Silver Pages
by Massoud Mehrabi

The film literature in Iran was introduced about two decades after production of early Iranian films. Two or three years after production of the first Iranian film in 1900 (which conformed to the same standards as early movies of the world), the sole official and state-run newspaper started to show interest in “cinematograph”. Naturally, film critique and other theoretical issues were not extant in those years. News about the most amazing phenomenon of the century as well as its good and evil effects on viewers and the whole society were the most important issues.
The first film critique (in the modern sense) was written by Ebrahim Moradi, a pioneer director of dramatic features in Iran. His writings, which gradually improved, focused on technical and dramatic problems of films. Few other writers started to follow suit with Moradi, though they later used what they had taught from him against his own films.
Growth of film literature in Iran is much indebted to art and cinema press. Although no films were produced in Iran between 1937 and 1948 due to various reasons, including the World War II and its consequences, since the more recent world cinema productions were screened in the country, cinema magazines were thriving. During that period, apart from various newspapers and magazines, three specialistic film magazines called Namayeshat (Entertainment), Jahan-e Cinema (World of Cinema) and Hollywood were published in Tehran and criticized all aspects of cinema art and industry, including films. Toghrol Afshar, Houshang Qadimi, Troal Gilani, Babak Saman, Farrokh Ghaffari, and Houshang Kavousi were among prominent critics of those years whose writings helped to promote film knowledge in Iran. Those periodicals and articles later gave rise to books on cinema.
The first book on cinema was published in 1927. It was written by Zabihollah Behrouz in two chapters. The first chapter was about the position and role of cinema in the world and its undeniable impact on human societies and the second chapter was a screenplay adapted from ancient Persian legends. Although that screenplay was never produced as film, the book was received warmly by movie buffs and encouraged other people to publish similar books and this continued until 1947. Three consequential books were published in those years: Troal Gilani wrote The Technique of Cinema, Toghrol Afshar wrote In the Rainbow of Cinema, and Hossein Saffari translated Lo Duca’s History of Cinema into Persian. The three books are considered among important events, which along with a number of earlier books determined the policy and orientation of film literature in Iran. The Technique of Cinema was an educational book which introduced its readers to filmmaking equipment (from raw film to cinematographic camera) and explained the filmmaking process from the beginning to the end. The book even included a chapter on how to become an actor and acting techniques. In the Rainbow of Cinema focused on theoretical issues of cinema and film analysis. History of Cinema and its writer are so well-known as to obviate explanation.
As film literature in Iran started with publication of a screenplay, publication of similar books continued with more zeal in later years. Among different types of cinema books, which ranged from theoretical and reference books to biographies of actors and filmmakers, screenplays ranked first both in terms of number and reprints. This was especially true after 1979 revolution when directors could not make every screenplay either due to their themes or inadequate funds. During those years, enthusiasm for screenplays was (and still is) so high that the Iranian auteur, Bahram Baizai, who has thus far only made six feature films, has published 26 screenplays. Some of his screenplays are more interesting and more impressive than his films. He is followed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf who has published all his screenplays (even those which have not been produced as film). On the whole, screenplays written by these two filmmakers have been republished 50 times. The screenplay of Makhmalbaf’s banned film, Time of Love, has been reprinted 11 times. Although publication of film books was not as extensive as it is now, screenplays also accounted for the main part of pre-revolution film literature and most of them were screenplays of prominent films. L’Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni) and The Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini) (whose translations were published in 1965) started a trend which continued with The Discreet Charm of Bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel), Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica), The Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein), M (Fritz Lang), and Face to Face (Ingmar Bergman). Since that time, the works of nearly all prominent filmmakers have been published in Iran.
After screenplays, educational books on filmmaking are the next in demand. Before the revolution, most young people who were interested in this subject were members of a center called Cinemaye Azad (Experimental Cinema Center) and since they used 8-mm cameras, books like Film and Director (Don Livingston, 1963) or Film and Education (Dr. Ebrahim Rashidpour, 1967) were all they needed for primary education. Today, however, there are tens of state-run and private filmmaking centers with 4,000-5,000 students. Therefore, all educational books imaginable have been published in Iran: from Eugene Vale’s The Technique of Screenwriting to Lee Strasberg’s A Dream of Passion. Apart from translations, tens of other books have been written by Iranian instructors.
The situation is very satisfactory for theoretical and analytical books. Although they rank after screenplays and educational books, the quality of their authorship and translation is ideal. Almost all books written by great theoreticians of world cinema have been translated by the best Iranian translators: from Andre Bazin and Rudolf Arnheim to Peter Woolen and Allan Casebier and W. F. Perkins. Iranian theoreticians have also authored valuable books some of which, including the works by Dr. Babak Ahmadi, can be presented internationally.
Books on history of cinema and reference books are like a magical substance which strengthens structure of every country’s film literature and determines its identity. There is no shortage in this category of books. Apart from books written by Lo Duca and Arthur Knight, which were respectively published in 1948 and 1962, the most important books in the history of the Iranian cinema which have been written by such prominent authors and researchers as John Howard Lawson, Christian Thompson, Geoffrey Nowell Smith, Eric Rhode, David A. Cook, and David Robinson have been translated and published. In addition to those books, many volumes have been compiled on the history of the Iranian cinema in addition to guide books and encyclopedias about Iranian and world cinema films and characters by Iranian authors, including myself, which can provide future researchers and authors with a comprehensive and rich source of study.
Iranian film literature is very rich. If professional Iranian filmmakers had established a better relationship with it from the early days that the Iranian cinema took shape, the situation of that cinema would have been much better now.

