Filmotor Nabs World Sales for Berlinale Title ‘Shahid’ Ahead of Visions du Réel Premiere (Exclusive)
Berlinale Forum entry “Shahid,” the debut feature of Iranian-German filmmaker Narges Kalhor, has been picked up by Prague-based doc specialist Filmotor ahead of its premiere at Swiss documentary festival Visions du Réel, where it is competing in the more experimental Burning Lights section.
Described by Kalhor as a collective work between herself and other artists, including a costume artist and a painter from Iran, a German music composer and a choreographer from Berlin, “Shahid” shifts playfully between genres, challenging conventional filmmaking rules.
Set in present-day Germany, where Kalhor emigrated as a political refugee in 2009, the film focuses on her desire to officially remove the first part of her surname, “Shahid,” which means “martyr” in Farsi and was inherited from her great-grandfather, in an act of feminist resistance to patriarchal structures.
During this process, the actor who plays Kalhor travels back in time and meets her great-grandfather, but she also uncovers...
Described by Kalhor as a collective work between herself and other artists, including a costume artist and a painter from Iran, a German music composer and a choreographer from Berlin, “Shahid” shifts playfully between genres, challenging conventional filmmaking rules.
Set in present-day Germany, where Kalhor emigrated as a political refugee in 2009, the film focuses on her desire to officially remove the first part of her surname, “Shahid,” which means “martyr” in Farsi and was inherited from her great-grandfather, in an act of feminist resistance to patriarchal structures.
During this process, the actor who plays Kalhor travels back in time and meets her great-grandfather, but she also uncovers...
- 4/14/2024
- by Lise Pedersen
- Variety Film + TV
“No Bears” director Jafar Panahi has successfully been released from prison after being detained since July 2022.
Panahi, who recently announced a hunger strike in protest of his incarceration, was detained after inquiring about the arrests of filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad following this social media protest against how the Iranian government responded to a building collapse that killed 40 people.
As previously reported, Panahi’s inquiry reactivated a six-year sentence from 2010 along with a 20-year-long filmmaking and travel ban after Panahi attended a 2009 funeral for a student killed in the Green movement, where Iranian citizens demanded the removal of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Panahi has remained in incarceration since his inquiries in July 2022.
IndieWire can confirm that Panahi’s wife Tahereh Saeidi announced in a phone call to Mansour Jahani, an independent and international cinema reporter, that with the efforts of her lawyers Saleh Nikbakht and Yusef Moulai, Panahi was released from Tehran’s Evin prison.
Panahi, who recently announced a hunger strike in protest of his incarceration, was detained after inquiring about the arrests of filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad following this social media protest against how the Iranian government responded to a building collapse that killed 40 people.
As previously reported, Panahi’s inquiry reactivated a six-year sentence from 2010 along with a 20-year-long filmmaking and travel ban after Panahi attended a 2009 funeral for a student killed in the Green movement, where Iranian citizens demanded the removal of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Panahi has remained in incarceration since his inquiries in July 2022.
IndieWire can confirm that Panahi’s wife Tahereh Saeidi announced in a phone call to Mansour Jahani, an independent and international cinema reporter, that with the efforts of her lawyers Saleh Nikbakht and Yusef Moulai, Panahi was released from Tehran’s Evin prison.
- 2/3/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Iranian “No Bears” filmmaker Jafar Panahi has announced a hunger strike to protest his continued incarceration in Iran’s Evin prison, even after the country’s courts voided his sentence last week.
In July of last year, Panahi went to the Evin prison to inquire about the arrests of fellow filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, who were detained for their social media protest over the government response to a building collapse that killed more than 40 people.
Panahi’s inquiry reactivated a six-year sentence the director was originally handed in 2010 along with a 20-year-long filmmaking and travel ban, and he’s remained in incarceration since his inquiries.
The reactivated sentencing originated from Panahi’s attendance of a 2009 funeral for a student killed in the Green movement, where Iranian citizens demanded the removal of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The award-winning director’s films have regularly challenged Iranian systems and traditions, and his most recent film “No Bears,...
In July of last year, Panahi went to the Evin prison to inquire about the arrests of fellow filmmakers Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, who were detained for their social media protest over the government response to a building collapse that killed more than 40 people.
Panahi’s inquiry reactivated a six-year sentence the director was originally handed in 2010 along with a 20-year-long filmmaking and travel ban, and he’s remained in incarceration since his inquiries.
The reactivated sentencing originated from Panahi’s attendance of a 2009 funeral for a student killed in the Green movement, where Iranian citizens demanded the removal of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The award-winning director’s films have regularly challenged Iranian systems and traditions, and his most recent film “No Bears,...
- 2/1/2023
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
When protests broke out in Iran in 2009 over the fraudulent presidential election, one of the country’s leading artists stood up against the regime and its violent repression of demonstrators. Vocalist Mohammad Reza Shajarian recorded a song with lyrics addressed to government militias attacking people in the streets: “Lay down your guns. Come, sit down, talk, hear. Perhaps the light of humanity will get through to your heart.”
With mass protests again flaring in Iran in recent months—perhaps the most serious challenge to the fundamentalist regime since the Islamic Revolution of 1979—Shajarian’s example and solidarity with the people remain as vital as ever.
Shajarian’s life and the unique stature he attained in Iranian culture are explored in the Oscar-contending documentary The Voice of Dust and Ash, directed by first-time Iranian American filmmaker Mandana Biscotti. The director’s father had been friends with Shajarian—or “Ostad” as he is often called,...
With mass protests again flaring in Iran in recent months—perhaps the most serious challenge to the fundamentalist regime since the Islamic Revolution of 1979—Shajarian’s example and solidarity with the people remain as vital as ever.
Shajarian’s life and the unique stature he attained in Iranian culture are explored in the Oscar-contending documentary The Voice of Dust and Ash, directed by first-time Iranian American filmmaker Mandana Biscotti. The director’s father had been friends with Shajarian—or “Ostad” as he is often called,...
- 12/12/2022
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
This story about “The Voice of Dust and Ash” composer J. Ralph first appeared in “The Race Begins” issue of TheWrap’s awards magazine.
For more than 20 years, J. Ralph has been making music as a wide-ranging composer, producer and recording artist, but he’s also carved out a specific identity in film: He’s a documentary composer and songwriter. He’s written scores and songs for a string of nonfiction films ranging from the Oscar-winning “Man on Wire” and “The Cove” through “Hell and Back Again,” “Finding Vivian Maier,” “Virunga” and three for which he’s been Oscar nominated for his songs: “Chasing Ice” in 2012, “Racing Extinction” in 2015 and “Jim: The James Foley Story” in 2016. He was the first songwriter ever nominated twice for documentaries, and his three nominations edge out the two for Diane Warren, the only other songwriter with multiple doc noms.
