The 11th Zurich Film Festival welcomes the film producing country Iran as its guest country in the NEW WORLD VIEW section. The programme contains approximately a dozen new feature and documentary films from the latest generation of Iranian filmmakers.
The film producing country Iran has garnered international attention through the work of such masters of the medium as Abbas Kiarostami (Golden Palm in Cannes 1997 for TASTE OF CHERRY), Asghar Farhadi (Oscar 2011 for A SEPARATION) and Jafar Panahi (Golden Bear at the 2015 Berlinale for TAXI). Working under the most difficult of conditions, filmmakers here continue to defy the political, economic and cultural isolation of their country.
But Iranian filmmaking has much more to offer than just the works of its internationally renowned masters. Despite strict state controls and censorship, the latest generation of Iranian filmmakers has taken it upon itself to tackle and question in an intelligent and entertaining manner the burning topics and taboos occupying Iranian society today.
Topical Social Issues
The latest generation of Iranian filmmakers has created a host of cinema productions that offer a deeper insight into daily life within a society characterized by contrariety between young and old, traditional and modern, private and public life, and religion and secularity.
The latest generation of Iranian filmmakers is orientated towards Persia’s great masters and poetic traditions on the one hand, and increasingly on the other, towards western arthouse and genre cinema, which finds its way into Iranian living rooms via pirate DVDs and illegal streaming services. Iran is home to an extraordinarily multifaceted and innovative body of films that addresses such current social issues as family affairs, drug abuse and the clash of generations, while simultaneously exploring the filmic narrative of a variety of genres.
Iranian Short Film Block
Numerous international awards bear witness to this ongoing development, like those recently won by such debut works as Shahram Mokri’s insidious one-take horror FISH & CAT (2013, Orizzonti Award Venice), the visually impressive gangster drama 13 by Hooman Seyedi (2014, New Current Award Pusan), and Ida Panahandeh’s classic family drama NAHID (2015, Promising Future Prize Cannes). The intimate and highly acclaimed MELBOURNE by Nima Javidi represented New Iranian Cinema in the International Feature Film Competition section at last year’s ZFF.
The Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur will, for the eighth time, contribute to the NEW WORLD VIEW section with an Iranian short film block. Further details regarding the programme will be available soon.