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Rahmanian returns with “Here Is Tehran”

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TEHRAN -- Celebrated Iranian director and playwright Mohammad Rahmanian, who has lived in self-imposed exile since 2009, has recently returned to Iran and plans to stage “Here Is Tehran” in the capital in September.
 
Rahmanian and his actress wife Mahtab Nassirpur, who recently staged Bahram Bezaei’s “The Ballad of Aurash”, had moved to Canada since he could not obtain Iranian cultural officials’ approval to stage his play “The Day of Hussein (AS)” in Tehran.
 
He staged Bahram Bezaei’s “The Ballad of Aurash” in Vancouver’s Kay Meek Center in July 2013.
 
His troupe, which is comprised of Ali Omrani, Habib Rezaei, Mahtab Nassirpur, Behnaz Jafari, Shaqayeq Farahani and Ashkan Khatibi, is currently rehearsing “Here Is Tehran” in Tehran.
 
He directed the play with the same troupe at Tehran’s Milad Tower in 2009.
 
Rahmanian’s credits include “Fans”, “The Rooster”, “The Bridge”, “The Horses” and “Butterflies”.
 
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“The Stray Dog” appears in Kazakh newspaper

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TEHRAN -- Iranian writer Sadeq Hedayat’s “The Stray Dog” has recently been published in several parts in a Kazakh newspaper in Almaty.
 
Ainash Kasymkyzy translated the story, which was published in several parts in Dala men Kala.
 
In “The Stray Dog” (1942), Hedayat relates, through the eyes of a dog, a tragic human story of rejection and alienation. 
 
Sadeq Hedayat (1903-1951) was Iran’s foremost modern writer of prose fiction and short stories.
 
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“Trucker and the Fox” to be reviewed in French festival

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TEHRAN -- Iranian filmmaker Arash Lahuti’s “Trucker and the Fox” will be reviewed in the Lussas Doc Film Festival, which will be running in the French town from August 18 to 24.
 
“Trucker and the Fox” chronicles the life of Mahmud Kiani Falavarjani, a documentarian who does not have any academic education and is a trucker.
 
The documentary has been produced by Iran’s Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC),
 
The Lussas Doc Film Festival offers an opportunity to explore international and original documentaries. The event also assesses the state of present-day documentaries.
 
In addition, a mixture of seminars, workshops, professional meetings and selections of documentary screenings have been arranged during the festival.
 
“Trucker and the Fox” had previously been screened at several international events including the Visions du Réel International Film Festival in Switzerland, and Hot Docs, a prestigious Canadian international documentary festival.
 
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Iranian Artists Forum cancels Sinaii’s commemoration

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) has canceled a plan to honor Khosro Sinaii.
 
The IAF and the Asr-e Roshan cultural institute jointly planned to pay tribute to the filmmaker and poet during a program tomorrow.
 
“Due to IAF’s managers’ priorities, the meeting will not be held on the scheduled date,” Asr-e Roshan announced on its website on Monday.
 
Sinaii’s poem collection “The Song of the White Butterflies” and a collection of his documentaries were scheduled to be unveiled during the program entitled “Khosro Sinaii, a Poet and Filmmaker”.
 
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I am strongly influenced by Charlie Chaplin: Iranian cartoonist

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TEHRAN -- Iranian cartoonist Kambiz Derambakhsh has said that he is “strongly influenced” by English comic actor and filmmaker Sir Charles Spencer “Charlie” Chaplin.
 
“He is my idol,” Derambakhsh admitted during a meeting at the City Book Institute in Tehran on Monday. The meeting was part of “The Artistic Dialogue”, a program organized by the institute every week.
 
“Chaplin’s works are simple, silent, emotional and meaningful. The works make people laugh and enjoy themselves, but they have not been produced just to make you laugh,” he stated.
 
Derambakhsh, who won the Grand Prize at the 33rd International Nasreddin Hodja Cartoon Contest in Istanbul, Turkey in mid-July, said that he would not like to draw cartoons about politicians and political issues.
 
“Politicians have become thick-skinned and cartoons do not affect them anymore,” he said.
 
