Trending
    • Jasmin Mozaffari’s short film ‘Motherland, wins TIFF award
    • Poor Thing, Wins Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
    • Toronto Film Festival 2023
    • Iranian Influential Women: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
    • Sundance Film Festival Asia
    • Enea, review
    • French rising star, Adèle Exarchopoulos, 4 top favorite movies
    • Cinematography director Morteza Pursamadi dies at 70
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Cinema Without Borders
    • Home
    • Feature Story
    • News
    • Conversations
    • Festivals
    • Cinema Tech
    • Film Reviews
    • CinéEqual
    • Other Arts
    • Archives
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Cinema Without Borders
    You are at:Home»News»“The Iranian film scene is active inside and outside of Iran,” Julie Ellison-Speight

    “The Iranian film scene is active inside and outside of Iran,” Julie Ellison-Speight

    0
    By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 02/04/2018 News

    The arts are an expressive way to share and communicate culture, especially the art of cinema. The nature of film allows it to educate using entertainment, storytelling and visual creativity, allowing viewers glimpses into lives and worlds far different from their own. It is this kind of education that the University of Arizona Center for Middle Eastern Studies aims to provide with its Spring 2018 Film Series.

    Each semester, the Center compiles a program of films that exemplify Middle Eastern cinema, and has featured countless documentaries and fiction features created by and starring people from the Middle East. The free screenings take place on the first Wednesday of each month and are open to the public.

    This semester the screenings will be hosted in room 111 at the Cesar Chavez Building beginning 7 p.m. Before each film, a graduate student in the program will briefly share some details about the filmmaker and background information to set up the film.

    The students also stick around to answer any questions viewers might have at the end about the film or Middle Eastern cinema and culture.

    The concept of “The Artist” is the theme of this semester’s film selection. Each movie focuses on some sort of Middle Eastern artist, whether they be a musician, painter or tent maker.

    “Going Up the Stairs” will kick off the Spring 2018 Film Series with an Iranian feature documentary from 2012. Directed by Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami, the film follows the story of Akram, a 50-year-old painter who is trying to find a way to get to Paris after being invited to host an exhibition of her work.

    “She’s trying to get permission to go there because in Iran she needs permission from her husband to leave,” said Megan Young, the program coordinator for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. “The film shows her painting, talking about her life, the journey to try to get to Paris — she’s a very interesting person and her images are quite unique.”

    The film is a little under an hour and is an excellent example of Iranian cinema combining the heartwarming and hopeful struggle of Akram to the funny moments interspersed throughout the more serious commentary on life in Iran for women.

    The Center for Middle Eastern Studies website dubs it, “An inspiring resource for courses on contemporary Muslim and Islamic studies, women’s studies, art and more.”

    Being a documentary about an Iranian woman and the struggles she faces in trying to be an independent person and pursue art, this film greatly supports the Center for Middle Eastern Studies’ mission of educating the public about Middle Eastern culture through telling real stories from those who understand what it’s like to be from the Middle East.

    “The Iranian film scene is active inside and outside of Iran,”said  Julie Ellison-Speight, the assistant director for the Center for Middle Eastern Studies. “As far as documentaries go, a far number have been made about Iran by Iranians to share Iranian culture with the world.”

    The other films this semester include “The Tentmakers of Cairo” on March 7, “Sonita” on April 4, and “The Play (Oyun)” on May 2. If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about Middle Eastern culture, there are now plenty of free, fun and educational ways to do it!

    iranian cinem Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami Sonita
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    World Cinema Reports' Editors

    Cinema Without Borders' reporters from around the globe search and find international cinema content for our audience. when an outside source is used, we provide you with a link to the original source at the end of the article

    Related Posts

    Poor Thing, Wins Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

    Sundance Film Festival Asia

    French rising star, Adèle Exarchopoulos, 4 top favorite movies

    Comments are closed.



    Most donations are tax deductible.
    Latest Stories
    09/19/2023

    Jasmin Mozaffari’s short film ‘Motherland, wins TIFF award

    09/10/2023

    Poor Thing, Wins Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

    09/07/2023

    Toronto Film Festival 2023

    09/07/2023

    Iranian Influential Women: Rakhshan Bani-Etemad

    Bridging The Border Award

    At a time when physical, religious, racial, cultural, and economic borders divide the population of our planet, efforts to bridge those borders should be appreciated. In that spirit, Cinema Without Borders presents Bridging the Borders Award to the films that are most successful in bridging and …Read More

     

    I, Immigrant, International Film Festival
    CineEqual

    CinéEqual represents filmmakers, institutions, and community members with a focus on social justice cinema. As an integrated unit of CWB, it promotes a diverse, inclusive, and equitable democratic society that values the worth of all humans…Read More

     

    About
    About

    Cinema Without Borders is a meeting place of independent cinema. Based in Los Angeles, CWB puts the spotlight on rising talent around the globe to achieve its mission, which is to serve and strengthen communities of filmmakers and film students across real and virtual borders.

    Copyright Cinema Without Borders@2018

    Popular Posts
    01/02/2001

    Cinecon 46-The 46th edition of the Classic Film Festival

    10/09/2006

    An Interview with Jonathan Wolf, Managing Director of AFM

    10/11/2006

    Film & TV production in Afghanistan

    Article Photos
    NasserFarhoudiWP
    SiggrpphSlider
    FundingCoverImage
    6-RADUSlider
    Nouredin-WP-Slider
    NOHOFestival-WP-Slider
    MiamiFF-WP-Slider
    MarkTamez-WP-Slider
    LouderThanBombs-WP-Slider
    HP-Rick-WP-Slider
    HP-Bridging-2-WP-Slider
    HP-Bridging-1-WP-Slider
    Contacts & Credits

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.