A focus on female directors distinguishes this year's Week of Iranian Cinema from its three predecessors.
The week opened the evening of January 8 with a small ceremony and a screening of Bacheha-ye abadi/The Children of Eternity by Pouran Derakhshandeh (2006). Introducing the event were Boriana Mateeva, head of programming at Bulgarian National Film Archive (BNF); Mr Hosravi, acting ambassador of the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran; and Mr Aghanouri, cultural attache to the embassy (Pictured, L to R). The Week of Iranian Cinema itself is a project of BNF and the Iranian Cultural Centre in Sofia; its first occurrence was in 1993, then followed by 2001, 2007 and, now, 2008.
Mateeva said that this has been a “strong beginning” for the promotion of Iranian cinema in Bulgaria, particularly given the bounds that it has been making to become “a world phenomenon” in the past 15 years. This year marks the first time that a female Iranian director has had her work shown in Bulgaria, Mateeva said, also saying that such events like the cinema week demonstrate the desire for cultural dialogue.
Hosravi congratulated Iranian film directors for having succeeded in making such films despite the challenges and the limiting possibilities that they encounter. He noted that the event in Bulgaria was being held very near to the date – February 11 – of the 1979 victory for Ayatollah Khomeini in taking control of the Iranian capital of Tehran. This was, he said, a good way to highlight various Iranian cultural successes.
It was decided that this year focus on female directors, Aghanouri said, in part because Iranian cinema has seen noticeable progress in recent years, and women have contributed a good share of it. One aspect that distinguishes Iranian cinema is that it deals with spiritual, social and family issues, he said, which make the basis for provoking films.
The film shown on January 8 dealt with one such topic – in The Children of Eternity, a young couple gets engaged and can only marry when her parents come to terms with the fiance's secret - he has a younger brother with Down's syndrome for whom he promised his dying father to care.
Other films being screened this time at Odeon Cinematheque for the Week of Iranian Cinema are Kaghaz-e bikhat/Unruled Paper by Naser Taghvai (2001), to be shown on January 9 at 6.00pm; Zaman-e az Dast Rafteh/Lost Time by Pouran Derakhshandeh (1989), to be shown on January 10 at 6.00pm; Madar/Mother (2000) and Pendar (2003), shorter films by Leila Mirhadi to be shown on January 11 at 5.00pm; and Sham'i dar baad/A Candle in the Wind by Pouran Derakhshandeh (2004), to be shown on January 12 at 6.00pm. The Children of Eternity will be shown again on January 13 at 6:00pm.
