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Iranian photojournalist receives honorable mention at UNICEF contest

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TEHRAN – The Iranian photographer Yunes Khani has received one of nine honorable mentions from the UNICEF annual contest for selecting a photo of the year.
 
Khani, who is collaborating with Iran’s Mehr News Agency, was honored for his collection “Father Poured Acid on Us”, the organizers announced on Tuesday.
 
In his photos, Khani documented the aftermath of an attack in Iran during which a man poured acid over the faces of his wife, Somayyeh, and his two daughters, Rana and Nazanin, while they were sleeping at home in a village in the southeastern city of Bam in 2012, after Somayyeh filed for divorce.
 
Somayyeh lost her sight in one eye. The skin across her face and arms is covered with rough, discolored scars. Her younger daughter, Rana, now at 3, has been disfigured and also lost one of her eyes. The older daughter, Nazanin, was injured less severely.
 
“I have worked in this project for two years and previously published a series of photos on the Mehr News Agency website,” he told MNA on Wednesday.
 
Marcus Bleasdale from UK, Patricia Willocq from Belgium, Sara Lewkowicz and Michael C. Brown from U.S., Laura Boushnak from Palestine, Joachim Adrian from Denmark, Gordon Welters from Germany and Chris De Bode from the Netherlands are other photographers who received honorable mention at the competition.
 
The Swedish photojournalist Niclas Hammarström won the prize for photo of the year 2013 for a picture showing an 11-year-old Syrian girl wounded in a bomb attack.
 
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Persian historical novel “The Dead of Green Garden” translated into Russian

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TEHRAN – Iranian writer Mohammadreza Bairami’s historical novel “The Dead of Green Garden” has been translated into Russian.
 
Alexander Androshkin has rendered the book into Russian and the Persian language professor Jahangir Dorri is editing the text, MNA reported on Friday.
 
Veche, a Moscow-based publishing house, is scheduled to release the acclaimed Persian novel, which was published by Iran’s Sureh-Mehr Publication in 2009.
 
“The Dead of Green Garden”, which is set in Tabriz, chronicles incidents during the Azarbaijan People’s Government, a short-lived Soviet puppet government in northern Iran from November 1945 to November 1946, from the viewpoint of a reporter named Balash and his son Amir-Hossein.
 
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Abbas Kiarostami to preside over Cannes Cinéfondation and Short Films jury

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TEHRAN -- The world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami was selected as the president of the Cinéfondation and Short Films jury of the Cannes Film Festival, the organizers announced on Thursday.
 
The jury is composed of directors Noémie Lvovsky from France, Daniela Thomas from Brazil, Mahamat-Saleh Haroun from Chad, and Joachim Trier from Norway.
 
Submissions by students from film schools across the world will be competing in Cinéfondation, and three winners will be announced for this section on May 22. 
 
The winner of the Short Film Palme d’Or will also be selected by this jury on May 24.
 
A number of Kiarostami’s films have since been screened in various sections of the Cannes festival where his “Taste of Cherry” won the Palme d’Or in 1997. 
 
He also presented “Through the Olive Trees”, “Taste of Cherry”, “Ten”, “Certified Copy” and “Like Someone in Love” in the competition section of previous editions of the event.
 
Kiarostami has been interested in the Cinéfondation since its creation in 1998 when he agreed to be a patron of the project along with Martin Scorsese.
 
The 67th Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to be held from May 14 to 25. 
  
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Tehran Painting Symposium winners announced

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TEHRAN – The winners of the First Tehran Painting Symposium on the theme of “Freedom and My City Tehran” were announced during a ceremony at the Qasr Garden Museum on Thursday.
 
The symposium selected two winners, Mehrdad Abutorabi and Mohsen Hejazi, for their creativity and their techniques, organizers announced.
 
The jury honored Rezvan Sadeqzadeh and Javad Nobahar, the two painting teachers who accompanied and encouraged the young artists in creating their works.
 
Moreover, all the twelve artists whose works were selected from 94 submissions across Iran were honored.
 