“Documentaries are where I’ve focused almost my entire career,...
For more than 20 years, J. Ralph has been making music as a wide-ranging composer, producer and recording artist, but he’s also carved out a specific identity in film: He’s a documentary composer and songwriter. He’s written scores and songs for a string of nonfiction films ranging from the Oscar-winning “Man on Wire” and “The Cove” through “Hell and Back Again,” “Finding Vivian Maier,” “Virunga” and three for which he’s been Oscar nominated for his songs: “Chasing Ice” in 2012, “Racing Extinction” in 2015 and “Jim: The James Foley Story” in 2016. He was the first songwriter ever nominated twice for documentaries, and his three nominations edge out the two for Diane Warren, the only other songwriter with multiple doc noms.
“Documentaries are where I’ve focused almost my entire career,...
- 12/2/2022
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Mohsen Makhmalbaf is an internationally known Iranian filmmaker, famous for features such as “A Moment of Innocence”, “Gabbeh”, “The Silence” and “The Gardener”. He belongs to the Iranian New Wave Movement, which also included his colleague Abbas Kiarostami, Amir Naderi and Majid Majidi. Over the course of his career he has made over 30 movies, which have won more than 50 awards in international film festivals around the world, but have often been banned in his home country. In 2005, Makhmalbaf had to leave the country after the election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to his involvement with the Green Movement. He also released more than 30 books, translated in various languages.
On the occasion of his presence at Fica Vesoul, we speak with him about the current situation in Iran and Afghanistan, him not being able to return, the Internet, the impact of cinema, religion and education, the importance of music in films, mixing...
On the occasion of his presence at Fica Vesoul, we speak with him about the current situation in Iran and Afghanistan, him not being able to return, the Internet, the impact of cinema, religion and education, the importance of music in films, mixing...
- 4/30/2022
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
British actor Amir El-Masry has been ubiquitous on international screens in the last five years, but like most Arab actors in the U.K., he’s reached his threshold for backward stereotypes, and is trying to forge his own narrative in the industry.
Born in Egypt but raised in the U.K., El-Masry, who leads Ben Sharrock’s refugee drama and festival darling “Limbo,” graduated from the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Lamda) in 2013 to an industry whose reckoning around race and representation was still years away.
“When I started out, I never thought I was ‘Other,’ I never thought I was different. But when I came out of Lamda, I quickly realized that the industry differentiates you, and makes you look at yourself and go, ‘Actually, you know what? Even if I wanted to play James Bond, I can’t play him,’” the 30-year-old actor tells Variety,...
Born in Egypt but raised in the U.K., El-Masry, who leads Ben Sharrock’s refugee drama and festival darling “Limbo,” graduated from the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (Lamda) in 2013 to an industry whose reckoning around race and representation was still years away.
“When I started out, I never thought I was ‘Other,’ I never thought I was different. But when I came out of Lamda, I quickly realized that the industry differentiates you, and makes you look at yourself and go, ‘Actually, you know what? Even if I wanted to play James Bond, I can’t play him,’” the 30-year-old actor tells Variety,...
- 10/17/2020
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
Some good news, bad news for Serena Williams ... The Good News -- The Women's Tennis Association (Wta) has announced massive rule changes allowing athletes like Serena to wear full catsuit outfits during 2019 matches. The Bad News -- The French Open -- where the whole catsuit drama went down -- could still ban it because the rule change doesn't apply to Grand Slams. Remember, French Open officials created a huge controversy after they told Serena she...
- 12/13/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
What does a Trump administration official have in common with a woman fleeing gang violence in El Salvador and a student in Iran speaking out against Ahmadinejad? They share the rare distinction of having written anonymous op-eds for the New York Times.
On Wednesday, the Times published an anonymous op-ed by a senior official inside the Trump administration claiming to be part of “the resistance,” working to thwart Trump’s “worst inclinations” from within the White House. The author called the president’s leadership style “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective,...
On Wednesday, the Times published an anonymous op-ed by a senior official inside the Trump administration claiming to be part of “the resistance,” working to thwart Trump’s “worst inclinations” from within the White House. The author called the president’s leadership style “impetuous, adversarial, petty and ineffective,...
- 9/6/2018
- by Lilly Dancyger
- Rollingstone.com
The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is backing another embattled U.S. athlete ... this time coming to the defense of Colin Kaepernick!! Remember, the ex-Iranian prez swooped in to defend Serena Williams when French Open officials told her she couldn't wear a custom-made Nike catsuit during their tournament anymore. Now ... Ahmadinejad is weighing in on the Kaepernick drama -- saying it's a shame the ex-49ers superstar ain't in the league anymore. "The NFL season will start this week,...
- 9/4/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
Serena Williams has an unlikely ally in her catsuit controversy -- the former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. French Open officials recently told Williams she could not wear a custom-made Nike catsuit during the tournament -- despite the fact it was designed to increase blood circulation in the wake of her health issues surrounding blood clots. Well, the issue isn't sitting well with the Ahmadinejad -- who took a page from Donald Trump's playbook and...
- 8/28/2018
- by TMZ Staff
- TMZ
In a wide-ranging press conference held during his first visit to Iran, Oliver Stone expressed appreciation for Iran’s extensive history and recent cinematic accomplishments, criticized American policy toward the Middle East, and voiced his wish that director Jafar Panahi would be allowed to attend the Cannes Film Festival to witness the premiere of his latest film.
Spending a week in Iran as a guest of the Fajr International Film Festival, Stone answered questions from a crowd of approximately 150 Iranian and a few foreign journalists in the Charsou complex in Tehran. He started out by saying that the early part of his visit took him to other Iranian cities, including Isfahan and he was impressed at the hospitality he had been shown and the “warmth” he felt from people of all walks of life. He said he had long been interested in Iran and its 2500-year history and was fortunate...
Spending a week in Iran as a guest of the Fajr International Film Festival, Stone answered questions from a crowd of approximately 150 Iranian and a few foreign journalists in the Charsou complex in Tehran. He started out by saying that the early part of his visit took him to other Iranian cities, including Isfahan and he was impressed at the hospitality he had been shown and the “warmth” he felt from people of all walks of life. He said he had long been interested in Iran and its 2500-year history and was fortunate...
- 4/25/2018
- by Godfrey Cheshire
- Indiewire
Rosta and Sohrab, Bijan and Manijeh, Zahak and KavehA scene from the Shahnameh — Quantuck Lane PressDirectly quoted from Wall Street Journal by Farnaz FassihiLong before HBO’s wildly popular “Game of Thrones” was created, Iranians turned to the national literary epic “Shahnameh” (“The Book of Kings”) for intriguing tales of knights, nobility and mystical creatures scattered across Seven Kingdoms controlled by a greater king.
