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Still Life  /  Mohsen Badie: Artisan of Cinema

May 16, 2015 - 7:30 pm
In-person: 
Amir Badie, Houshang Baharlou.

Still Life  (Iran, 1974)

Tabiate bijan

Winner of the Silver Bear at Berlin in 1974, Still Life and its “translucent realism,” in the words of scholar Hamid Dabashi, confirmed Sohrab Shahid Saless as a “leading visionary of his generation.”  Saless’ measured pacing and long takes transform the story of an elderly attendant of an isolated railroad crossing who is forced to retire into a powerful meditation on the larger forces—modernity, tradition culture—that shape the everyday.

Director: Sohrab Shahid Saless.  Screenwriter: Sohrab Shahid Saless.  Cinematographer: Houshang Baharlou.  Cast: Zadour Bonyadi, Mohammed Kani, Hibibollah Safarian.  35mm, color, in Persian with English subtitles, 93 min.

Preceded by

Mohsen Badie: Artisan of Cinema  (Iran, 2009)


This heartfelt tribute pays homage to Iranian cinema pioneer Mohsen Badie, founder of what Hamid Naficy described as “perhaps the best film lab in Iran.”  Badie’s sons, who took over the lab, and filmmakers such as Bahman Farmanara, recount Badie’s significant contributions to such landmark productions as A Party in Hell (1958), Prince Ehtejab (1974) and Still Life (1974), as well as his own important work as producer, director and cinematographer.

Director: Aziz Saati.  Screenwriter: Aziz Saati.  Cast: Naser Malek Motiei, Bahman Farmanara, Houshang Kavoosi.  DCP, b/w, color, in Persian with English subtitles, 45 min.