Monday, December 8, 2025

Iranian-Born Actor Arsi Nami Stars in Award-Winning Short Film

  By Julie Ershadi  Abbas Kiarostami isn’t the only Iranian who received praise in Cannes this year. Arsalan (Arsi) Nami, an Iranian-born artist, music therapist, and actor, is the star of "Love is Blind," a short...

Venice Festival May Screen Jafar Panahi’s Documentary on Iran Flood Victims

A documentary film by the award-winning Iranian director Jafar Panahi and the veteran actress Pouri Banayi on the plight of people in the southern flood-stricken provinces of Khuzestan and Lorestan could be screened at...

Iranian-American Maral Milani Plays Aspiring Yemeni Scientist In Play

By Fred Parvaneh After four weeks of sold-out performances at the Odyssey Theatre in Los Angeles, “Paradise” -- a play written by Laura Maria Censabella and co-produced by Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis -- recently ended...

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...
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Meet the Iranian Protégé of Broadway Supremo Cameron Mackintosh

By Fred Parvaneh For the past two decades, Iranian-born Shidan Majidi has been running the New York office of Sir Cameron Mackintosh -- the star producer of "Cats," "Les Miserables," and other hit Broadway musicals. Born...

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...
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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...

Nasrin Sotoudeh, ‘Iran’s Mandela,’ Is Focus of New Documentary 

By Natasha Phillips A documentary telling the story of the acclaimed Iranian human rights lawyer and activist Nasrin Sotoudeh offers a rare glimpse into Iran, and the ongoing fight for women’s equality in the country. “Nasrin” follows Sotoudeh...

A Portrait of My Mother: Filmmaker Massoumi Screens New Documentary

Trailer courtesy of Nariman Massoumi. By Tara Biglari The British-Iranian filmmaker Dr. Nariman Massoumi pays a moving tribute to his mother Manijeh in a half-hour documentary screened recently at London’s Royal Anthropological Institute. “How do you see...

Antonio Banderas Co-Stars With Golshifteh Farahani, Discovers Prehistoric Site

By Ahmad Rafat Cinemas all over Spain this year have been showing a new movie called Altamira, with Antonio Banderas in the title role. Mr. Banderas, one of the best-known faces in world cinema, plays Marcelino Sanz...