“I would like my works to refresh the world and… to give people peace of mind,” he added.
 
The veteran cartoonist has participated in many international events in Canada, Bulgaria, Turkey, Italy, Belgium and Brazil over the past four decades.
 
He won the grand prize at Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun competition in 1998, the grand prize of a contest in Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 1998, the bronze medal for third place of a South Korean contest in 1998, and the grand prize of a Polish anti-war caricature contest in 2002.
 
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Poet Moshfeq Kashani commemorated

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TEHRAN – The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance paid tribute to poet Abbas Kaymanesh, known as Moshfeq Kashani, during a ceremony at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Monday.
 
Culture Minister Mohammad Hosseini and a number of poets including Ali Musavi Garmarudi, Alireza Qazveh, and Mohammad-Ali Bahmani as well as Art Bureau Director Mohsen Momeni-Sharif and Art and Cultural Organization of Tehran Municipality Director Amir Khorakian attended the ceremony.
 
Speaking at the ceremony, Hosseini also read part of a speech by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, in which he had expressed his thanks to the Culture Ministry for its plan to honor Moshfeq Kashani a month ago.
 
Moshfeq Kashani also delivered a brief speech and expressed his thanks to the officials who had arranged the ceremony.
 
He also expressed his gratitude to poet Hamid Sabzevari and called him founder of the revolutionary poetry.
 
The ceremony continued with introducing the book “In the Color of Mirror”, a book which contained handwritten compositions and memoirs of Moshfeq Kashani.
 
Moshfeq Kashani was born in 1925 in Kashan. He is a graduate from the University of Tehran.
His works include “Memories”, “Song of Life” and “Red Spring of Song”.
 
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Tehran exhibit hangs photos of last Qajar crown prince

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TEHRAN -- The Iran Photo Museum, which also known as Axkhaneh Shahr, has showcased a collection of photos of the last Qajar crown prince, Mohammad-Hassan Mirza (1899–1943), at an exhibition.
 
The collection comprises 36 photos, which have been taken by Yusef Khan, an Armenian photographer who lived in the northwestern Iranian city of Tabriz.
 
The exhibition runs until September 14 at Axkhaneh Shahr, which is located on Bahar Shiraz St. near Haft-e Tir Square.
 
Mohammad-Hassan Mirza was the brother of the last monarch of the Qajar dynasty, Ahmed Shah (reigned 1909-1925). Since Ahmed Shah had no child, Mohammad-Hassan Mirza was selected as crown prince.
 
Soon after Reza Shah, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979), deposed the Qajar dynasty and made himself Shah of Iran in 1925, Mohammad-Hassan and his family were sent into permanent exile to England.
 
Malek-Qasem Mirza, a Qajar prince who was one of the many sons of Qajar king Fat’hali Shah, was the first Iranian who took a photo in Iran. Before or at the same time, Jules Richard, a French teacher for an Iranian family, snapped a picture with a daguerreotype camera.
 
The advent of photographic art in Iran occurred about five years after its invention in 1839 during the last years of Qajar king Mohammad Shah’s reign.
 
Afterwards, Nasser ad-Din Shah showed great interest in photography and sent several groups of talented students from Dar-ul-Fonun, the Iranian polytechnic institute established in 1851, to European academies to learn the art.
 
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Tehran to host Indonesian cultural festival in September

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TEHRAN – An Indonesian cultural festival is scheduled to be held in Tehran in mid-September, Indonesian ambassador Dian Wirengjurit announced on Thursday.
 
The decision to hold the festival was made to better familiarize Iranians with Indonesia and its culture, the ambassador said during a press conference held in his official residence in Tehran.
 
The festival will be held from September 19 to 24.
 
A variety of programs have been arranged for the event including traditional dance and songs, film screenings, exhibitions of traditional costumes as well as a number of lectures, Wirengjurit said.
 
He added that a number of maquettes reflecting the images of historical monuments of his country will also go on display during the festival.
 
A delegation of Indonesian artists is due to travel to Iran, he said, adding that Indonesian minister of Culture and Tourism is expected to be in Tehran during the program.
 
