Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Asghar Farhadi Wins Cannes Festival Grand Prix for ‘A Hero’; Will He Get A...

By Nazanine Nouri The Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi was one of the big winners at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. His movie “A Hero” (“Ghahreman”) won the Grand Prix -- the festival’s second most important...

INTERVIEW: Niousha Noor, Star of Sundance Winner ‘The Persian Version’

By Fred Parvaneh The Iranian-American actor Niousha Noor (born Niousha Jafarian) received a major accolade last month: The movie she starred in, “The Persian Version,” won the Audience Award for U.S. dramatic film at the...

Two Iranian Directors Win Prizes at Karlovy Vary Festival in Czech Republic 

By Ahmad Rafat Two Iranian directors have won prizes at the prestigious Karlovy Vary International Film Festival held in the Czech Republic. The Best Director award was given to the movie "Fremont,”  directed by Babak Jalali....

Shirin Neshat Presents Movie in Venice, Opens Photography Show in London

By Nazanine Nouri Shirin Neshat -- who in 2009 won the Venice Film Festival’s Silver Lion best-director award for “Women Without Men” -- was back at this year’s festival for the premiere of a movie...

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...

Iranian-Canadian Director Keshvari Makes First Movie on Coronavirus 

By Ahmad Rafat Iranian-Canadian director Mostafa Keshvari has made the first full-length film about the coronavirus pandemic titled “Corona” with the tagline “Fear is a Virus.” The film is about the interactions between seven people who...

Most Iranians Have Never Been to the Movies, Culture Minister Says

There are no movie theaters in nearly 1,000 cities in Iran, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) has reported, citing Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi. “According to a recent study, nearly 88...

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...

Halloween with a Persian Twist

By Fred Parvaneh Halloween is a quintessentially American celebration – yet one that countless Iranians around the globe happily partake in. Halloween relives the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), which originated in Ireland, the...

Iran’s First Feminist Qorrat al-Ayn Is Brought Back to Life in New Movie

By Katayoon Halajan
Shabnam Tolouei is an Iranian-born actress, stage director and playwright who moviegoers will remember as the lead actress in Shirin Neshat’s movie "Women Without Men" (winner of the Venice Film Festival's top Golden Lion award in 2009). Tolouei is now back