FILM

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the 16th Iranian Film Festival .

The popular annual showcase of the best in Iranian cinema returns! The selections were chosen by Bo Smith of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and additional films screen February 6—8 at Rice Cinema or at (www.ricecinema.rice.edu).

Schedule of films:

Santouri: The Music Man
Directed by Dariush Mehrjui
Iran, 2007
Color
106 Minutes

Farsi with English subtitles

Show Times:
Fri., Jan. 30 7:00 PM
Sat., Jan. 31 1:00 PM

"From veteran Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui comes this contemporary drama about Ali (Bahram Radan), a young musician who plays the santoor, a traditional stringed instrument. His relatively liberal lifestyle comes with a catch—heroin addiction—which naturally takes tolls on his music and his relationship with beautiful wife Hanieh (Golshifteh Farahani). By suggesting that Iran´s current cultural repression is connected to its rampant drug addition, [the Los Angeles Times says] Santouri amounts to ´another sweeping yet incisive film from . . . one of Iran´s most accomplished and courageous filmmakers.´" —www.facets.org

Head Wind
Baad-e-Daboor
Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof
Iran, 2008
Color
65 Minutes

Farsi with English subtitles

Show Times:
Sat., Jan. 31 7:00 PM

"Mohammad Rasoulof (Iron Island) takes a candid and searing look inside the Islamic Republic, revealing its losing battle for control over the flow of information into the country from the outside world. In this documentary he points out what is possibly one of the most significant issues in the peoples´ struggle under Iran´s Islamic government. What at first seems simply like an effort to have access to films and entertainment originating in forbidden places from Hollywood to Bollywood, unfolds to reveal that at the heart of this struggle beats the desire for self-determination and open access to information.

This remarkable film touches on one of the great mysteries of post-1979 Iran: How is it that the generation born and raised under the baleful eye of the revolution has become the biggest thorn in its side? Rasoulof answers this question methodically by taking us through the labyrinth of Iran´s underground satellite, internet, and DVD culture. From an urban middle-class family´s rooftop satellite to a nomadic tribe with a generator-powered satellite to a banned journalist´s hacking of internet firewalls to a black market DVD dealer, the people of Iran have opened their own windows to the outside world, despite great odds and across class lines." —Tribeca Film Festival

Cosponsored by the World Affairs Council of Houston. A panel discussion follows the film moderated by Dr. Garth Jowett (University of Houston) and includes participants Ms. Farnoosh Moshiri (award-winning writer and faculty member, University of Houston-Downtown), Dr. Reza Poudeh (scholar and faculty member, Texas Southern University), Lila Sharifian, and others.

Arusi Persian Wedding  (pictured)
Directed by Marjan Tehrani
USA/Iran, 2008
Color
54 Minutes

Farsi with English subtitles

Show Times:
Sun., Feb. 1 5:00 PM

Free admission courtesy of Houston PBS and ITVS Community Cinema

In her affecting documentary diary, Marjan Tehrani chronicles the experiences of her brother Alex and his American fiancée Heather as they travel to Iran to have a Persian wedding ceremony. Using dynamic historical footage and weaving it with the couple´s personal story, Arusi Persian Wedding explores the history and impact of the broken relationship between Iran and the
United States.

With rare glimpses of both modern and traditional lifestyles and candid interviews, the film reveals a vibrant, complex country through its people, culture, and landscapes. Arusi is the story of one young couple´s journey to discover Iran on their own terms. 

3 Women
3 Zan
Directed by Manijeh Hekmat
Iran, 2008
Color
94 Minutes

Farsi with English subtitles

Show Times:
Sun., Feb. 1 7:00 PM

"A dispute over an ancient carpet propels a grandmother, mother, and daughter into realms of mystery and mysticism. Museum curator Minoo (Niki Karimi) makes off with the carpet—a national treasure—to save it from an unscrupulous dealer, but loses the precious antique and her mother, as well, to a mission that beckons the elderly lady from the past. The call of the unknown puts Minoo´s daughter on the road to self-discovery, causing Minoo to question who or what she herself needs to find. From the director of Women´s Prison." —Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago

Generous support provided by ILEX Foundation. Special thanks to Niloo Fotouhi of ILEX Foundation; Bo Smith, Carter Long, and Stefanie Lubkowski of MFA Boston; Barbara Scharres, Gene Siskel Film Center; Tom Vick, Freer and Sackler Galleries of the Smithsonian Institution; Charles Dove, Rice Cinema; the Society of Iranian American Women for Education (SIAWE); and the Iranian Cultural Foundation.