The festival is scheduled to be held in several locations: Milad Tower, Andisheh Cultural Center and the ambassador’s official residence.
 
He added that several film producers who know Iran’s cinema well will accompany the cultural delegations. They are hoping to collaborate and exchange views with Iranian filmmakers and producers.
 
In addition, a group of archaeologists will come to Iran to meet Iranian experts for further cooperation.
 
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Hong Kong festival to hold seminar on Abbas Kiarostami

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TEHRAN -- The Hong Kong International Film Festival plans to hold a seminar on Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami this afternoon.
 
The artistic director of the festival Li Cheuk-To and the Malaysian actress Wong Ain-ling will speak during the one-day seminar.
 
Five Kiarostami’s films, “Where is the Friend’s Home?”, “And Life goes On…”, “Through the Olive Trees”, “Taste of Cherry” and “The Wind Will Carry Us”,  are also scheduled to be screened during the festival, which runs until August 27.
 
The event is a part of the Cine Fan Program, which is held on the sidelines of the festival.
 
The Hong Kong International Film Festival holds seminars, conferences, exhibitions and parties celebrating the festival community. 
 
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“Inferno” hits Iranian bookstores

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TEHRAN -- The Persian version of “Inferno”, American author Dan Brown’s 2013 mystery thriller novel, has recently been published in Iran.
 
Mehrdad Vosuqi translated the book, which was published by Afraz.
 
“Inferno” is the fourth book in Brown’s Robert Langdon series, following “Angels & Demons”, “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Lost Symbol”.
 
In the heart of Italy, Harvard professor of symbology, Robert Langdon, is drawn into a harrowing world centered on one of history’s most enduring and mysterious literary masterpieces: Dante’s ‘Inferno’, as is mentioned on the cover of the book.
 
Afraz has previously published the Persian translations of “The Da Vinci Code” and “The Lost Symbol”.
 
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Kurdish poet Sherko Bekas commemorated in Tehran

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TEHRAN – A number of Iranian literati came together for a ceremony at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Thursday to commemorate Sherko Bekas, the Iraqi Kurdish poet who died in Sweden on August 4.
 
Bekas left his homeland due to political pressure from the Iraqi regime in 1986. He lived in exile in Sweden from 1987 to 1992. He died of cancer in Stockholm.
 
Vocalist Shahram Nazeri, director/actor Qotbeddin Sadeqi, scholar Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi, and poet Alireza Qazveh were among the participants at the ceremony.
 
Nazeri performed several songs and also delivered a brief speech at the event.
 
Kazzazi regarded Bekas as an individual who promoted Kurdish poetry and opened new vistas for the literature of Kurdistan.
 
Sadeqi also made a short speech and said that it was in 1976 when he heard the name of Sherko.
 
“I could also relate to works of other Kurdish poets through Sherko. I always respected him, though I had not met him. It was in 1979 after I read his ‘Valley of Butterflies’ that believed in his creativity,” Sadeqi added.
 
The ceremony continued with screening music videos and performances by a Kurdish ensemble.
 
 
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It’s hard to be culture minister during these eventful days: Jannati

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TEHRAN -- The new Iranian minister of culture and Islamic guidance said that serving as a culture minister during “these eventful days” is no easy task.
 
Ali Jannati made the remarks during an open session of the Majlis on Thursday before he was confirmed by the parliament.
 
“I am aware of the difficulties and I know that working as a culture minister in these eventful days is no easy task,” said Jannati, who is a graduate of the Haqqani School, an Islamic seminary in Qom, and a son of Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, head of the Iranian Guardian Council.
 
“I have been selected to work as a culture ministry in this period when a large number of cultural figures and artists have distanced themselves from the government. Inappropriate behavior and nonsense debates have replaced proper behavior. I want to restore moderation and peace in the cultural arena of the country without undermining Islamic values,” he added.    
 
“Safeguarding the Persian language as the second language of the Islamic world is one my plans,” he added.
 
“I will take full advantage of Iran’s presidency of the Non-Aligned Movement and I believe that the world is currently thirsty for hearing Persian poetry which along with literature, miniatures and other art are the best ambassadors in the modern world,” he stated.
 