Rezvan Sadeqzadeh, Javad Nobahar, Akram Sartakhti, Neda Razavi, Marjan Aqamiri, Afsun Montazeri, Nadia Habibvand and Shirin Mellat-Gohar were among the honorees.
 
The museum is located on Police St. off Shariati Ave.
 
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Kuwaiti officials visit Tehran cultural center

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TEHRAN – Officials from Kuwait’s National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) paid a visit to Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Center on Friday.
 
NCCAL Assistant Secretary General Mohammed Al-Asousi and the council’s Deputy Director for Cultural Relations Mohammed Bin Ali also met center Director Seyyed Abbas Sajjadi. 
 
They discussed the expansion of mutual cultural relations. Accordingly, the center is scheduled to host a Kuwaiti cultural festival in autumn 2014.
 
Sajjadi said that the expansion of cultural relations among the Iranian and Kuwaiti cultural centers is highly significant for both countries.
 
Al-Asousi said that Niavaran has great potential for holding a Kuwait cultural week, which aims to introduce Iranians with culture, art and traditions of his country.
 
Al-Asousi also said that the NCCAL would welcome any plan from Iranian officials for holding art shows in Kuwait.
 
The Kuwait cultural festival will be held through collaborative efforts by the NCCAL, Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, and the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization.
 
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Persian version of Hermann Hesse’s “Narcissus and Goldmund” published

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TEHRAN – A Persian translation of German–Swiss author Hermann Hesse’s “Narcissus and Goldmund” has been published in Iran by Tehran Publications.
 
The book has been translated by Mohammad Baqaii-Makan.
 
“Narcissus and Goldmund” is the story of Goldmund, a young man who wanders around aimlessly throughout Medieval Germany after leaving a Catholic monastery school in search of what could be described as “the meaning of life”, or rather, the means for his life.

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Keyvan Saket to tour Australia in early spring

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian tar virtuoso Keyvan Saket will lead an ensemble in a concert tour of Australia in early April.
 
Entitled "East Meets West", the concert tour will begin in Sydney on March 28, after which Melbourn and Brisbane will be the next stops for the ensemble.
 
Aran Dehkharghani, Sina Arbabzadeh, Mustafa Karami, Reza Karami, Sahand Mehrkhavari and Sushiant Azemikhah will accompany Saket during the performances.
 
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President Hassan Rouhani honors journalists at Tehran Press Festival

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TEHRAN – A number of journalists and veterans were honored by President Hassan Rouhani during the closing ceremony of the 20th edition of the Tehran Press Festival on Saturday.
 
Veteran journalists and editors Farajollah Saba, Ahmad Samiei Gilani and Parviz Khorsand received lifetime achievement awards and 35 reporters, journalists and photojournalists were awarded, Persian media reported on Saturday.
 
Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati, the Deputy Culture Minister for Press Affairs Hossein Entezami, and a number of art and cultural figures and veteran journalists attended the closing ceremony, which took place at Vahdat Hall.
 
The ceremony proceeded with the screening of a documentary, in which the names and memoirs of several deceased journalists including Kazem Motamednejad, Esfandiar Zarrinkub and Parto Mohtadi were recalled.
 
Several programs were also arranged on the sidelines of the festival including a photo exhibition with the central theme of Iran’s 11th presidential elections and the exhibition of info-graphic designs.
 
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I will never act in anti-Islam films: Peyman Moadi

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian actor Peyman Moadi has said that he will never collaborate in any film which challenges Islamic values and the government of his country.
 
He has appeared in U.S. director Peter Sattler’s debut “Camp X-Ray”, a drama about the temporary detention facility at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp. 
 
In addition, he has also played the role of a corrupt emperor in Japanese director Kazuaki Kiriya’s action adventure “The Last Knights”.
 
“Many people hold this humorously incorrect belief that my collaboration in world cinema may be a prelude to appearing in anti-Islam films,” he said in a workshop, which was organized by actor Ali Sarabi at Tehran’s Milad Tower last week.
 