Report on the 42^nd Karlovy Vary Film Festival (June 29-July 7, 2007)

Tales of Suffering and Ecstasy
by Massoud Mehrabi

The main reason for my third trip to Karlovy Vary was neither its old and creditable festival, nor its great film program, but it was the magic of Karlovy Vary which enticed me. Without any doubt, many correspondents, film critics, and guests, who arrive in the city every year (to pay pilgrimage to it), are more infatuated with the city than its film festival, though they may say nothing about it in their reports. Only one single visit to the city is enough to make its beauty as well as spas and scenic specters part of your dreams even when you are wide awake. It is a fact that the city is cinematic than its festival.

Karlovy Vary is located 110 km west of Prague. The old and historical part of the city is located in the bottom of a valley flanked by relatively high hills and surrounded by lush forests. A river passes through the city and its bed has been designed into small cascades. Therefore, the sound of water is heard like a soothing music which calms down human soul. On both sides of the river, there are buildings which are quite balanced in terms of number and stories, external decorations, paintings and their classic architectural style. The first feeling that sweeps over you in the first glance is that you are standing among a magnificent historical film décor. Not only external view, but internal components of that décor indicate high artistic tact. It is for the beautiful location of the city that, thus far, more than 100 short and feature films have been made there.

The city owes most of its fame to spas. Apart from special baths inside or on the side of hotels, the water from mineral springs is directed to several pools that are located along the main boulevard of the city via canals where tourists can drink the water or pour it in something and take it as souvenir. Karlovy Vary, which is located near border with Germany, has drawn many courtiers and royal families from all across Europe and even Asia and Africa to its spas in late 18^th and early 19^th centuries, including Iran’s Mozaffareddin Shah who visited the city in 1900. The city is not simply famous because it has been visited by kings and emperors, but such dignitaries as Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, and Ludwig van Beethoven have also visited it while Friedrich Chopin, Karl Maria Weber, Richard Wagner, and Nicolo Paganini have lived there for a time. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johannes Brahms, Anthony Dvorak, and even Karl Marx have been there. Presence of masters of world classic music in the city has, undoubtedly, been due to the effect of the city on their creativity. Other things have also contributed to make the city more famous. One of them is a crystal factory, which still produces the finest crystals in the world. All told, the climate is heavenly. The Republic of Czech is the roof and garden of Europe and Karlovy Vary is the roof and garden of the Republic of Czech.

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Karlovy Vary Film Festival is 62 years old and has gone through many ups and downs. Its first edition opened in July 1946 as an international, but noncompetitive event simultaneously in Mariánské Lázně and Karlovy Vary. In 1948, the festival moved to Karlovy Vary and a competition section was added to it where films could win prizes. Later incidents were influenced by political developments following domination of communists on the country in February 1948. Thereafter, especially during the Cold War, the festival paid more attention to political, rather than artistic, films. Even worse than that, the festival was broken in two parts as of 1959: it was alternatively held in Moscow and Karlovy Vary! Therefore, this year’s festival was its 42^nd, and not 62^nd, edition. Karlovy Vary was established concurrent with film festivals of Cannes and Locarno and is the second oldest film festival in the world after Venice Film Festival. However, internationalist decisions made by the leftist authorities prevented Karlovy Vary Film Festival from being appreciated for all its capacity.

