Panahi Wins Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival

For His Film ‘Taxi’

Iranian director Jafar Panahi won the highest honor at the Berlin Film festival tonight, winning the Golden Bear for his film “Taxi.” Panahi is banned by the Iranian authorities from traveling abroad and could not be in berlin to accept the prestigious award.

Panahi, often described as “Iranian Woody Allen,” stars in his own film as a taxi driver talking to his passengers as he drives them through the streets of Tehran. The film is also banned in Iran.

“Instead of allowing his spirit to be crushed and giving up, instead of allowing himself to be filled with anger and frustration, Jafar Panahi created a love letter to cinema,” said Darren Aronofsky, the American director and Berlinale jury president. “His film is filled with love for his art, his community, his country and his audience.” (AP, 14 February)

Photo credit: Photographers crowd around the Golden Bear awarded to Jafar Panahi for his film ‘Taxi.’ Panahi is banned from leaving Iran and could not accept the award in person; berlin, 14 February 2015 (Axel Schmidt/AP)

Huge Crowds Mourn Iranian Singer Pashaei

Huge crowds of Iranians gathered in major cities in the country in memoriam of the popular Iranian pop singer Morteza Pashaei, who passed away on Friday after a long battle with cancer. He was 30.

Pashaei’s funeral in Tehran’s Vahdat Hall was attended by thousands of mourners. Mohammad Alizadeh, another popular pop singer, performed a number of Pashaei’s songs at the funeral ceremony. Pashaei began his career in 2010 by uploading his initial work to the Internet, which brought him widespread popularity. 

The outpouring of emotions by Iranians after Pashaei’s passing caught many, including the state security apparatus, by surprise. People began signing his songs en masse in many cities during the Shia Moharram religious days, when conducting music, and especially singing pop songs, is not thought to be appropriate. The riot police had to close off Tehran's Behesht Zahra cemetery and postpone the burial after nearly 100,000 people headed there to attend the ceremony. There were also reports of arrests in Tehran and Mashhad. 


Photo credit: Thousands of mourners bid farewell to pop singer Morteza Pashaei; Tehran, 16 November 2014 (IRNA)

Dehnamaki: Recasting Iran-Iraq War

A New Movie About an Old War

Christian Science Monitor’s Scott Peterson writes from Tehran that a new movie about the Iran-Iraq war, “The Ascendants,” by Iran’s film director and a former leader of hardline Ansar-e Hezbollah vigilante group Massoud Dehnamaki, has broken box office records, grossing $1.5 million since late March. What makes the movie intriguing is its nuanced view of the war in which Dehnamaki fought.

The Ascendants’ simple but penetrating story is about a father who tries to prevent his son, a top student, from volunteering for the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s and from almost certain death. The story counters three decades of official narrative of the war as “sacred defense.”

To read Peterson’s review of the film, please click here

Photo credit: Iranian filmmaker Massoud Dehnamaki, with a poster of his 2007 movie, Ekhrajiha, in the background. (Scott Peterson/Getty Images)

Young Iranians Arrested for Being Too ‘Happy in Tehran’

Six young Iranians were arrested in Tehran and forced to repent on state television today for posting their homemade video “Happy in Tehran” on YouTube last month. (The video is posted here for your viewing.)

“Happy in Tehran” was viewed more than 165,000 times on YouTube before it attracted the attention of the police and was made private, The New Youk Times reported today.

On Sunday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had denounced Internet censorship in his country as “cowardly.” He said Iran should embrace Internet rather than view it as a threat.

“We must recognize our citizens’ right to connect to the World Wide Web,” Rouhani said. “Why are we so shaky? Why have we cowered in a corner, grabbing onto a shield and a wooden sword, lest we take a bullet in this culture war?” he asked. (IRNA/NYTimes, 20 May)

“Even if there is an onslaught, which there is,” Rouhani added, “the way to face it is via modern means, not passive and cowardly methods.”

Lotfi, Legendary Composer and Tar Player, Dies at 68

Legendary composer and Tar player Mohammad Reza Lotfi died from cancer at 68 in Tehran. A tragic loss for Iranian music. May his memories live forever!

