Hossein Yavari
- IRAN / 1973 / Persian / B&W / DVD (Original: 16mm) / 17 min
Director: Khosrow Sinai
Director of Photography: Fereidoon Ghavanloo
Supported by: Ariana Farshad, Abolfazl Parvani, Mostafa Hazrati, Parviz Soleymani, Mohamadreza Farharmand
Production Company: National Iranian Radio and Television
Source: Khosrow Sinai
Khosrow Sinai, who studied music in Vienna, takes a ney (flute) player as his subject, capturing his artist’s demeanour and the beauty of his music. Living alone in a dilapidated house, he narrates the film in a kind of poetry, weaving a magical world out of his words intertwined with the sound of the ney. Inspired by the player’s personal story, the director ends the film with his own poem about a rabbit. A highly acclaimed experimental work from the 1970’s by a director known for his avantgarde documentaries and documentary dramas.
Tenancy
Ejarehneshini- IRAN / 1982 / Persian / B&W / Digital File (Original: 16mm) / 42 min
Directors: Ebrahim Mokhtari, Keyvan Kiani
Photography: Ata Hayati, Farhad Saba
Editing: Parichehr Momtahen
Sound: A.R. Kermani, M. Samak Bash
Research: M. M Khabbazan
Producers: Hassan Miri, Abbas Shakeri
Production Company: Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
Source: Ebrahim Mokhtari, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting
An episode of a series called “Shelter” that took up the theme of urban housing, made by state TV after the Islamic Revolution. A law regulating renting enacted at the end of the Pahlavi dynasty, and still in effect after the revolution, allows residents to be evicted any time the landlord sees fit. Director Ebrahim Mokhtari goes to places where landlords are forcing residents to move out, capturing their altercations with his camera. Seeing what actually went on in the negotiations with government officials precipitated a debate about social justice that led to revision of the tenancy law. Finished in the chaos after the revolution, it has never been shown in Iran because there is a woman in the film shown without a headscarf.
First Case . . . Second Case
Ghazieh Shekl-e Aval, Ghazieh Shekl-e Dovom- IRAN / 1979 / Persian / Color / DCP (Original: 16mm) / 53 min
Director, Editing: Abbas Kiarostami
Director of Photography: Baharlou
Sound: Tchanguiz Sayyad
Production Company: Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults (Kanoon)
World Sales: MK2 films
A schoolteacher faces a blackboard, hearing the sound of his students misbehaving behind him. Uncertain of the culprit, he forces all seven students in the back row to stand out in the hall, saying that they may return to class if they tell him who is responsible. Kiarostami presents two cases: one where no one says a word, and the other where someone divulges the perpetrator’s name, following with expert opinions given by intellectuals about each case. The film thus raises a variety of fascinating perspectives on ethics and morality from both the scenes acted out by children, and the various ruminations offered by experts. Banned from release within and outside of Iran amidst the post-revolution chaos, this film was re-released this year after undergoing restoration in Paris and Bologna.