This year's edition of the Archive's celebration of Iranian Cinema presents an array of established and emerging talents. Six recent features combine with timely documentaries and shorts to present a varied picture of Iran's diverse cultures, experiences and expressions. Pending their availability, we hope to welcome several guests to present and discuss their work in person. Please check back for updates on in-person guests for this program.

All films from Iran and in Persian with English subtitles, unless otherwise noted.

Special thanks to: Ellen Harrington—Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences; Barbara Scharres—Gene Siskel Film Center; Carter Long— Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Marian Luntz—Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; John Lambert, Michael Berlin; Andrea Krauss—Regent Releasing/Here Films; Ryan Werner, Shani Ankori—IFC Films.

Thanks to: Massoud Bakhshi; Shirin Naderi; Leila Hosseini; The Iranian Student Group at UCLA.

Friday February 5 2010, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

HEIRAN
(2009) Directed by Shalizeh Arefpour

When Iranian high school student Mahi falls for Heiran, a poor, gallant Afghan refugee, her horrified parents beg her not to ruin her life with the boy. Love has its way until the warnings come true, and love struck Mahi finds herself entangled in an epic story of immigrant woe. Documentarian Shailzeh Arefpour perfectly balances issues and emotions in this moving first feature.

Producer: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. Screenplay: Shalizeh Arefpour, Naghmeh Samini. Cinematographer: Hossein Jafarian. Editor: Sepideh Abdolvahab. Cast: Baran Kosari, Mehrdad Sedighian, Khosro Shakibaei, Farhad Aslani, Zhahleh Sameti. 35mm, 86 min.

Saturday February 6 2010, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS
(2009) Directed by Bahman Ghobadi

Bahman Ghobadi (Turtles Can Fly, shown in our 2005 edition) offers a glimpse of can-do determination. Faced with prohibitions against rock music, bandmates Negar and Ashkan plot to leave Iran for England to make music their way. Their deliberate progress toward this elusive goal takes them through the underground rock scene in a brisk, often comical look, at a side of Iranian life seldom seen on film.

Producer: Bahman Ghobadi. Screenplay: Bahman Ghobadi, Hossein M. Abkenar, Roxana Saberi. Cinematographer: Turaj Asiani. Editor: Hayedeh Safiyari. Cast: Negar Shaghaghi, Askan Koshanejad, Hamed Behdad. 35mm, 101 min.

Sunday February 7 2010, 7:00PM* ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

TRADITION OF KILLING LOVERS
(2004) Directed by Khosro Masoumi

Jailed for harvesting trees to support his family, Salar is replaced as breadwinner by his young son Jalal while Jalal's sister strains to defend her husband, a policeman, from the fury of her mother (Kheirandish) after he is forced to transport his father-in-law to prison. Masoumi undergirds his analysis of encroaching economic despair with emotional range and power.

Producer: Mahmoud Fallah. Screenplay: Khosro Masoumi. Cinematographer: Nader Masoumi. Editor: Hassan Hassandoust. Cast: Hossein Abedini, Gohar Kheirandish, Hossein Mahjoub, Hurie Mirmohammadi, Arman Nikzad. 35mm, 90 min.

Monday February 8 2010, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

WIND BLOWS IN THE MEADOW
(2008) Directed by Khosro Masoumi

After her father is injured in an accident, Shouka is dismayed to find herself betrothed to the developmentally-disabled son of one of the family's creditors. Wooed by the assistant tailor hired to make her wedding dress, Shouka sees a possible escape, but danger looms in this delicately drawn drama.

Producer: Fath'olah Jafari Jozani. Screenplay: Khosro Masoumi. Cinematographer: Nader Masoumi. Editor: Hassan Hassandoust. Cast: Elnaz Shakerdoust, Hossein Abdedini, Reza Naji, Jamal Ejali, Maedah Tahmasbi. 35mm, 91 min.

Preceded by...
KNOT
(2006) Directed by Javat Vatani

A captivating courtship in the snow, depicting one couple's path to love—comprising many years and footsteps.

Cinematographer: Farshad Gol Sefidi. Editor: Mohammad Rasoulof. Cast: Habib Vatani, Golbootheh Badeleh. DVcam, 10 min.

