Pendulum | PARSAGON

14 Jul

Postmortem Taste of Cherry: Abbas Kiarostami Deceased

Abbas Kiarostami, the award-winning Iranian director whose 1997 film Taste of Cherry was awarded the Palme d’Or at the Cannes film festival, died aged 76, following a controversial surgery.

Kiarostami was born in 1940 in Tehran, and studied painting at the University of Tehran and immediately after that he began working as a graphic designer. In 1969 he joined Kanoon (the Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults), where he flourished as a film-maker. The Report (1977), and his Koker trilogy (including Where is the Friend’s Home? [1987]) were his breakthrough feature made during his stay as director of Kanoon’s film section. The latter brought him his first major award, the Bronze Leopard at the Locarno film festival.

Life, and Nothing More… (1992), Through the Olive Trees (1994), Homework (1989), Close-Up (1990) sparkled an unrivaled genius whose ‘upward ascension’ was confirmed in 1997 with Taste of Cherry – an account of a man’s quest for a helper through his suicidal attempt. The feature was awarded the Palme d’Or of that year.

Had he not been carried away by sudden death, the world would be blessed with more stunning works of his that would accomplish a trend of poetic thought and peerless vision.

May he rest in peace.

31 May

May 2016

1. Painter Parviz Kalantari dies at 85

The diligent artist and illustrator Parviz Kalantari, famous for his indigenous drawings of Iranian nomadic life passed away late May at age 85. “He was from a generation whose main concern was making a bridge between modern paintings and the venerable cultural heritage, which is tradition.” Read more here

2. The Past, the Present, and the Bridge: Ali Dehbashi’s Bukhara Magazine

“Can the nascent literary enthusiasts of today be connected to the generations before them? Dehbashi’s events, each in their own way, attempt to bridge the old with the new. He has been walking the streets of Tehran for decades now, organizing, hosting, editing, and publishing, despite the buttons that have been yanked off. One wonders how long the shirt, and the man wearing it, will hold.”

Don’t miss Read LA Review of Books‘ introduction of Bukhara Nights.

3. All the world’s a stage for Iranian director Asghar Farhadi at Cannes

Years after Abbas Kiarostami’s starring at Cannes, now it is Asghar Farhadi’s turn to draw attentions to Iranian cinema once again with the awards granted to his latest film ‘The Salesman’. This interview with an AE magazine is worth reading.

4. Tehran International Book Fair 2016 Held

The 29th edition of TIBF was far more exciting than the previous editions partially due to the new location that despite all fears and estimations, turned out to a good move with a considerable impact on sales rates. Marjohn Shirmohammadi’s report offers a thorough survey of the event from different aspects.

30 Apr

April 2016

1. Iranian anthropologist Jaber Anasori dies at 71

Prominent Iranian anthropologist Jaber Anasori, mostly famous for his lifetime of study and research on Iranian ritual plays and ta’zeih (Iranian passion play), died in Tehran, leaving behind dozens of publications, including “Anthropology and the Psychology of Arts”, “Culture and Research” and “Study of Iranian Myths based on Works by Traditional Storytellers”.

2. Iranian scholar Manuchehr Sotudeh dies at 103

A prominent Iranologist, Sotudeh got his Ph.D. from the University of Tehran. He has written 52 books and 268 articles on different subjects during his lengthy career.