“The fact is that I would never be willing to act in a film that is in conflict with the Islamic and religious values of the Iranian people or disparages the government of the Islamic Republic,” he added.
 
He noted that this decision is not related to his concern about the future of his profession.
 
He said that all people so far he has met at international events have been very respectful of his country.
 
Moadi is mostly known for his excellent performances in Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “A Separation” and “About Elly”. 
 
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Iranian, Dutch thespians to team up for performances in summer 2014

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TEHRAN – Iran’s Virgule Troupe and the English Theater STET from the Netherlands will join together to perform “In Respect for Others’ Pains” in the summer of 2014.
 
A cast composed of four Iranian and four Dutch actors will first perform the play probably at Tehran’s City Theater Complex, Virgule Troupe director Arvand Dashtaray told the Persian service of MNA on Saturday.
 
The Iranian members of the cast will be announced in the upcoming days, he added.
 
The play, which is about the connection between different generations and cultures, is also scheduled to go on stage in the Netherlands, Dashtaray stated.
 
No more details were mentioned about the collaboration.
 
Based in The Hague, the English Theater STET is exploring the possibility of joining forces with other festivals.
 
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Iranian short film to compete in Greek festival

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TEHRAN -- The Iranian short animated film “Dad’s Fragile Doll” will go on screen at the 9th Athens ANIMFEST 2014, which will be held in Greece from March 13 to 19.
 
Directed by Ali Zare’, the film is based on the short story “My Fragile Doll” written by the Iranian author Hushang Golshiri.
 
The film is about a young girl who reconstructs events leading to her father’s imprisonment and execution using dolls her mother has made.
 
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Another Persian translation of “Spinoza Problem” to hit Iranian bookstores

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TEHRAN -- Another Persian translation of American existential psychiatrist Irvin Yalom’s “The Spinoza Problem” is ready for publication.
 
Golbarg Barzin has translated the book, which will be released by the Kalagh Publication in the near future.
 
The book, in which Yalom spins fact and fiction into an unforgettable psycho-philosophical novel, was translated by Mohammad Kazemi in October 2013 and released by Sobh-e Sadeq Publications. 
 
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Persian translation of Maurice Blanchot’s “Aminadab” published

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TEHRAN – A Persian version of “Aminadab”, the second novel by French writer Maurice Blanchot (1907-2003), has recently been published in Tehran.
 
Translated by Mojtaba Purmohsen, the book has been published by Butimar Publications, the Persian service of MNA reported on Sunday.
 
Maurice Blanchot’s second novel “Aminadab” is dark, bizarre and fantastic. Reminiscent of Kafka’s enclosed and allegorical spaces, “Aminadab” is both a reconstruction and a deconstruction of power, authority and hierarchy, writes Amazon on its website.
 
The novel opens when Thomas, upon seeing a woman gesture to him from a window of a large boarding house, enters the building and slowly becomes embroiled in its inscrutable workings, it continues.
 
Although Thomas is constantly reassured that he can leave the building, he seems to be separated forever from the world he has left behind. 
 
Written in prose that is classical and at times lyrical, Blanchot’s novel functions as an allegory referring, above all, to the wandering and striving movement of writing itself.
 
Maurice Blanchot was a French writer, philosopher and literary theorist. His work had a strong influence on post-structuralist philosophers such as Jacques Derrida.
 
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Iran finds big winners of Oscars 2014 acceptable for TV broadcast

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TEHRAN -- The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) is scheduled to air the slavery drama “12 Years a Slave” and space thriller “Gravity”, both big winners at this year’s Academy Awards, during the Iranian New Year holidays that begin on March 21. 
 
“‘12 Years a Slave’ is an appropriate film and also agreeable to our objectives and policies,” IRIB’s Channel 1 Director Mehdi Faraji said during a press conference, which was held on Saturday to announce the channel’s schedule for the Noruz holidays.
 