Tamadon Wins Cinema Du Reel Grand Prize for ‘Iranian’

Iranian filmmaker Mehran Tamadon won the Cinema Du Reel Grand Prize for his documentary Iranian at the George Pompidou Centre in Paris, Saturday 20 March 2014. (Radio Zaman/Payvand, 30 March)

Photo credit: A scene from “Iranian” by Mehran Tamadon (Radio Zaman/Payvand)

Iranian Indie Band Members Killed

An Iranian rock musician fatally shot two members of an Iranian indie band The Yellow Dogs and another Iranian musician and critically injured another Yellow Dog band member early Monday before turning the gun on himself, according to police in Brooklyn, New York.

The Yellow Dogs band was formed in 2006 in Tehran and moved to Brooklyn three years ago. The band was famous for its psychedelic/dance and post Punk music. Obash, Koory, Looloosh and Arash were the stage names of the band members.

“A male shot three victims… It also appears that the shooter killed himself,” said a Brooklyn police spokesman. “Preliminarily, it appears (victims) to be members of the band” (AFP, 11 November). The police has not yet released any names.

Various postings on the Yellow Dogs' Facebook page on Monday expressed shock and sadness.

UPDATE: Details of the shooting are still unclear, but two brothers -- Soroush Farazmand, a guitarist, and Arash Farazmand, the drummer, were shot dead by the gunmen, who have been identified in media reports as a musician from another band. The perpetrator also shot dead another Iranian musician in the same building and then killed himself. (NYT, 11 November)

Image credit: The profile picture of the Yellow Dogs on the band’s Facebook page (Facebook)

Traveling to Iran With Andy Warhol

Longtime Vanity Fair contributor Bob Colacello traveled to Iran with Andy Warhol in 1976. Tonight he talked about Iran's art scene in the 1960s and 70s at Asia Society in New York. Asia Blog’s Dan Washburn interviewed Colacello by phone. To read the text of the interview, please click here.

Source: Dan Washburn/Asia Blog/Twitter/‏@ksadjadpour)

Photo credit: Andy Warhol in Isfahan in 1976. (Bob Colacello/Asia Society)

Khavaran theater complex in Tehran, newly constructed

Newly constructed Khavaran Professional Theater complex in Tehran, near opening

Khavaran Professional Theater complex consists of a main hall with capacity of 1000 seats and four experimental halls with capacities of 150 seats. Also, a puppet show hall at the center will provide for 120 visitors at each performance. [Source: Tehran.ir]

Ornate landscaping detail. Theater complex includes a specialized library and Internet site, galleries, workshop and educational spaces, restaurant and vending stands.

Sculpture positioned before one of the minor theater halls

Newly installed theater seats yet to have protectors removed

Wide-angle view from the vantage of the stage

Interior detail of modern stylized, spiral stairway

Interior detail depicting mezzanine and another spiral stairway

Photos: tehron90.blogfa.com

Iranian Jewish/Christian memorial mural, Iran-Iraq War

 

Street mural in Tehran in memoriam of fallen Iranian Jews and Christians of the Iran-Iraq War (click photo to enlarge).

Tehran’s Golestan Palace Chosen as UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Golestan Palace in Tehran was added to UNESCO World Heritage List. The World Heritage Committee has inscribed the site on Sunday morning:

“The lavish Golestan Palace is a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences. The walled Palace, one of the oldest groups of buildings in Teheran, became the seat of government of the Qajar family, which came into power in 1779 and made Tehran the capital of the country. Built around a garden featuring pools as well as planted areas, the Palace’s most characteristic features and rich ornaments date from the 19th century. It became a center of Qajari arts and architecture of which it is an outstanding example and has remained a source of inspiration for Iranian artists and architects to this day. It represents a new style incorporating traditional Persian arts and crafts and elements of 18th century architecture and technology.” (UNESCO World Heritage Center, 23 June)

Reading Open Letter to Rouhani

Iran’s famous actress Pegah Ahangarani reads open letter to president-elect Hassan Rouhani on issues facing art and culture in the country. (Negar Mortazavi@negarmortazavi)

Photo credit: Houshang Hadi/ILNA