He has previously vowed to reopen the Journalists Union and the House of Cinema, which were closed down by the culture ministry in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government.
 
 
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Organizers plan to liven up Fajr intl. art festival

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TEHRAN -- The organizers of the 6th Fajr International Festival of Visual Arts plan to invite a number of foreign artists in order to liven up the upcoming edition of the event, which will take place in Tehran in February.
 
“A number of prominent foreign artists will be invited to join the Iranian members of the juries to judge the entries in the categories of cartoon, graphic design, illustration and photography,” festival secretary Abbas Mirhashemi said in a press conference on Saturday.
 
He mentioned that the decision to invite the artists was made to liven up the international section of the festival.
 
In addition, the organizers have called on a large number of international artists to send their submissions to the festival.
 
The artists can send their works through the festival website in the following address www.ivafestival.ir . The deadline for applications is December 20, 2013.
 
The festival is one of the Fajr series of events that are usually organized in February of every year in Tehran to celebrate the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.
 
The Iran Music Association announced last week that it plans to revamp the Fajr International Music Festival by inviting a number of prominent foreign music bands.
 
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“Nasser Taqvaii Narrates” to be republished after 20 years

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TEHRAN – The new edition of the book “Nasser Taqvaii Narrates”, which focuses on developments and changes in Iran’s contemporary cinema, will be published by Zavosh Publications some 20 years after the previous edition was released. 
 
The book contains interviews with “Captain Khorshid” director Nasser Taqvaii, which were conducted by film critic and documentarian Hamid Talebinejad, the Persian service of MNA reported on Saturday.
 
Taqvaii, who is famous for his ingenious style, has talked about himself and others in a respectful manner, Talebinejad had earlier said about the book, the first edition of which was published in 1990. 
 
“Nasser Taqvaii Narrates” has been re-edited by Taqvaii, and Talebinejad’s interview with Taqvaii about his last production “Blank Paper” has also been added.
 
In addition, the book covers Taqvaii’s opinions about the major problems of Iran’s cinema.
 
“I still believe that Iran’s cinema is indebted to Taqvaii, and that familiarizing the youth with his opinions will help broaden their views,” Talebinejad said.
 
“Tranquility in the Presence of Others” and “The Curse” are among Taqvaii’s other credits.
 
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Book chronicling Ahmad Qavam’s memoirs published

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TEHRAN – Memoirs of Ahmad Qavam (1876-1955), an Iranian politician who held important administrative posts during the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, have recently been published in a book.
 
Entitled “Memoirs of Qavamossaltaneh”, the book comprises Qavam’s accounts of the events during the 1940s, the compiler of the book, Gholamhossein Mirza-Saleh, told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.
 
The book has been released by Moein Publications.
 
The memoirs have been compiled from Qavam’s manuscripts, which have never before been published, Mirza-Saleh said.
 
He gained access to the manuscripts through one of his close friends, who is one of Qavam’s grandchildren and the owner of the documents. 
 
Qavam served in the royal court of Qajar king Nasereddin Shah early in his career. He slowly climbed his way up and obtained the title of Qavamossaltaneh during the Constitutional Revolution of Iran. 
 
The letter signed by Qajar king Mozaffaredin Shah to accept the Iranian Constitutional Revolution was written by Qavam. 
 
He became prime minister several times during the periods of Qajar and Pahlavi. 
 
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“Fourth Child” provides positive experience for photographer Ali Nikraftar

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TEHRAN – Ali Nikraftar, photographer of the movie “The Fourth Child”, Vahid Musaian’s movie on the famine and war in Somalia, has called his project a positive experience despite all its difficulties.
 
“The photos on display mostly depict part of the film, which was shot in Africa under adverse conditions. Working out of one’s country has many problems, such as the security of one’s own life. We even had problems with our accommodations and health. However, I enjoyed taking these photos,” he told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.
 
Nikraftar is displaying his collection in an exhibition that opened at Tehran’s Azadi Cinema Complex last week and will run until August 22.
 
 “Any region with its special locations makes it a unique place for a photographer to record events,” he said.
 
He added that not all the photographers can be successful in the field of cinema photography, “working in this field without having adequate knowledge of cinema is impossible,” he added.
 