“There are two categories of films at Oscars,” he said and added, “one category is dedicated to non-American films, which are judged based on politically biased attitudes, and the other category is allocated to American productions which are less political.”
 
Directed by Black British filmmaker Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave” won the Academy Award for best picture last week. It also won two other Oscars, including best supporting actress for newcomer Lupita Nyong’o and best adapted screenplay.
 
“Gravity” from Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron received the most Oscars of this year with seven, including the best director.
 
Many other foreign productions, including “Mr. Morgan’s Last Love” by director Sandra Nettelbeck, “King of Devil’s Island” by Marius Holst, “Cloud Atlas” by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski, and will also be broadcast from IRIB’s various channels during the holidays.
 
Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage drama “Argo”, which won the Oscar for best picture in 2013, was officially viewed as an “anti-Iranian” film in Iran after it premiered in the U.S. in October 2012.
 
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Iranian dohol virtuoso Ka Barat dies at 81

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TEHRAN -- The dohol (drum) virtuoso Barat-Ali Nurani known as Ka Barat died Sunday in Sanandaj in his homeland in Kordestan Province. He was 81.
 
He had been suffering from a physical disability for the past two years, a number of Persian news agencies announced.
 
Ka Barat and the sorna (Persian oboe) player Abdollah Shariati, who died five days ago, had several duet performances in France, Germany, Russia, Iraq and several other countries.
 
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Iranian film competing in Bangladeshi festival

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TEHRAN -- Iranian director Puran Derakhshandeh’s drama “Hush… Girls Don’t Scream!” is competing in the 1st International Women’s Film Festival, which is currently underway in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
 
The film is about a young girl named Shirin who is supposed to get married in a couple of hours, but she unexpectedly murders a man. The cause of the crime is rooted in her nightmarish childhood.
 
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Author and translator Simin Daneshvar commemorated

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TEHRAN – A number of literati and cultural officials gathered in the Iranian Artists Forum on Sunday to commemorate the 2nd anniversary of the passing of the eminent author and translator Simin Daneshvar (1922-2012).
 
Daneshvar, known as the first Iranian female novelist, died at the age of 90 in March 2012.
 
Iranian Deputy Culture Minister for Cultural Affairs Abbas Salehi and critic Hossein Payandeh were among the participants in the event, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Monday.
 
Speaking at the ceremony, Salehi said that Iranian females have had influential roles in the history of Persian classic literature, and Simin Daneshvar had her impact on fiction.
 
“Simin grew up in an artistic family, she married and lived with (the controversial) author of the time, Jalal Al-e Ahmad. Of course, she never forgot her own identity, and despite many commonalities, she had her differences with him,” Salehi said. 
 
The next speaker was Payandeh, who proposed to make a film based on Simini’s novel “Savushun” (1970), since he believes movies go farther than borders.
 
Payandeh also asked the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to prevent the republication of Simin’s first book entitled “Extinguished Fire”, a collection of short stories, the first-ever written by an Iranian female author. 
 
He added that this request is based on Simin’s own personal will, since she believed the book is still immature, and she did not allow the book be republished while she was still alive.
 
Daneshvar is mostly known as the author of the social-historical novel “Savushun” (1970) which has been translated into 17 languages around the world.
 
In “Savushun”, Simin chronicles the life of a Persian family in Shiraz during the Allied occupation of Iran during World War II. The story is narrated through the eyes of Zari, a young wife and mother, who copes with her idealistic and uncompromising husband while struggling with her desire for traditional family life and her need for individual identity.
 
Born in Shiraz in 1921, Simin Daneshvar got her Ph.D. in Persian Language and Literature from the University of Tehran. At age of 27, she published her first book titled “Extinguished Fire.
 
“A City like Heaven”, “To Whom Shall I Say Hello?”, “Wandering Island” and “Wandering Cameleer” are among her other works. The last part of the trilogy “The Wandering Mountain” has not yet been published.
 
