Iranian Film and Theater Actress Shahla Riahi Dies Aged 92
By Azadeh Karimi
Shahla Riahi, the renowned film and stage actress and Iran’s first female director, died on December 31 in Tehran aged 92, according to Abbas Azimi, the manager of the Veteran Artists Institute.
Ms....
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...
Historic Headquarters of Iranian Daily Ettelaat Could Face Demolition
By Azadeh Karimi
The headquarters of the Ettelaat newspaper, one of the oldest publications in Iran and the longest-running Persian daily in the world, are in danger of being destroyed. Tehran City Council has recently...
Yalda, Hanukkah, Christmas, Iran and Europe — in Conversation with Amir Taheri
By Nazenin Ansari
As 2019 comes to a close, Amir Taheri, Chairman of Gatestone Europe and former editor-in-chief of Kayhan, explains the significance of the ancient Persian Yalda celebration as well as Christmas, and Hanukkah...
Googoosh Pays Tribute to Dead Iranian Protesters In Sold-Out Paris Mega-Concert
By Nazanine Nouri
Googoosh took Paris by storm with a sold-out concert at the 3,700-seat Palais des Congrès on December 20, bringing audiences to their feet in a performance that drew laughter and tears and...
Iran Judiciary Lifts Ban on Honor Killing Movie ‘Parental House’
By Azadeh Karimi
On November 13, the Tehran prosecutor’s office lifted a ban on “The Parental House,” a 2012 feature-length drama written, directed and produced by the veteran Iranian filmmaker Kiyanoush Ayyari, according to Mohammad Mehdi...
Iran Makes Debut at Paris’s FIAC Fair Via Dastan Gallery
By Rawaa Talass
For the first time ever, Iran was represented this year at Paris’s top art fair, FIAC. Tehran’s Dastan Gallery had a stand beneath the dazzling, historic glass dome of the Grand Palais.
A...
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...
British Museum Hosts Mural by Artist and Para-Athlete Mohammad Barrangi
By Tim Cornwell
The artist Mohammad Barrangi’s tiny apartment lies at the heart of London’s Bloomsbury: From a window, the Shard tower rises through the fog, a couple of miles away. We’re a stone’s throw...
Iran Revokes Publication Permit for Turkish Author Elif Shafak’s Novel
By Azadeh Karimi
Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has revoked the publication permit for a novel by the award-wining Turkish-British author Elif Shafak, who was shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize, according to...
