanam Mahloudji Is Nominated for UK’s Women’s Prize for Fiction

By Nazanine Nouri “The Persians” – the debut novel by the Iranian-born American author, U.K.-based Sanam Mahloudji has been shortlisted for the 30th Women’s Prize for Fiction, the U.K.’s leading award for female novelists. The prize...

Iranian Filmmakers, Actors Win Major Awards At Festivals In Lugano, Tokyo

By Ahmad Rafat The 10th Lugano Human Rights Film Festival, held from 19 to 29 October, awarded Iranian director Manijeh Hekmat with the Human Rights Author 2023 prize. Iranian filmmakers also shined at the 36th Tokyo...

Iran Submits Movie by Vahid Jalilvand for Foreign-Language Oscar

Vahid Jalilvand’s drama “No Date, No Signature” has been submitted by the Farabi Cinema Foundation (FCF) to the 2019 Academy Awards as Iran's pick for the foreign-language Oscar. Since 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture...

Jafar Panahi Among Contenders for the Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or

The Cannes Film Festival announced its lineup late last week, and said the Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi -- who is not allowed to leave Iran or to make movies -- was a contender for...
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Venice Film Festival To Feature Iranian Directors Including Nader Saeivar

By Ahmad Rafat The 81st Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest film festival, will open on Aug. 28 on Lido Island. This year’s event will showcase 188 films -- including feature-length and short formats, fiction,...

At Cannes Festival, Asghar Farhadi Urges Iran to Lift Panahi’s Travel Ban 

By Tara Biglari Asghar Farhadi's new movie "Everybody Knows” (Todos Lo Saben) opened the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday night, with Farhadi appearing on the red carpet alongside his actors, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. At the film’s press conference the...

Tehran Short Film Festival Selection Disputed by 200 Iranian Filmmakers

Two hundred Iranian filmmakers have written a letter to Abbas Salehi, the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, objecting to the censorship of works selected for the 35th Tehran International Short Film Festival scheduled...

Shirin Neshat Talks About Her Latest Film: A Tribute to Oum Kulthum

By Ahmad Rafat Shirin Neshat – the Iranian visual artist and filmmaker who won the Silver Lion award for best director at the 2009 Venice International Film Festival for "Women Without Men" – was in...

Play About Prostitutes Is Banned From Iran’s Fajr Festival

Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has refused to reissue a permit for the play “A Barren Day” which was set to open on January 22 at the 36th Fajr International Theater Festival...

Iranian Films Win Awards At Venice Film Festival

By Ahmad Rafat Iranian filmmakers and actors won three awards in the Horizons (Orizzonti) section of the Venice Film Festival earlier this month. The section runs parallel to the main festival competition. Dominique Welinski and René...