The festival’s standards took a nosedive in 1970s and movie buffs lost interest in it. Therefore, some thought that Karlovy Vary was not a good place for a film festival and it should be transferred to the capital city to attract more viewers. The tug-of-war continued until 1994 when a new festival opened in Prague and started its work just before the 30^th edition of Karlovy Vary. However, they failed to marginalize Karlovy Vary and it was the new festival that gradually vanished.

At present, Karlovy Vary Film Festival is a full-fledged cinematic event. During this year’s festival, about 260 short and feature films from 58 countries were screened in 20 main and subsidiary sections. There were films for almost all tastes. Therefore, all sections of the festival including competition section, documentary films section and even retrospective of Bretislav Pojar (the grand master of animation) attracted special audience. Ordinary movie buffs chose their favorite films out of catalogues and watched them. However, choosing was more difficult for us, the critics and correspondents, who watch films from a professional slant. We were naturally attracted to films in the competition section, most of which were screened for the first time. We consider them unexplored treasures and are too eager to watch them, though most of them turn out to be disappointing. In reality, we already know what would be the result and then ask the same repetitive question: “How many good films, do you think, are made in the world every year?” Well, their number can be counted on fingers. The same happens in all festivals with small differences, but the grumbling critics never learn from the past!

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Interesting things happen on the sidelines of Karlovy Vary Film Festival. Each day, a group of music players appear on a short stage on the side of the festival palace to play rock, pop, jazz, country and metal music. In nine days, about 25 groups from different countries (most of the residents of Czech) took to the stage and played their pieces. The success of every group could be measured according to their audience, which varied form 10-15 people up to few hundreds. The market next to the festival palace attracted a large population, especially on weekends. They did not come for the festival and most of them just passed the time of day. Vendors had erected tents (as protection against Sun and rain). Most of them sold fried sausages and bears. Czech sausages and beer is world-famous and a major export item. The Czechs are so fond of eating sausages that they say, “Everything in this world has a single beginning and a single ending except for sausage which begins and ends twice!”

Under other tents people could throw darts, pedal fixed bicycles and throw rings. At the same time, skillful painters draw portraits. The market was good for those who were tired with watching uninteresting films and needed some rest and stroll in an interesting place.

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Now let’s get inside the theater and listen to stories that penetrate deep into our souls. I start with the competition section films; those unexplored treasures!

The Art of Negative Thinking was the first feature film to be made by Bard Breien from Norway, which combined documentary frame with a structure borrowed from televised films. His film tries to be a mixture of psychodrama and black comedy though it is based on an apparently true story. Positive reaction of the audience (blasts of laughter after comic scenes combined with sadness when watching sorrowful scenes) and their applause at the end of the film showed that he had been large successful. Films about psychiatric patients are usually welcomed by the common audience even if they fall short of the standards, perhaps because they provoke human feelings and elicit a sense of sympathy. The Art of Negative Thinking is one of those films which focus on the physically disabled people and ways of helping them. The protagonist is a 30-year-old man called Geirr who has been paralyzed during a car accident two years ago and is now bed-ridden and confined to his wheelchair. Therefore, his wife, Ingvild, invites a group of the disabled along with their psychotherapist (who is a lively woman) to their house in a bid to save their marital life, hoping that their presence will cheer Geirr up. Geirr, who loves rock songs of Johnny Cash and war movies, is very reclusive. Faced with their presence, he revolts against that uninvited influx of the so-called “positive energy” and tries to remain in command by relying on his honesty, which is sometimes very cruel. However, it costs him very dearly. Before the finale, the film story is like other familiar Scandinavian dramas. However, its bitter end shocks viewers and makes the story linger in their minds.

It could have been a better film if the director had gotten rid of the soap opera structure, although the latter is currently more popular.

