Monday, March 16, 2026

Empty Chair for Jailed Iranian Director at Venice Film Fest

By Crispian Balmer VENICE, Sept 9 (Reuters) - An empty chair stood in for Iranian director Jafar Panahi at Venice on Friday as the festival hosted the world premiere of his latest movie "No Bears" while...

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...

Jailed Iranian Filmmaker Jafar Panahi In Competition at Venice Film Festival

By Ahmad Rafat The Venice International Film Festival turns 90 this year. Originally launched in 1932, it is the oldest international film festival in the world. The 79th edition of the festival, organized by La Biennale...
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Defying political pressure, Iranian director keeps camera running

CANNES, France (Reuters) – When Iranian authorities sentenced Mohammad Rasoulof to jail, they may have hoped the filmmaker would stop work or at least tone down his movies that lay bare legal and political injustices...
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At Sundance Festival, Women Directors Noora Niasari, Maryam Keshavarz And Sierra Urich Are In Competition

By Firouzeh Nabavi Three female directors of Iranian descent are vying for top awards at the  prestigious Sundance Film Festival in Utah, which started on Jan. 19 and ends Sunday. They include Noora Niasari, whose...

All About Oscar-Nominated Iranian Documentary ‘Cutting through Rocks’ — Will It Win Next Month?

By Kayhan Life Staff An award-winning Iranian documentary is in the running for an Oscar next month: "Cutting Through Rocks" is nominated in the Best Documentary Feature category at the upcoming 98th Academy Awards on...

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...
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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...

Porn Documentary “XSunami” Screened in Iranian Holy City of Mashhad

By Azadeh Karimi Some 300 people attended the invitation-only premiere of a feature-length documentary film titled “XSunami” ("Memoirs of a Porn Star") at the Hoveyze Multiplex Cinema in the holy city of Mashhad, capital of...
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Iranian Directors Including Rasoulof In the Spotlight at Toronto Film Festival

By Ahmad Rafat Mohammad Rasoulof, the Iranian filmmaker who secretly escaped Iran earlier this year, is back in the spotlight at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) with “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” which...