Now fans of “Game of Thrones”, English readers and second generation Iranian-Americans can get a taste of these epic tales in a gorgeously illustrated new book called: Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings, published this month by Quantuck Lane Press.
The book was the brainchild of Iranian-American filmmaker and graphic designer Hamid Rahmanian and his American wife editorial director Melissa Hibbard. The Brooklyn-based team wanted to create an art project that transcended the political stereotypes associated with Iran these days.
“Everything about Iran is always politicized.
Now fans of “Game of Thrones”, English readers and second generation Iranian-Americans can get a taste of these epic tales in a gorgeously illustrated new book called: Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings, published this month by Quantuck Lane Press.
The book was the brainchild of Iranian-American filmmaker and graphic designer Hamid Rahmanian and his American wife editorial director Melissa Hibbard. The Brooklyn-based team wanted to create an art project that transcended the political stereotypes associated with Iran these days.
“Everything about Iran is always politicized.
- 5/30/2017
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
In 2011, Myanmar (the former Burma) emerged from 50 years of military dictatorship, but the country is still licking its wounds over five years later. The new documentary “Burma Storybook” explores the history of post-dictatorship Myanmar through Burmese poetry, the most popular art form in the country, specifically the work of poet and activist Maung Aung Pwint, who has spent large swathes of life his prison. Director Petr Lom captures Pwint’s story, from political exile to the reunion with his son, as well as a portrait of a country in transition, a new world that still leaves much past injustice intact. Watch the exclusive trailer for the film below.
Read More: Rotterdam Innovates for its 45th Film Festival
A former academic turned filmmaker, Lom has previously directed four feature-length documentaries: “On a Tightrope,” about the Uighur people, the Muslim minority population that live in northwestern China; “Letters to the President,” about...
Read More: Rotterdam Innovates for its 45th Film Festival
A former academic turned filmmaker, Lom has previously directed four feature-length documentaries: “On a Tightrope,” about the Uighur people, the Muslim minority population that live in northwestern China; “Letters to the President,” about...
- 1/18/2017
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Son Of Saul (Saul Fia) Sony Pictures Classics Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for CompuServe ShowBiz. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: B Director: László Nemes Written by: Clara Royer, László Nemes Cast: Gézá Röhrig, Levente Monar, Urs Rechn, Tood Charmont, Sándor Zsotér, Marcin Czarnik, Jerzy Walczak Screened at: Sony, NYC, 9/30/15 Opens: December 18, 2015 As you watch László Nemes’s “Son of Saul” with its realistic mélange of Hungarian, German and Yiddish dialogue, you might become even more enraged at the pronouncements of former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. When Ahmadinejad assured us that the Holocaust was merely an invention to garner sympathy for the desire for a home in the Jews’ [ Read More ]
The post Son of Saul Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Son of Saul Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/10/2015
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
Iranian writer-director Reza Mirkarimi’s Today, Iran’s Oscar submission, has been screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (Iffr) this week.
Speaking at Iffr (Jan 21-Feb 1), Mirkarimi gave a relatively upbeat assessment of the Iranian film industry.
Under President Hassan Rouhani, he said, the filmmakers have been allowed to re-establish “The House Of Cinema,” the syndicate/guild to which almost every Iranian filmmaker and technician belongs. This is the non-governmental institution that defends filmmakers’ rights.
The syndicate was closed in 2011 when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was still in power but was re-opened under Rouhani in 2013. Meanwhile, Iranian directors are finding it easier to get their movies into cinemas - not least because of the lack of Hollywood competition.
“There is a supportive politics in Iranian cinema which does not allow American movies to be shown in the theatres,” he said. “The cinemas work for Iranian movie makers. Art movies have more opportunity to be shown.”
The director...
Speaking at Iffr (Jan 21-Feb 1), Mirkarimi gave a relatively upbeat assessment of the Iranian film industry.
Under President Hassan Rouhani, he said, the filmmakers have been allowed to re-establish “The House Of Cinema,” the syndicate/guild to which almost every Iranian filmmaker and technician belongs. This is the non-governmental institution that defends filmmakers’ rights.
The syndicate was closed in 2011 when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was still in power but was re-opened under Rouhani in 2013. Meanwhile, Iranian directors are finding it easier to get their movies into cinemas - not least because of the lack of Hollywood competition.
“There is a supportive politics in Iranian cinema which does not allow American movies to be shown in the theatres,” he said. “The cinemas work for Iranian movie makers. Art movies have more opportunity to be shown.”
The director...
- 1/25/2015
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
Jon Stewart’s first film is passionate and principled, as I expected, but also hopeful, almost serene, and even gently amusing, which I did not. I’m “biast” (pro): love Jon Stewart…
I’m “biast” (con): …but was a little worried whether he could pull this off
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
I had a lot of hopes for Jon Stewart’s first foray into narrative cinematic storytelling, which he’s never done before. I expected something passionate, principled, and political. In these I was not disappointed… and I was also pleased to discover that he has an aptitude for telling a complicated story that plays on multiple levels, both personal and cultural, in a smartly streamlined, easy to swallow way. What I wasn’t expecting was his tone in Rosewater: hopeful, almost serene, even gently amusing.
I’m “biast” (con): …but was a little worried whether he could pull this off
I have not read the source material
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
I had a lot of hopes for Jon Stewart’s first foray into narrative cinematic storytelling, which he’s never done before. I expected something passionate, principled, and political. In these I was not disappointed… and I was also pleased to discover that he has an aptitude for telling a complicated story that plays on multiple levels, both personal and cultural, in a smartly streamlined, easy to swallow way. What I wasn’t expecting was his tone in Rosewater: hopeful, almost serene, even gently amusing.
- 11/14/2014
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
The idea of incarceration, whether justified or unlawful, is terrifying, and when solitary confinement and torture are added to the mix the thought that any of us would last a day — let alone 118 — is most likely a pipe dream. But that’s exactly what Iranian-born Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) faced after leaving his pregnant wife in London and returning to his home country in 2009 to cover the presidential elections. After the results are announced as heavily and suspiciously in favor of the incumbent leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the populace reacts with outrage and protest. Bahari captures footage of the people in the streets and awakes the next morning to Iranian authorities rousting him from bed and taking him into custody. He’s immediately placed in solitary confinement, labeled a spy and interrogated mercilessly by an unnamed man whom Bahari calls Rosewater (Kim Bodnia). The days and weeks tick by as he’s threatened, pressed...
