The
Persian International Film Festival returns for a 9
th edition from Thursday 3 to Sunday 6 December 2020 to premiere the very best in Persian cinema.
Get closer to Persian cinema in a captivating program that will take you through the many faces of Persian heritage with four days of curated films. There will be well-rounded dramas, bright comedies, documentary masterpieces and a fabulous selection of short films.
The program is made exclusively of Australian premieres including acclaimed dramas
Son-Mother and
Pari, facetious comedy
A Hairy Tale, award-winning documentary
Sunless Shadows, a one-off screening of the rediscovered masterpiece
The Chess of the Wind coming from Cannes, and much more! Showing at Palace Cinemas Leichhardt.
THE CHESS OF THE WIND
Only just restored in 2020, this gem of Persian cinema was long lost after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. Screened once in 1976, it resurfaced in 2020 at Cannes Film Festival, London Film Festival and New York Film Festival.
Offering a refined and poetic rendering of the aristocratic decadence under the Qajar dynasty with a remarkable score by film composer Sheida Gharachedaghi, the grand drama marks the acting debut of American-Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. Don’t miss out on this great piece of world cinema on Sunday 6 December.
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SON-MOTHER
Mahnaz Mohammadi depicts the poignant relationship of a mother and her son, with mum Leila working tirelessly at a failing factory while trying to keep her family together in a masterly drama with a screenplay by Mohammad Rasoulof.
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PARI
Pari steps out of the shadow of her spouse to take the lead in a search for her lost son through the city of Athens, in a remarkable feature debut by Iranian-Greek director Siamak Etemadi, screened at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival.
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THE BADGER
Soodeh is about to get married when her 11-year-old Matiar gets kidnapped. As she carries on a tenacious search, Soodeh soon realises that her son has been providing the grounds for his father’s return.
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THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE
What begins as a favour for his family spins out of control when idle Amir participates in the cover-up of a crime at the local abattoir. Pursuing his work of social critique, Abbas Amini takes aim at the economic and societal forces at play in current Iran.
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A HAIRY TALE
In a hilarious succession of events, Inspector Kiani investigates a series of mysterious murders alongside Danesh and Manfered from the barbershop. Homayoun Ghanizadeh’s bizarre black comedy seduced the critics and the 37th Fajr International Film Festival.
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NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS
The lost romance of Ebram and Amis is told through stories of culture, tradition and music in the south of Iran, by a sea where the poet wandered. The work of Ebram, a popular musician and poet from Bandar-Abbas, was rediscovered and published after his death.
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SUNLESS SHADOWS
Nuanced conversations occur between a group of young girls serving sentences in an Iranian detention center for the crime of murdering their father, their husband or another male family member, in a praised and awarded documentary by Mehrdad Oskouei.
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SHORTS SESSION
Eight excellent Iranian short films come together in a carousel of novel stories sourced from the best of the shorts in festival circuits. Animations, playful acts and incisive dramas will satisfy one’s appetite for something short and sweet.
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