Taking photos of a film production is a combination of several fields in photography. Moreover, the photos of a film are actually a kind of advertisement for it, he said.
 
Nikraftar is a graduate of photography from the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran. He has so far taken photos of several other projects including “Here without Me”, “A Cube of Sugar”, “Ceasefire”, “The Maritime Silk Road” and “A Report of a Celebration”.
 
“The Fourth Child” is about an Iranian nurse who leaves her country to help people in the famine and war-torn country. However, she begins a career in photography to raise awareness about the human disaster.
 
Mahtab Keramati, Mehdi Hashemi and Hamed Behdad are the main members of the cast. 
 
The film, which has been produced by the Farabi Cinema Foundation, premiered last week at the complex and several other Iranian theaters.
 
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Intl. friendship societies to organize Tehran Art Walk

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TEHRAN – The Iran-France and Iran-Netherlands friendship associations plan to organize a new festival named Tehran Art Walk, in which young and talented Iranian artists will present their works.
 
The artists will be displaying their works in the three categories of painting, sculpture and photography in the open courtyard of Tehran’s Sadabad Palace Museum in the near future, the Persian service of MNA reported on Sunday.
 
The organizers plan to create an appropriate atmosphere for better interaction and friendship between artists and art fans, and help exhibit and promote art works during the three-day event.
 
Art walk is an arts festival that features the works of visual artists accompanied with live music performances, workshops and children’s activities.
 
Although art walks date back to years ago, this is the first one of its kind in Iran. Organizers are hoping to conduct the event annually and hope to see the participation of well known international artists in future editions. 
 
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Iranian photographer honored at Canon ProfiFoto Awards

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian photographer Farhad Babaii was one of the five winners at the second session of the Canon ProfiFoto Awards in 2013 in Germany, organizers announced on August 14.
 
Anna-Kristina Bauer, Inga Masche, Meike Willner and Kristoffer Finn were the other winners, all from Germany.
 
A total of 153 young photographers and photographers under 30 competed for the awards.
 
The Canon ProfiFoto Awards supports photography projects, which still have to be implemented, extended or finished. Babaii plans to implement a photography project on a social theme in Iran.
 
The five winners will receive Canon equipment worth 10,000 Euros. After completion of their projects, ProfiFoto presents the winning entries in the form of a portfolio in the magazine and an online gallery.
 
The competition is open to all who have finished or are about to finish their training in photography or photo design and who are professional photographers or work in related professions. 
 
The event is held twice a year with an independent specialist jury and is cosponsored by Canon Inc. and the online German photography magazine ProfiFoto.
 
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Rahmanian to perform “Old Songs” at ECI

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TEHRAN -- Celebrated Iranian director and playwright Mohammad Rahmanian will stage “Old Songs” at the Shams Hall of the ECO Cultural Institute (ECI) from September 2 to 13.
 
Ali Omrani, Mahtab Nassirpur, Habib Rezaei, Afshin Hashemi, Ali Sarabi, Ashkan Khatibi, Bahareh Moshiri and Masumeh Rahmani will star in the play.
 
The hall is located at No. 3, Nilufar Alley, off Movahhed Danesh St, Aqdasieh District.
 
Rahmanian, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Canada since 2009, has recently returned to Iran and plans to stage “Here Is Tehran” in the capital in September.
 
Rahmanian’s credits include “Fans”, “The Rooster”, “The Bridge”, “The Horses” and “Butterflies”.
 
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Iranian director on Malta filmfest panel

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian director Mansur Foruzesh has been selected to join the jury of the 5th Malta International TV Short Film Festival, which is currently underway in St. Julian’s, Malta.
 
The British filmmaker Terry Bamber, the production manager of some of James Bond’s films including the latest film “Skyfall”, and the German director Robert Sigl are other members of the jury.
 
The Malta Short Film Festival has been underway since July 2. Entries to the festival are aired every Tuesday from Television Malta (TVM) or stream on the festival’s You Tube channel until August 30.
 
Winners will be announced during a ceremony in St. Julian’s in late September.  
 
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