- 11/14/2014
- by Rob Hunter
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
Rosewater
Written and Directed by Jon Stewart
USA, 2014
Jon Stewart’s feature debut, Rosewater, is an uneven affair that excels when it stays focused on the restorative power of humor and hope. Not surprisingly, Stewart struggles with the dramatic elements, but a nuanced performance from Gael García Bernal pulls us through the rough spots. Ultimately, this is a flawed but earnest film that effectively straddles the line between uplifting humanism and preachy polemic.
Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Maziar Bahari (Bernal) had witnessed firsthand the tragic consequences of living an outspoken life in times of tyranny. His father was imprisoned and tortured by the Shah in the ‘50s, while his sister, Maryam, (Golshifteh Farahani) suffered similar torment at the hands of the Khomeini regime in the ‘80s. And yet, from this death and despair came the promise of renewal. Bahari fled to Canada, where he studied journalism and became...
Written and Directed by Jon Stewart
USA, 2014
Jon Stewart’s feature debut, Rosewater, is an uneven affair that excels when it stays focused on the restorative power of humor and hope. Not surprisingly, Stewart struggles with the dramatic elements, but a nuanced performance from Gael García Bernal pulls us through the rough spots. Ultimately, this is a flawed but earnest film that effectively straddles the line between uplifting humanism and preachy polemic.
Born and raised in Tehran, Iran, Maziar Bahari (Bernal) had witnessed firsthand the tragic consequences of living an outspoken life in times of tyranny. His father was imprisoned and tortured by the Shah in the ‘50s, while his sister, Maryam, (Golshifteh Farahani) suffered similar torment at the hands of the Khomeini regime in the ‘80s. And yet, from this death and despair came the promise of renewal. Bahari fled to Canada, where he studied journalism and became...
- 11/14/2014
- by J.R. Kinnard
- SoundOnSight
This weekend’s onslaught of smaller new films will have awards contenders and big names to jostle with at the box office. Awards hopefuls Foxcatcher and The Homesman begin their theatrical runs in limited New York and L.A. rollouts, with the former a likely winner in the first weekend when the numbers come in Sunday. The films from Sony Pictures Classics and Roadside Attractions, respectively, tell particularly American stories, though from very different eras. The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart took time off in 2013 to work on his directorial debut. Open Road’s Rosewater, starring Gael García Bernal, will begin its theatrical rollout this weekend. It will be the biggest opener of this weekend’s cadre of specialty newcomers, playing in several hundred locations in the U.S. and Canada. Actor Chris Lowell also makes his filmmaking launch with Beside Still Waters. The project had smooth sailing until it came time for distribution,...
- 11/14/2014
- by Brian Brooks
- Deadline
Last summer, Jon Stewart abandoned his The Daily Show desk — and his irony — to write and direct Rosewater, based on the true story of the London-based Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, who was jailed and tortured in 2009 on a trumped-up espionage charge after the (questionable) election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The odd thing is what apparently set off the government: not so much his reporting on Ahmadinejad’s more secular opponent, Mir-Hossein Mousavi, but his appearance from Tehran on The Daily Show, where he good-naturedly took part in the usual mock interview making fun of the corrupt president. Rightly or wrongly, Stewart felt implicated, and he went on to use Bahari’s book, Then They Came for Me (written with Aimee Molloy), to carry this brutal story beyond his usual realm of influence.In outline, Rosewater sounds earnest, one-note, relentless — something you’d watch out of a sense of duty. But it...
- 11/11/2014
- by David Edelstein
- Vulture
The feature film Rosewater is based on The New York Times best-selling memoir “Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival,” written by the BBC journalist Maziar Bahari. A true story, the film marks the screenwriting and directorial debut of “The Daily Show” host and executive producer Jon Stewart, and stars Gael García Bernal, leading an international cast. Rosewater is produced by Scott Rudin, Stewart, and Gigi Pritzker, with Lila Yacoub, Eli Bush and Chris McShane serving as executive producers.
Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera...
Rosewater follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera...
- 11/3/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Fathom Events and Open Road Films are partnering to present the exclusive“Rosewater: Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert Live” event, including the feature film Rosewater followed by a Live Q&A with Jon Stewart, the film’s screen writer, director and producer, interviewed by Stephen Colbert, host and executive producer of the Emmy and Peabody Award Winning series “The Colbert Report,” broadcast from New York City.
Fans can join the conversation by Tweeting questions now via Twitter using the hashtag #RosewaterLive. https://twitter.com/RosewaterMovie
This special event will be showcased in select cinemas nationwide for only one night on November 13 live at 7:30 p.m. Et and tape delayed to 7:30 p.m. local time in all other time zones. Rosewater is based on The New York Times best-selling memoir “Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival,” written by the BBC journalist Maziar Bahari,...
Fans can join the conversation by Tweeting questions now via Twitter using the hashtag #RosewaterLive. https://twitter.com/RosewaterMovie
This special event will be showcased in select cinemas nationwide for only one night on November 13 live at 7:30 p.m. Et and tape delayed to 7:30 p.m. local time in all other time zones. Rosewater is based on The New York Times best-selling memoir “Then They Came for Me: A Family’s Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival,” written by the BBC journalist Maziar Bahari,...
- 10/29/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Rosewater, a true-life drama about a journalist who was imprisoned in Iran, written and directed by The Daily Show.s Jon Stewart, will open in Australian cinemas in January.
Transmission Films, which bought the rights after seeing the film at the Cannes Film Festival market, is planning a release on around 10 screens.
.It.s a powerful and timely film,. said Transmission co-founder Andrew Mackie, who had been tracking the project since meeting Stewart at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. .Also we.re big fans of Jon Stewart, so couldn't resist..
Gael García Bernal plays Tehran-born Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari, who returned to Iran in 2009 to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the prime challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi's supporters rose to protest Ahmadinejad's victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari took a huge personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC.
Bahari was arrested by police,...
Transmission Films, which bought the rights after seeing the film at the Cannes Film Festival market, is planning a release on around 10 screens.
.It.s a powerful and timely film,. said Transmission co-founder Andrew Mackie, who had been tracking the project since meeting Stewart at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. .Also we.re big fans of Jon Stewart, so couldn't resist..
Gael García Bernal plays Tehran-born Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari, who returned to Iran in 2009 to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the prime challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi's supporters rose to protest Ahmadinejad's victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari took a huge personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC.
Bahari was arrested by police,...
- 10/12/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Rakhshan Bani-Etemad’s controversial feature picked up the screenplay award at Venice.
Iranian drama Tales (Ghesse-ha) has been sold by Paris-based sales agent Noori Pricture to Benelux (Contact Film) and Latin America (Cineplex).