Friday February 12 2010, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

444-DAY FACE-OFF
(2008) Directed by Mohammad Shirvani

Mohammad Shirvani (7 Blind Women Filmmakers, shown in our 2009 edition) recounts the spectacular taking of the United States Embassy after the ouster of the Shah and the 444-day "hostage crisis" that followed. With tremendous access and skill, Shirvani cagily interviews actual participants, including US embassy officials and Iranian students, to reconstruct key episodes and deconstruct contentious issues.

Producer: Mohammad Shirvani. Cinematographer: Hooman Behmanesh, Kambiz Karimi, Mahmoud Reza Sani, Mohammad Shirvani. Editor: Mohammad Shirvani. DVcam, 70 min.

COUNTDOWN
(2008) Directed by Khatereh Hanachi

Along with more than a million high-school graduates, Parisa studies for difficult and competitive college entrance examinations, thought by many to be a young woman's best hope for a career in Iran. The familial and spiritual strains of this ritual are well rendered by director Khatereh Hanachi, as Parisa and her family face numerous sacrifices to realize a dream.

Producer: Maziar Bahari. Cinematographer: Rita Ebrahimi. Editor: Hamid Najafi Rad. DVcam, 50 min.

Sunday February 14 2010, 7:00PM* ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

TINAR
(2007) Directed by Mahdi Moniri

A pastorale of great beauty and poignancy, Mahdi Moniri's lyrical documentary foregrounds a poor boy's resilience and courage. Young Tinar lives alone in the mountains of northern Iran. Abandoned by his recently widowed and re-married father, he supports himself as a cow herder, surviving emotionally on long-held hopes of attending school or joining urban relatives who might care for him.

Producer: Mahdi Moniri. Cinematographer: Seyed Hassan, Seyedi Parishan. Editor: Mohammad Moeen Karimoddini. DVcam, 77 min.

A MAN WHO ATE HIS CHERRIES
(2009) Directed by Payman Haghani

Payman Haghani's first feature concerns Reza, a factory worker who learns that he is infertile. His frustrated wife Zari files successfully for divorce and Reza has to raise money to pay back her dowry. Reduced to basics, Reza scrounges for the necessary cash until an industrial accident suddenly gives him an idea.

Producer: Amir Samavati. Screenplay: Payman Haghani, Hamid-Reza Keshani. Cast: Hassan Pourshirazi, Asha Mehrabi, Reza Afshar, Maryam Khodarahmi. DVcam, color and B/W, 78 min.

Friday February 19 2010, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

MY LITTLE COUNTRY
(2008) Directed by Abbas Mohammadi

The moving portrait of a school for Afghani refugee children in Iran that gives its students a place to feel safe and acknowledged, to study their shared past and dream of a return to their home country.

Producer: Saeed Rashtian. Screenplay: Abbas Mohammadi. Cinematographer: Reza Jalali. Editor: Masoumeh Shah Nazari. DVcam, 26 min.

THE LEGEND OF GORDAFARID
(2008) Directed by Hadi Afarideh

One woman's saga studying and performing a style of epic theater previously reserved only for men. Her fierce determination leads to some pushback, but more often wins admiration and respect.

Producer: Hadi Afarideh. Screenplay: Hadi Afarideh. Cinematographer: Ashkan Ashkani. Editor: Hamid Najafi Rad. DVcam, 34 min.

FINAL FITTING
(2008) Directed by Reza Haeri

A witty, personal portrait of a man who creates beautiful vestments for Iranian clerics, this entertaining short reveals the circumstances that sometimes accompany the pomp.

Producer: Reza Haeri. Screenplay: Reza Haeri. Cinematographer: Ehsan Kaffash. Editor: Fardin Saheb-Zamani. DVcam, 30 min.

Saturday February 20 2010, 7:30PM ( Online Ticket Sales Ended )

ABOUT ELLY
(2009, Iran) Directed by Asghar Farhadi

Asghar Farhadi (Beautiful City, shown in our 2005 edition) returns with this captivating drama, Iran’s entry to the 2010 Academy Awards.  When schoolteacher Elly is whisked away by friends on a pleasure trip to the Caspian Sea, their true agenda is revealed: to marry her off to the recently divorced Ahmad. The fib is the first of many in what soon becomes a mystery when Elly suddenly disappears. 

Screenplay: Asghar Farhadi. Cinematographer: Hossein Jafarian. Editor: Hayedeh Safarian. Cast: Taraneh Alidousti, Golshifteh Farahani, Mani Haghighi, Shahab Hosseini, Merila Zarei. Presented in Farsi dialogue with English subtitles. 35mm, Color, 119 min.