Technical quality of films, from shooting to editing to techniques used by actors and tempo, have been clearly defined and follow set standards which are used by serious film critics as means of evaluating various films for being artistic or simply commercial and worthless. However, there are other criteria which make a film story more appealing. If you were not among fans of non-narrative cinema, you would go to cinema to listen to a story. Apart from technical quality our criteria for appreciating a film is to what extent it gets close to our real lives.

Conversation with My Gardener, a work by Jean Becker (born 1938), the son of the great director, Jacques Becker, is one of those films which would be appreciated according to mood of the audience. Conversation with My Gardener is good for the middle-aged. Not that younger people will not like it, but I mean that the first group, which has had its share of life experiences, is the audience of choice for the film.

A thriving painter, who is fed-up with life in Paris, leaves the city for the village where he was born more than half a century ago to experience new surroundings. Their desolate house has been left after death of his parents. Trees are not trimmed and weeds cover the garden. Knowing nothing about gardening, the painter hires a gardener and is very surprised when one of his old friends from schooldays applies. Despite they had opposite viewpoints back in childhood, they become intimate. The gardener, who is leading a somehow ascetic life, gradually changes the painter’s attitude to life and the world and at the same time, slowly brings the deserted garden back to life. When the gardener dies of cancer, the painter has achieved a totally new lifestyle and a different view of love and plants. His formerly grey and soulless paintings give way to vivid ones which are full of bright colors and pleasant-looking plants.

The story of Conversation with My Gardener is so straightforward that needs no clichéd interpretation. The main thing which makes it a pleasant film is artistic subtleties introduced by Jean Becker during multilayer characterization of the painter (Daniel Auteuil) and gardener (Jean-Pierre Darroussin). Those layers should have been experienced to be understandable. Conversation with My Gardener is a pleasant journey to the interior of most middle-aged people.

Unlike Conversation with My Gardener, When She Jumped is apparently very complicated and labyrinthine, so that, reaching its depth, if there is a depth, seems impossible. The film is full of symbols whose understanding, under the best conditions, is something like arranging the Rubik’s cube. Have you ever seen anybody trying to sort out Rubik’s cube in cinema? I don’t think so.

Director, Sabrina Farji (born 1964 in Buenos Aires) has tried in When She Jumped to review the life of Argentinean youth and has endeavored without success to make it an international film through symbolism. The story, which you can understand after reading the festival’s catalogue, is this: the 26-year-old Ramiro, who has failed to find a job as actor in commercials or showman, is constantly daydreaming. When a girl called Angela (who has two wings on her shoulders like angels) commits suicide by jumping off a roof, he is there. Ramiro finds a dairy and a CD in her handbag which contains Angela’s voice. Then he meets, Lila, the twin sister of Angela. Lila has passed herself as Angela to be given her job at a bar and keep memory of her sister alive. Despite the fact that you cannot be sure that what you see is real or just imagined by Ramiro and what has been the role of that snail and crystal ball and the mystic man, beautiful cinematography and score of the film (which is common in South American films) is somehow relieving.

Karger is the first feature film by Elke Hauck, and is reminiscent of modern German cinema in 1970s. It follows the same documentary-like format which characterizes Bertolt Brecht with the same bleak atmosphere. The life of Karger has been monotonous and predictable up to now, when he divorces his wife, whom he had loved since they were children, and after his father passes away, he reaches a critical point. Having never stepped a foot out of his birthplace, he decides to ignore problems. However, ephemeral solutions are short-lived. Karger feels an increasing need to change his life, but the more he tries, the less he succeeds. Elke Hauck (born 1967) has been inspired by true story of his old classmates who have divided their lives between the factory and their bleak houses. Difficult shooting in wintertime under grey skies and good performances by actors are major points of the film. Every time that a filmmaker appears in Germany, his/her first film takes the audience by surprise, but most of them vanish after a short time. Has anybody heard anything about Jain Dilthey, director of the surprising Des Verlangen, which won a Golden Leopard from Locarno Festival (2000)?

A man working at a genetic research laboratory is desperately looking for evidence to explain the origins of his small daughter’s brain disease. In parallel, we see a detective who is investigating an old man’s death who has been leading a mysterious life at the cellar of his house. The case, which seems simple at first, turns complicated and is finally linked to death of a four-year-old girl some 30 years ago. While trying to mend fences with his addict daughter, the detective finally succeeds in finding the murderer by risking his life and doing two illegal exhumations.