The LatAm deal was closed in Toronto while the Benelux agreement was made in Venice, where the film won the best screenplay award for director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Farid Mostafavi.
The film knits together the stories of seven characters linked by shared struggles - social, economic, political - to create a microcosm of Iranian working-class society.
It marks the end of an eight-year hiatus from narrative filmmaking from Bani-Etemad, who has previously won festival awards with features including Under the City’s Skin (2001) and Our Times (2002).
Bani-Etemad shot Tales two years ago but it could not be shown during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Its frank depiction of contemporary Iranian society, of the plight of women in the country and of the difficulties facing...
Iranian drama Tales (Ghesse-ha) has been sold by Paris-based sales agent Noori Pricture to Benelux (Contact Film) and Latin America (Cineplex).
The LatAm deal was closed in Toronto while the Benelux agreement was made in Venice, where the film won the best screenplay award for director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad and Farid Mostafavi.
The film knits together the stories of seven characters linked by shared struggles - social, economic, political - to create a microcosm of Iranian working-class society.
It marks the end of an eight-year hiatus from narrative filmmaking from Bani-Etemad, who has previously won festival awards with features including Under the City’s Skin (2001) and Our Times (2002).
Bani-Etemad shot Tales two years ago but it could not be shown during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Its frank depiction of contemporary Iranian society, of the plight of women in the country and of the difficulties facing...
- 9/15/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Rosewater
Written for the screen and directed by Jon Stewart
USA, 2014
Rosewater, the directorial debut of The Daily Show host and stand-up comedian Jon Stewart, is a modest retelling of one man’s prolonged imprisonment for honestly reporting about Iran. It’s an engaging exercise about political transparency made possible by the modern media that’s obviously close to Stewart’s heart. This is serious content interlaced with sporadic interludes of comedy that in Stewart’s hands sails smoothly along without seeming inappropriate or misplaced.
The amiable journalist Maziar Bahari (Gael García Bernal) falls into the role of responsible witness while filming protests that turn deadly following the questionable re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the President of Iran. Bahari spending time with citizens who oppose Ahmadinejad to get a broader perspective for his writing, forwarding the bloody protest video to media outlets, and taping a silly interview for The Daily Show...
Written for the screen and directed by Jon Stewart
USA, 2014
Rosewater, the directorial debut of The Daily Show host and stand-up comedian Jon Stewart, is a modest retelling of one man’s prolonged imprisonment for honestly reporting about Iran. It’s an engaging exercise about political transparency made possible by the modern media that’s obviously close to Stewart’s heart. This is serious content interlaced with sporadic interludes of comedy that in Stewart’s hands sails smoothly along without seeming inappropriate or misplaced.
The amiable journalist Maziar Bahari (Gael García Bernal) falls into the role of responsible witness while filming protests that turn deadly following the questionable re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the President of Iran. Bahari spending time with citizens who oppose Ahmadinejad to get a broader perspective for his writing, forwarding the bloody protest video to media outlets, and taping a silly interview for The Daily Show...
- 9/13/2014
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
"Rosewater" is the nickname journalist Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) gave to his captor during his 118 days in solitary confinement after being falsely arrested for espionage following the 2009 Iranian election. John Stewart's directorial debut of the same name tells the story of the few days leading up to Bahari's arrest and the days in solitary that follow. The "Daily Show" host manages to tell a competent enough story, but it has issues with tone as he can't seem to entirely abandon his satirical approach to politics, while also wanting to tell a dramatic story. It's by no means a bad film and actually quite interesting in that it makes me wonder if Stewart just might have the chops to take a fully satirical look at such a situation and how much more entertaining and equally poignant such a film could be. For the most part, Rosewater is a safe first outing for Stewart.
- 9/10/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
What kind of director is Jon Stewart? That's what I was most curious about at last night's Toronto Film Festival premiere of Rosewater. The Daily Show host had very publicly taken three months off and handed his day job over to John Oliver last summer so he could direct his first feature film, about the you-can't-make-this-up imprisonment of Newsweek reporter Maziar Bahari in Iran. Stewart had come to the project by way of the Daily Show's own involvement in Bahari's arrest.Correspondent Jason Jones, doing his asshole schtick and claiming to be a spy, interviewed Bahari in Iran right before the 2009 presidential election and the ensuing violent protests over what many thought was the falsified re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. That Daily Show tape was then presented to Bahari in his 118 days of imprisonment and torture as evidence that he was a spy. Stewart had covered the story daily during...
- 9/9/2014
- by Jada Yuan
- Vulture
Beware the Beauty of the Single Red Rose
Though she’s lived in France for more than three decades, Sepideh Farsi has carved out a career directing movies about the political struggles in her home country of Iran. Red Rose, her fifth narrative feature film, takes place in June 2009, during the Green Revolution that occurred after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected despite reports of electoral doctoring and fraud. It’s a tautly constructed thriller that works as a shining example of how an effective story can be told with a very limited production cost.
Utilizing an abundance of actual footage from the protests and riots, Farsi immerses us in the action before mirroring the style of erratic handheld devices to draw us into our main characters. Sara (Mina Kavani), a young political radical heavily integrated in the revolution, barrels her way into the home of Ali (Vassilis Koukalani) with...
Though she’s lived in France for more than three decades, Sepideh Farsi has carved out a career directing movies about the political struggles in her home country of Iran. Red Rose, her fifth narrative feature film, takes place in June 2009, during the Green Revolution that occurred after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected despite reports of electoral doctoring and fraud. It’s a tautly constructed thriller that works as a shining example of how an effective story can be told with a very limited production cost.
Utilizing an abundance of actual footage from the protests and riots, Farsi immerses us in the action before mirroring the style of erratic handheld devices to draw us into our main characters. Sara (Mina Kavani), a young political radical heavily integrated in the revolution, barrels her way into the home of Ali (Vassilis Koukalani) with...
- 9/8/2014
- by Robert Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Telluride — In recent years, Journalists have come under siege all across the world from governments trying to minimize their influence either through subtle or not-so subtle means. One of the more dramatic instances in recent memory was chronicled in Maziar Bahari's 2011 memoir "Then They Came for Me" which has been adapted into the new film "Rosewater." The film, with director Jon Stewart on hand, debuted Friday night at the 2014 Telluride Film Festival. "They Came For Me" depicted the 118 days the noted reporter and documentary filmmaker spent in an Iranian jail after being falsely accused of acting as a spy for Western powers. The London-based Bahari had returned to Tehran to cover the 2009 presidential election where Mir-Hossein Mousavi was providing a revolutionary challenge to the president at the time, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Controversy reigned after the latter was announced the victor prompting millions of Iranians to protest the results in cities across the Islamic state.
