Iranian Film Festival in the Netherlands

This year’s Iranian Film Festival will partly evolve around the theme of 30 years of revolution in Iran. The fourth edition of this festival, which will take place on the 18, 19 and 20th of December in De Fabriek in Zaandam (the Netherlands) will not only look back at the events of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but will also focus on Iran’s current situation. Through documentaries, short films and interviews with international guests, the festival tracks the development of Iran in the 30 years since the establishment of the Islamic Republic.

For instance, the audience can relive the hostage-crisis in Tehran’s U.S. embassy in 1979 with Mohammad Shirvani’s documentary ‘444-day Face-off’ (2008), or can choose to join president Ahmadinejad as he tours around the country in ‘Letters to the President’ (Petr Lom, 2009). Through two short films, attention is also given to the protests that followed Iran’s presidential elections in June, which gave rise to the enormous ‘Green Movement’.  <br>The upcoming edition of the Iranian Film Festival also creates room for young film talents. Novice directors will be invited to present their work in a special short-film competition, led by a professional jury including Kees Driessen, Floortje Smit, Bart Groenendaal, Jankees Boer and Mostafa Heravi. The best short films will receive a special additional screening after the festival in film theatre De Fabriek.   But this year’s Iranian Film Festival is also filled with loads of music. Which kinds of musical genres are under pressure in Iran, and how does this influence different musicians? In the documentary ‘To be and not to be’ (Frank Scheffer, 2009) we follow composer Nader Mashayekhi in his attempts to establish a philharmonic orchestra in the Iranian capital. ‘Hayedeh, Legendary Persian Diva’ (Pejman Akbarzadeh, 2009) features a famous female pop singer from the 1960’s who was forced to flee Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In contrast, the film ‘Torgheh’ (Mohammad Hassan Damanzan, 2008) tells the story of four women from a poor village in north-eastern Iran, who find their bliss in playing traditional musical instruments, despite all the restrictions that are laid on them. Finally the festival will also review the situation of modern hip-hop in Iran through a short film by the young filmmaker Sam Ali Kashani, and a live performance by the popular British-Iranian rapper Reveal and his Poisonous Poets.   In the past four years, the Iranian Film Festival has made a name for itself by offering a very diverse program that is both independent and critical. In addition, the Iranian Film Festivals sets a perfect stage for thorough discussions on different aspects of Iranian society, which are often represented only superficially by the media. This edition will enter the discussion together with guests from home and abroad, like the filmmaker Negin Kianfar, who made a remarkable documentary about temporary marriages in Iran. Director Marjan Alizadeh will also be present at the festival to talk about ‘Persian Catwalk’, a film that gives us more insight into Iran’s fashion industry.            

The complete program and information about reservations is now available on the English version of our website: http://www.iraansfilmfestival.nl/index.php?lang=en   

4th edition Iranian Film Festival

18-19-20th of December 2009

Film theatre and café ‘De Fabriek’

Jan Sijbrandssteeg 12, Zaandam,

the Netherlands