This is summary story of Jar City by Baltasar Kormakur from Iceland who became famous after appearing in Fridrik Thor Fridrikson’s films. He started as director in 2000 and two of his films have been already screened in various festivals and have won various prizes including a FIPRESCI award. The motif of Jar City, which is an adaptation of a detective story, is to renounce misuse of genetic information. The thriller has become popular mostly for the mysterious air which governs both stories. Shooting the film from the air has helped the tense story and vice versa. Internal scenes, however, are disappointing. Although known clichés have been followed for psychological characterization of actors, they are in general, believable. The most clichéd character is the detective’s daughter who is severely addicted to drugs. It is not clear why perseverant detectives in most films should have a problem inside their families? Perhaps, the answer is to deepen various aspects of their personality. However, repetition is the main thing which makes clichés banal. Apart from some flaws, there is a problem with the film which cannot be overlooked: the constant music which is played all the time and does not allow the ears and minds of the audience to rest.

War, violence, massacre, natural disasters, political and economic crises, and most recently, suicide attacks have created waves of immigrants who look for a safer place; of course, if they made it alive. Forced immigration has been a common theme after the World War II. Due to increasing human violence, this theme has been developed into a major genre during the past decade: “immigration genre”. Michael James Rowland’s (born 1964) first film, Lucky Miles, belongs to that genre.

The film opens with remarkable credits, which reveals the essence of immigration to the audience from the very beginning: photos and short footages of Vietnam War, bombardment of Phnom Penh in 1972, massacre of Cambodians, brutality, death and devastation followed by slow movement of camera over black and white maps of cities and countries and immigrants who seem to be swept over the map into the sea as well as a cut to a sailing boat in 1990 somewhere along the Australian coast.

An Indonesian fishing boat which is carrying illegal immigrants from Cambodia and Iraq reaches Australian coast and its passengers are planning to enter Australia illegally. Despite early promises, they find themselves faced with a big desert where the nearest city is 300 km away. They break up after a few hours and go in different directions in groups of three or four. We follow Youssif (an Iraqi engineer who has survived the Persian Gulf War) and Arun (a calm but determined Cambodian). Arun is looking for his Australian father. A third person joins them. He is a fisherman called Ramelan whose main talent is to draw all kinds of calamities toward him. After great suffering, Youssif leads them to their dream city; a no man’s land which seems to be a bit of the same black and white map which has not been worth the suffering. They reach the conclusion that nowhere is better than home.

Michael James Rowland has narrated this political theme of our time using an intelligent satire which stems from absurd situation of characters without ignoring humanitarian issues. Superb cinematography of the film which banks on visual attractions of horrible deserts of Australia, has given an end-of-the-world dimension to the journey undertaken by three characters (which can be generalized to all illegal immigrants). Since the director is also a writer and has thus far produced three books, the screenplay is professional, but he has not been thrifty in editing the film whose tempos seem to be slow and dragging in certain parts. The interesting point about the film is subtitles. Instead of being put in their traditional place (under the film), they are put over suitable parts of the picture. For example, in a dialogue between Youssif and Arun, sentences spoken by each of them are written near them. It is something like writings in comic strips.

Although more than one decade has passed since disintegration of the communist block and some of its former members have now acceded to the European Union, their films are still far from joviality and social problems of those years. As the new films show, transition from socialism to capitalism has been marked with its own problems. Krzysztof Krauze’s Savior’s Square from Poland is one of those films, which has a familiar theme.

Bartek is under heavy debt after selling his small house and before his new, bigger apartment is finished. Therefore, he asks his mother to let him and his family live with her for a while. Later, we come to know that the company building the apartment has gone broke and his money is gone. Since Bartek has to rely on his mother’s income, his problems are made worse. Different interests of main characters, who have to live together, lead to unpleasant conflicts. Beata, the wife of Bartek is very upset about having lost her privacy. While she has to take care of her two children, her conflicts with her mother-in-law escalate to the extent that Beata finally asks herself who is to blame for that situation; family or society? She then swallows some pills after giving them to her children, but they are saved in the last moment by passers-by.

Krzysztof Krauze (born in Warsaw in 1953) made his first feature film in 1988 and his films have been frequently appreciated in various festivals. His previous film, Muj Nikfor (2004) was especially successful and brought him the Crystal Globe of Karlovy Vary and Golden Hugo of Chicago film festival.