- 8/30/2014
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
Rakhshan Bani-Etemad’s feature, which upset Iranian censors, is in competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Tales, the new film from acclaimed Iranian female director-writer-producer Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, is set to travel the globe following its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival (Aug 27 - Sept 6).
The film, sold by Paris-based Noori Pictures, has now been selected for multiple festivals. Following its Venice premiere, Tales will be screened at Toronto, the London Film Festival, the Viennale, Busan, Thessaloniki and Filmfest Hamburg.
Bani-Etemad actually shot Tales two years ago but it could not be shown during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Its frank depiction of contemporary Iranian society, of the plight of women in the country and of the difficulties facing workers and students, upset the censors.
Now, under Ahmadinejad’s successor, Hassan Rouhani, there has been a cultural thaw and the film can finally be seen at home and abroad.
“It is a very...
Tales, the new film from acclaimed Iranian female director-writer-producer Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, is set to travel the globe following its world premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival (Aug 27 - Sept 6).
The film, sold by Paris-based Noori Pictures, has now been selected for multiple festivals. Following its Venice premiere, Tales will be screened at Toronto, the London Film Festival, the Viennale, Busan, Thessaloniki and Filmfest Hamburg.
Bani-Etemad actually shot Tales two years ago but it could not be shown during the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Its frank depiction of contemporary Iranian society, of the plight of women in the country and of the difficulties facing workers and students, upset the censors.
Now, under Ahmadinejad’s successor, Hassan Rouhani, there has been a cultural thaw and the film can finally be seen at home and abroad.
“It is a very...
- 8/29/2014
- by geoffrey@macnab.demon.co.uk (Geoffrey Macnab)
- ScreenDaily
"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart recently took a break from his TV duties to make his helming debut on "Rosewater," a new film based on the NY Times best-selling memoir "Then They Came For Me." And now, we have a trailer for the new movie. Check it out below. Plot: "Rosewater" follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi's supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad's victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of the street riots to the BBC. Bahari was arrested by police, led by a man identifying himself only as "Rosewater," who tortured and interrogated him over the next 118 days. With Bahari's wife leading an international campaign to have her husband freed, and Western media outlets keeping the story alive,...
- 8/29/2014
- WorstPreviews.com
If you're an avid watcher of The Daily Show, you may have noticed Jon Stewart took a some time off last year, leaving hosting duties to John Oliver. So what was Stewart doing during that time off? Well, he was directing (also acting as screenwriter) Rosewater, based the true story of Maziar Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal), a journalist arrested during the riots that followed the controversial declaration of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory, hours before polls closed, during the 2009 elections in Iran, and tortured for one hundred and eighteen days. Stewart has delivered a pretty impressive debut here, and Bernal promises to deliver a powerful central performance. Check it out below Released: 7th November...
- 8/28/2014
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
Usually found cracking wise and dishing out snark about American politics from behind his desk at The Daily Show, Jon Stewart took a sabbatical last summer to film his directorial debut, Rosewater, which he adapted from Maziar Bahari’s best-selling memoir. The trailer for the film is now online courtesy of Apple.Gael Garcia Bernal stars as Bahari, a Tehran-born journalist who has settled outside of his home country, gotten married and is eagerly awaiting the birth of his first child. In June 2009, he accepts an assignment to return to Iran and interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, the challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the upcoming elections.With vote rigging rife and protests rising against the corrupt regime, Bahari is initially hesitant to get involved, but shoots footage of street rioting for the BBC. He’s arrested and spends 118 days being interrogated and tortured by a man who identifies himself as “Rosewater...
- 8/28/2014
- EmpireOnline
Open Road Films has released the trailer and poster for "Rosewater," which chronicles the surreal true story of a journalist who was captured and tortured for nearly four months after the 2009 Iranian election.
The feature film "Rosewater" is based on the New York Times best-selling memoir "Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival," written by the BBC journalist Maziar Bahari. A true story, the film marks the screenwriting and directorial debut of "The Daily Show" host and anchor Jon Stewart, and stars Gael Garcia Bernal, leading an international cast.
"Rosewater" follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of...
The feature film "Rosewater" is based on the New York Times best-selling memoir "Then They Came for Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity, and Survival," written by the BBC journalist Maziar Bahari. A true story, the film marks the screenwriting and directorial debut of "The Daily Show" host and anchor Jon Stewart, and stars Gael Garcia Bernal, leading an international cast.
"Rosewater" follows the Tehran-born Bahari, a broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the prime challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Mousavi’s supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad’s victory declaration hours before the polls closed, Bahari endured personal risk by sending footage of...
- 8/28/2014
- by Kellvin Chavez
- LRMonline.com
"You have a real weapon and you choose not to use it." Though he's better known for his sense of humor covering the week's headlines in politics and world affairs, comedian Jon Stewart is getting deadly serious with his directorial debut, a drama called Rosewater. In the film Gael Garcia Bernal plays journalist Maziar Bahari, a Tehran born man who returned to Iran in 2009 to interview Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who was the challenger to president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But following his shooting coverage of the protests after Ahmadinejad's victory before the polls even closed, Bahari was arrested by police, tortured and interrogated for 118 days as a spy. Now the trailer has arrived and it looks powerful and superb. Watch now! Here's the first trailer for Jon Stewart's Rosewater, originally from Apple: See the first poster for the film premiering at Telluride and Tiff right here. In 2009, Iranian Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari...
- 8/28/2014
- by Ethan Anderton
- firstshowing.net
It was announced this morning, Jon Stewart's Rosewater will have its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival followed shortly by a Toronto Film Festival appearance and now the first trailer and poster for the film has been release along with the first wave of reviews. First off, Scott Foundas at Variety says it's "an alternately somber and darkly funny drama" that will likely be compared to Argo. Foundas adds, "Largely a two-hander between Bahari (Gael Garcia Bernal) and the interrogator who puts him through a gauntlet of soul-crushing mindgames, Stewart's confident, superbly acted debut feature works as both a stirring account of human endurance and a topical reminder of the risks faced by journalists in pursuit of the truth, minus the caper antics and flag waving of Ben Affleck's populist Oscar winner." Over at The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy says it's "an emotionally accessible but very modest tale...