She also translated into Persian “The Chocolate Soldier” by George Bernard Shaw, “Enemies” by Anton Chekov, “Cry, The Beloved Country” by Alan Paton and “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
 
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‘Abstraction and Expression shows why Iranian painters are interested in abstract art’

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TEHRAN -- Art expert Alireza Sami-Azar has said that “Abstraction and Expression”, an exhibition of a number of Iranian abstractionist painters, reveals why Iranian artists are interested in abstract paintings.
 
Speaking during the opening ceremony of the exhibit at the gallery of the Mellat Cinema Complex on Friday, Sami-Azar stated that the exhibit carries the experience of Iranian contemporary artists in the field of abstract paintings, and contains works by three generation of painters.
 
He added that the exhibit provides a good opportunity for further research on abstract paintings of Iran.
 
Abstract paintings by 29 renowned artists have been put on display in the exhibition that opened on Friday, the gallery announced in a press release on Monday.
 
Hossein Kazemi, Farideh Lashaii, Bita Vakili, Iraj Eskandari, Mostafa Dashti, Masud Arabshahi, Nikzad Arabshahi and Parivash Ganji are among the artists whose works are being shown.
 
Curator Farnaz Mohammadi next said that the exhibition has been arranged to introduce part of the changes that have occurred in abstract paintings in Iran.
 
Deputy Culture Minister for Artistic Affairs Ali Moradkhani, who also attended the opening ceremony, said that the exhibit is of great importance since it embraces abstract works by different generations and provides a chance to study and compare the works.
 
He praised works by the young artists and expressed his hope that they have a bright future.
 
Organized by the Tasvir-e Shahr Institute, which is affiliated with the Tehran Municipality, the exhibit will be running until May 6 in the Mellat Cinema Complex located on Kordestan Highway, off Niayesh Highway.
 
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Photographer puts “10 Slices of Nature” on display

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TEHRAN -- Photographer Babak Borzuyeh, who is mostly known for his collections on stage and screen celebrities in Iran, has showcased his latest collection “10 Slices of Nature” at an exhibition in Tehran.
 
His ten 50x50 photos on nature were put on display at the Café-Gallery of the Iranian Cinema House on Sunday in its first exhibition after inauguration.
 
“This collection, which mostly focuses on color and conception, is part of my latest project on nature,” Borzuyeh told the Persian service of ISNA on Sunday.      
 
He said that the café-gallery is not just dedicated to exhibits concerning cinema and added, “This café-gallery has the potential to be used as an appropriate space for exhibitions of various forms of art including costume designing, painting and photography.”
 
The exhibition runs until March 19 at the café-gallery located at 23 Semnan Alley, Bahar St., off Enqelab Ave.
 
Borzuyeh won a Crystal Simorgh at the 15th Fajr International Film Festival for his photos of “Journey to Chazzabeh”, a film directed by Rasul Mollaqolipur.
 
He also was honored with a prize at the Ninth Iran Cinema Celebration, which is held annually by the Iranian Cinema House, for his photos of “Verdict”, directed by Maud Kimiaii.
 
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Woodcrafts on display at CHTHO exhibition

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TEHRAN – A large collection of woodcrafts by Iranian artists is currently on display in an exhibition at the central building of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) in Tehran.
 
The collection contains wooden statues, and mosaic, intarsia and inlaid works, the Persian service of reported on Monday.
 
The exhibition, which opened on March 9, has also showcased a collection of traditional musical instruments.
 
Several artists and officials including CHTHO Deputy Director for Traditional Arts and Handicrafts Bahman Namvar Motlaq attended the opening ceremony, in which veterans and masters including Javad Shafahi, Habibollah Mohrehkesh, Mohammadreza Jaleh, Shahpur Torabi and Akbar Soti were honored.
 
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Namvar-Motlaq expressed his gratitude to the veterans and masters.
 
He also talked about the role of wood in architecture and added that wooden artworks are lacking in Iranians’ interior designs.
 
“There needs to be more relations between the woodcrafters and interior designers, and our duty is to encourage and support the artisans,” he stated.
 
The exhibit will be running until May.
 
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