Iranian Short Film Association Calls on Government to Ease Censorship
By Azadeh Karimi
The Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA), a nonprofit non-governmental organization operating under the auspices of the Iranian House of Cinema, released a statement recently calling on the Ministry of Culture and Islamic...
Venice Film Festival Hosts Filmmakers Shirin Neshat, Khatami
Four Iranian directors are presenting their movies at this year's Venice Film Festival (which ends Sept. 9), all of them outside of the official competition. They include Shirin Neshat, who won the festival's Silver...
Glenn Close to Star in ‘Tehran,’ Israeli Espionage Series, Playing A British Woman
By Nazanine Nouri
Glenn Close -- the eight-time Oscar nominee, best known for her role in the 1987 movie “Fatal Attraction” – will be starring in Season 2 of “Tehran,” the Israeli espionage series on...
Iranian-American Filmmaker Wins Oscar for Menstruation Movie
By Tara Biglari
Filmmaker Rayka Zehtabchi made history this week as the first Iranian-American ever to win an Oscar. Her film ‘Period. End of Sentence’ — about the stigma around menstruation in parts of the...
Iranian Filmmakers Reluctant to Participate in 37th Fajr Film Festival
The 37th Fajr Film Festival, scheduled to run from January 31 to February 11 in Tehran, coincides with the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. Many prominent filmmakers have reportedly decided not to take...
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...
Growing Up With Gender Identity Disorder in Iran: Interview with Pooya Mohseni
By Fred Parvaneh
Mohseni is an Iranian-American actor, writer, and activist. A graduate of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology and the Maggie Flanigan Studio, Pooya has had a string of lead, supporting and recurring...
Close-Up in London: Remembering Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami, the world-famous Iranian film director who passed away on July 4 in Paris, is being remembered in lectures, conferences and film screenings all around the world. One such event was an in memoriam...
‘Reading Lolita in Tehran’ Movie, With Farahani, Gets Cannes Festival Showcase
By Firouzeh Nabavi
Iranian talents are in the spotlight at the Cannes Film Festival, the glamorous 11-day event that opened this week on the French Riviera and runs through May 27. The movie adaptation of...
Iranian Director Ghanizadeh Dedicates Award to Slain Protester Pooya Bakhtiari
By Azadeh Karimi
Iranian film and stage director Homayoun Ghanizadeh, whose 2019 film “The Clown” won the top prize in the “Exceptional Talent and Creative” section of the “13th Gathering of Screenwriters and Film Critics”,...