- 8/28/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Jon Stewart is making his feature directorial debut with Rosewater starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Open Road has just announced a November 7 release date following the film's Canadian premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Above is the first look at Bernal in the film where he plays Tehran-born Bahari, a 42-year-old broadcast journalist with Canadian citizenship living in London. In June 2009, Bahari returned to Iran to interview Mir-Hossein Moussavi, who was the prime challenger to controversial incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. As Moussavi's supporters rose up to protest Ahmadinejad's victory declaration hours before the polls closed on election day, Bahari endured great personal risk by submitting camera footage of the unfolding street riots to the BBC. Bahari was soon arrested by Revolutionary Guard police, led by a man identifying himself only as "Rosewater," who proceeded to torture and interrogate the journalist over the next 118 days. Rosewater is one of my "must sees" at Tiff this year,...
- 8/1/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
I've been very curious about Jon Stewart's "Rosewater" since the material and the story seized him so much that he took a hiatus from "The Daily Show" to go make the movie. And now at least we know when we can expect Open Road Films to release it: Nov. 7, right in the thick of awards season. An adaptation of BBC journalist Maziar Bahari's book "Then They Came For Me: A Family's Story of Love, Captivity and Survival," the film has been a passion project for Stewart ever since he and his team covered Bahari's story in 2009. At the time, Bahari was arrested by Revolutionary Guard police led by a man known only as "Rosewater" for submitting camera footage of the street riots that ensued following incumbent Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's controversial election victory over challenger Mir-Hossein Mousavi. He was tortured and interrogated for the next 118 days and after his ordeal,...
- 7/31/2014
- by Kristopher Tapley
- Hitfix
Fox Searchlight has announced a December 5 release date for Jean-Marc Vallee's Wild, the filmmaker's follow-up to Dallas Buyers Club starring Reese Witherspoon based on the Cheryl Strayed's memoir. Here's the official synopsis: With the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her mother, Cheryl Strayed has lost all hope. After years of reckless, destructive behavior, she makes a rash decision. With absolutely no experience, driven only by sheer determination, Cheryl hikes more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. Wild powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her. Obviously we're talking about an Oscar-friendly release date here and I already have the film and Witherspoon listed among my early Oscar predictions. In other Oscar-related news, Open Road announced this morning they'd acquired Jon Stewart's directorial debut Rosewater...
- 5/12/2014
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
“You can’t understand until it happens to you.”
Roya, played by Mahnaz Afshar, listens to this line left on her answering machine repeatedly. It is a part of her husband, Ali’s, confession to his infidelity with one of Roya’s piano students, with whom he’s run off. Ali sees himself as a victim of his passion, but for Roya, it is one of many moments in which her emotions and how she feels them are constricted or reshaped by the people around her, both male and female. Snow On Pines is about her struggle to cope with those feelings on her own terms in a society where traditions dictate her every move. Though this story is colored by the Iranian experience, its ideological aspirations are universally recognizable and not limited to arbitrary borders. Roya’s conflict is seen all over the world, even in countries considered significantly...
Roya, played by Mahnaz Afshar, listens to this line left on her answering machine repeatedly. It is a part of her husband, Ali’s, confession to his infidelity with one of Roya’s piano students, with whom he’s run off. Ali sees himself as a victim of his passion, but for Roya, it is one of many moments in which her emotions and how she feels them are constricted or reshaped by the people around her, both male and female. Snow On Pines is about her struggle to cope with those feelings on her own terms in a society where traditions dictate her every move. Though this story is colored by the Iranian experience, its ideological aspirations are universally recognizable and not limited to arbitrary borders. Roya’s conflict is seen all over the world, even in countries considered significantly...
- 2/13/2014
- by Jae K. Renfrow
- SoundOnSight
Concerns are growing for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof who had his passport confiscated and was banned from travelling outside of his native Iran by local authorities in September.
Some eight weeks later, Rasoulof remains blocked in Iran.
The director failed to make it to Los Angeles for the screening of his political thriller Manuscripts Don’t Burn (pictured) at the AFI Fest earlier this week and is also expected to be a no-show at the Stockholm International Film Festival (November 6-17).
Staff and guests at Stockholm – including Us actor Sean Gullette and Swedish director Tarik Saleh – stood blindfolded outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday (November 12) protesting Rasoulof’s travel ban.
The blindfolds referenced a scene in Rasoulof’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn about a political prisoner who manages to secretly write his memoirs despite being under the constant surveillance of state security apparatus.
“We want to show that it is unacceptable to prevent filmmakers, artists...
Some eight weeks later, Rasoulof remains blocked in Iran.
The director failed to make it to Los Angeles for the screening of his political thriller Manuscripts Don’t Burn (pictured) at the AFI Fest earlier this week and is also expected to be a no-show at the Stockholm International Film Festival (November 6-17).
Staff and guests at Stockholm – including Us actor Sean Gullette and Swedish director Tarik Saleh – stood blindfolded outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday (November 12) protesting Rasoulof’s travel ban.
The blindfolds referenced a scene in Rasoulof’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn about a political prisoner who manages to secretly write his memoirs despite being under the constant surveillance of state security apparatus.
“We want to show that it is unacceptable to prevent filmmakers, artists...
- 11/13/2013
- ScreenDaily
Concerns are growing for Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof who had his passport confiscated and was banned from travelling outside of his native Iran by local authorities in September.
Some eight weeks later, Rasoulof remains blocked in Iran. The director failed to make it to Los Angeles for the screening of his political thriller Manuscripts Don’t Burn (pictured) at the AFI Fest earlier this week and is also expected to be a no-show at the Stockholm International Film Festival, running November 6-17.
Members of the Stockholm jury – including Us actor Sean Gullette and Swedish director Tarik Saleh – stood blindfolded outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday protesting Rasoulof’s travel ban.
The blindfolds referenced a scene in Rasoulof’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn about a political prisoner who manages to secretly write his memoirs despite being under the constant surveillance of state security apparatus.
“We want to show that it is unacceptable to prevent filmmakers, artists...
Some eight weeks later, Rasoulof remains blocked in Iran. The director failed to make it to Los Angeles for the screening of his political thriller Manuscripts Don’t Burn (pictured) at the AFI Fest earlier this week and is also expected to be a no-show at the Stockholm International Film Festival, running November 6-17.
Members of the Stockholm jury – including Us actor Sean Gullette and Swedish director Tarik Saleh – stood blindfolded outside the Iranian embassy in Stockholm on Tuesday protesting Rasoulof’s travel ban.
The blindfolds referenced a scene in Rasoulof’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn about a political prisoner who manages to secretly write his memoirs despite being under the constant surveillance of state security apparatus.
“We want to show that it is unacceptable to prevent filmmakers, artists...
- 11/13/2013
- ScreenDaily
Submission of French-produced drama has angered Iranian conservatives.
Iran has selected Oscar-winning Asghar Farhadi’s French-language divorce drama The Past to represent it at the 2014 Oscars.