Simple Things by Alexey Popogrebsky depicts another facet of social relations in the current day Russia. Sergei Maslov is an anesthesiologist who is underpaid by the hospital where he works. His daughter and wife have left him and Sergei is concerned about their situation. He finds an extra job by taking care of an old actor. Once a famous actor, he usually scoffs at Sergei. The crisis reaches its peak when the actor tells him that he will bequeath a valuable painting to him.

Simple Things is the first independent film made by Alexey Popogrebsky (born 1972) who made his first film in cooperation with Boris Khlebnikov. His film is generally optimistic, but highlights the sorrowful side of everyday life, especially the ability of common people to adapt to unexpected situations.

Black comedy is so prominent in the works of some East European directors that similar movies can be seldom found elsewhere. Even now (after two decades of political developments in those countries) their caricatures and designs are still the most surprising and impressive artistic works. All you have to do is to look at the works of the Czech caricaturist, Miroslav Bartak, on the Internet to be both surprised and know what kind of satire I am talking about. When you see them you would know why this satire cannot be explained.

Empties is the admirable work of Jan Sverak from the Czech Republic, which has its roots in the said inexplicable satire and greatly impresses the audience. Unlike Savior’s Square and Simple Things, the film is not about people who have fallen victim to political and social systems, but goes beyond that to cast a painstaking psychological look at simple relations among lay people and their frail moralities. Empties is a thoughtful comedy about an old man who faces new challenges after retirement.

Josef is retired after working for many years as a teacher. He is an easygoing person who is dissatisfied with silent environment of his home, especially after his stay at home gives rise to unusual tensions with his wife, Eliska. Josef, who wants to prove that he is still young and energetic, looks for a new job. After comic failures as a mobile book vendor and postman, he reaches the conclusion that such works need a strong body and he is just a little old for that! Therefore, he finds a part-time job as a clerk receiving empty drink bottles at a supermarket. He creates a new and interesting world in his new workplace and is in control of grotesque-like events. Later adventures, especially his affair with a widow, undermine his marital life after 40 years. Their marriage is turning 40 and it is a good opportunity for Josef to appease his wife, who is rightfully indignant. However, new adventures lie ahead of him.

Jan Sverak (born 1965) is among the most successful contemporary Czech directors. He won Oscar of the best foreign film for his Kolya in 1996 and gained international fame. He is the son of Zdenek Sverak, the popular Czech actor and screenwriter who has shown excellent performance in Empties and has also helped with its remarkable screenplay.

David and Tristan Ulloa (two Spanish brothers) came with Pudor, which was based on a novel by Santiago Roncaglielo Alfaguare and was screened in the competition section. The film is about complexities of family relations; relations which never meet like parallel lines. In a Spanish family, everybody has their own secrets and show them off in front of the others. Julia is grappling with a crisis that characterizes middle age and is having a hard time. Her mother has just died and she is not very happy with Juan. Sergio, the youngest family member who has been adopted, lives in his childish world. His adolescent sister, Marisa, cannot tolerate him. Marisa tries to find the reason for her problems. Grandfather Salvador is dissatisfied that he is living with his daughter like a dead weight. Is there anything to improve the situation? The sudden death of grandfather improves the situation and helps family members to pay attention to common grounds.

Pudor is a medium ranking film from Spain whose most prominent feature is showing challenges with which Spanish families are faced in their struggle to choose between modernity and tradition.

Out of 14 films that took part in the competition section, I missed The Good Night (Jake Paltrow) from the United States and Dolina (Zoltan Kamondi) from Hungary. I don’t know whether I have lost something important. Two other films of that section, that is, Pruning the Grapevine and Saturno Contro, were like beautiful but empty shellfishes. When you put them to your ear you cannot even hear the sound of a river, let alone the seas.

The motif of Pruning the Grapevine, made by Min Boung-hun (born 1969) in South Korea, is promotion of Christianity in a Buddhist land. The theme is of no objection because every director is free to choose whatever subject they like. The problem was the propaganda which accompanied the film. It would have made no difference if the director had focused on Islam or Judaism instead of Christianity because it is like advertisements about putting on, choosing or drinking “only” a single commodity; as if the audience does not understand anything.