The move comes amid a thawing in relations between Iran and the West following the replacement of hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president by the more moderate President Hassan Rouhani in June.
Iran stayed away from the 2013 Oscars amid the furore prompted by the anti-Islamic film The Innocence Of Muslims.
Having announced that Reza Mirkarimi’s A Cube Of Sugar would represent Iran at the 2013 awards, the Iranian government withdrew the title one day later saying it was boycotting the awards as a protest over the Us-made film.
Farhadi’s A Separation won the coveted foreign language Oscar in 2012.
The Past, produced by Paris-based Memento Films, stars Iranian actor Ali Mosaffa as man who returns to Paris to finalise his divorce from his long-estranged wife, played by French...
Iran has selected Oscar-winning Asghar Farhadi’s French-language divorce drama The Past to represent it at the 2014 Oscars.
The move comes amid a thawing in relations between Iran and the West following the replacement of hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president by the more moderate President Hassan Rouhani in June.
Iran stayed away from the 2013 Oscars amid the furore prompted by the anti-Islamic film The Innocence Of Muslims.
Having announced that Reza Mirkarimi’s A Cube Of Sugar would represent Iran at the 2013 awards, the Iranian government withdrew the title one day later saying it was boycotting the awards as a protest over the Us-made film.
Farhadi’s A Separation won the coveted foreign language Oscar in 2012.
The Past, produced by Paris-based Memento Films, stars Iranian actor Ali Mosaffa as man who returns to Paris to finalise his divorce from his long-estranged wife, played by French...
- 9/30/2013
- ScreenDaily
Submission of French-produced drama has angered Iranian conservatives.
Iran has selected Oscar-winning Asghar Farhadi’s French language divorce drama The Past to represent it at the 2014 Oscars.
The move comes amid a thawing in relations between Iran and the West following the replacement of hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president by the more moderate President Hassan Rouhani in June.
Iran stayed away from the 2013 Oscars amid the furore prompted by the anti-Islamic film The Innocence of Muslims.
Having announced that Reza Mirkarimi’s A Cube of Sugar would represent Iran at the 2013 awards, the Iranian government withdrew the title one day later saying it was boycotting the awards as a protest over the Us-made film.
Farhadi’s A Separation won the coveted foreign language Oscar in 2012.
The Past, produced by Paris-based Memento Films, stars Iranian actor Ali Mosaffa as man who returns to Paris to finalise his divorce from his long-estranged wife, played by French...
Iran has selected Oscar-winning Asghar Farhadi’s French language divorce drama The Past to represent it at the 2014 Oscars.
The move comes amid a thawing in relations between Iran and the West following the replacement of hardline Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president by the more moderate President Hassan Rouhani in June.
Iran stayed away from the 2013 Oscars amid the furore prompted by the anti-Islamic film The Innocence of Muslims.
Having announced that Reza Mirkarimi’s A Cube of Sugar would represent Iran at the 2013 awards, the Iranian government withdrew the title one day later saying it was boycotting the awards as a protest over the Us-made film.
Farhadi’s A Separation won the coveted foreign language Oscar in 2012.
The Past, produced by Paris-based Memento Films, stars Iranian actor Ali Mosaffa as man who returns to Paris to finalise his divorce from his long-estranged wife, played by French...
- 9/30/2013
- ScreenDaily
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has granted his first international interview since taking office to NBC’s Ann Curry. Curry spoke with the newly-elected leader in his presidential compound in Iran on Wednesday morning. Rouhani’s predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, had frosty relations with America and many other Western countries, to say the least. It seems that Rouhani is prepared to change that. Rouhani told Curry that he and President Obama have exchanged letters since he took office, which the former cleric described as “positive and constructive.” Also read: CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Lands Interview With Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “Do you see it as a foundation?...
- 9/18/2013
- by Sara Morrison
- The Wrap
Twitter and Facebook are once again blocked in Iran. On Monday, Internet users in the country discovered that they could access the sites freely after nearly four years of finding them blocked. But by Tuesday, the social media services were again beyond reach. Iran has kept Facebook and Twitter behind a firewall since 2009, when street protests erupted in the wake of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election and authorities declared that activists were using the social media services to organize. The semi-official Mehr news agency on Tuesday quoted Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, an official from Iran's Supreme Council for
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- 9/17/2013
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Iran has reopened its influential film industry guild, the House of Cinema, nearly two years after it was shuttered by political hardliners, according to state news agency Irna. The institution, founded in 1989, has been a driving force in the Iranian film community; it is the only domestic institution that supports independent cinema. Photos: Cut, Censored, Changed: 10 Hollywood Films Tweaked for International Release Long accused of fostering liberal views by the country’s hardliners, House of Cinema was ordered closed at the start of 2012 by the Culture Ministry of former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. New president Hassan Rouhani, who is viewed as
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read more...
- 9/13/2013
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Exclusive: F&Me to produce The President, set to shoot in Georgia in early 2014.
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) will produce Award-winning Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s first English-language feature.
The President will shoot in Georgia in early 2014, marking Makhmalbaf’s first fiction feature since The Man Who Came with the Snow in 2009.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his young grandson have to travel across the country disguised as street musicians, and he gets to know the ordinary people he ruled in a new light.
“After the Arab Spring, a number of dictators fell: Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gadhaffi,” said writer/director Makhmalbaf, “but statistics show that there are over 40 dictators of this kind still in power.
“In the course of the Arab Spring and in the search for democracy, we have witnessed...
Film and Music Entertainment (F&Me) will produce Award-winning Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s first English-language feature.
The President will shoot in Georgia in early 2014, marking Makhmalbaf’s first fiction feature since The Man Who Came with the Snow in 2009.
The story is set in a fictional Caucasus country and is about a dictator whose regime is brought down by a coup d’etat. He and his young grandson have to travel across the country disguised as street musicians, and he gets to know the ordinary people he ruled in a new light.
“After the Arab Spring, a number of dictators fell: Ben Ali, Mubarak, Gadhaffi,” said writer/director Makhmalbaf, “but statistics show that there are over 40 dictators of this kind still in power.
“In the course of the Arab Spring and in the search for democracy, we have witnessed...
- 8/16/2013
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Charlie Rose is one of journalism's great interviewers, and on Wednesday he offered some rare insights into his technique -- including two daily naps. The host of "Charlie Rose," co-anchor of "CBS This Morning" and co-host of "Person to Person" spoke at the Television Critics Association summer press tour about his new PBS Friday show, "Charlie Rose: The Week." Asked about his toughest interviews, he named former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "You weren't sure that he was listening, and whatever the question was, he would answer another question," Rose said. There was also...
- 8/7/2013
- by Tim Molloy
- The Wrap
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