Soo-hyeon is studying at a catholic school but does not know whether to become a priest or to go for his love, a girl called Sue. Although the girl has left him quite recently, he still loves her. He uses an opportunity to meet his ailing mother and looks for Sue. But Sue rejects him and Soo-hyeon decides to remain at the catholic school. There he makes the acquaintance of a nun called Helena, who looks like Sue and reanimates Soo-hyeon’s feelings. He is in doubt once more. Finally, he chooses for salvation and ends up a faithful priest.

The film is perfect from technical viewpoint. The cold tone chosen for scenes that have been shot in rural areas of Korea and inside the monastery are unbelievably in coordination with simple and informed directing of the film. The protagonist is the rising Korean star, Seo Jang-won, whose performance is steady and helped by score music which has signs of anxiety and doubt. This is the third film by Min Boung-hun after Flight of the Bee and Let’s Cry, which has been appreciated in various festivals. Boung-hun has noted that his films are parts of a trilogy about the phenomenon of panic.

Sometimes is becomes difficult to understand films made by filmmakers who have double nationality. Although their thoughts, characters, worldviews and languages (as the means of communication) have developed in their homeland, they have to accept conditions imposed on them by another country and language when making a film. The result is frequently a film which does not conform to standards of either country; an uneven mixture of two cultures, histories and identities. The problem becomes more complicated when one country is in the east and the other one in the west.

Born in Istanbul in 1959, Ferzan Ozpetek left for Italy to study history of arts and cinema when he was 20. After working as assistant to some Italian directors like Ricky Tognazzi and Massimo Troisi, he made his first film in 1997, which caught the attention of critics at Cannes Festival. He made Facing Window in 2003, which earned him a director’s prize from Karlovy Vary. I cannot judge his unseen films. My explanation was about his latest film, Saturno Contro, which is copycat of Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain. The latter depicted a gay relationship between two cowboys (Ennis and Jack) and this film is about a similar relationship between an intellectual called Lorenzo and a thriving writer, Davide. Here, one of the two personalities dies and the other one goes down with mental breakdown. Then they try to change other people’s attitudes and get along with destiny.

Weakness of the film in showing internal desires of characters, unbelievable sympathy for those superficial and intangible characters, as well as resorting to sensationalism indicate that the director had not fully believed in what he has been making a film about. Another incompatibility is about the score. It is a Turkish rhythm with mystical undertones, which sometimes tries to take viewers from Italy to tomb of Mowlana in Konya and among whirling dervishes!

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I love the Italian cinema and films like Saturno Contro cannot dissuade me. The film will be appreciated by its fans. Most Italian films are imbued with love for life which is special to this cinema and is seldom seen elsewhere.

I watched five more Italian films: three films in “Focus on New Italian Directors” section and two films in “Open Eyes” and “Horizons” sections. The first film I watched was One Hundred Nails by Ermanno Olmi who has announced that this would be his last feature film before starting to make documentaries. Ermanno Olmi, born in Bergamo in 1931, is among acclaimed Italian directors and has many good films on his track records like his The Tree with the Golden Clogs (1978), which earned a Palme d’Or from Cannes.

The last feature film by Olmi cannot be compared to his past works. Despite remarkable frames and believable characterization, the film is not thought-provoking. We see that the maestro has been impatient when making the film and wish he would regain his past zeal. The film is about a young, but creditable filmmaker who rises against all that he has learnt and faithfully taught for so many years. He nails 100 valuable manuscripts to the grounds at the library of University of Bologna and disappears. He finds a shabby hut outside the city and starts a primitive life away from everybody. He finally becomes so intimate with locals that, at the end, he decides to help them like the Christ resurrected.

In Memory of Myself by Saverio Costanzo (born in 1975) is so similar, both in its philosophical theme and wandering personality, to Ermanno Olmi’s film that it can be considered as the first episode of One Hundred Nails.

The world, with its limited resources can be an attractive place and yet, it can give rise to wandering and anxiety. This is the main thing that has preoccupied young Andrea who muses about his future until he finds out about it (like the young philosopher in One Hundred Nails). Out of curiosity and weariness, he enrolls at a big monastery where young men are trained for priesthood. The curriculum is difficult and young men should undergo difficult and austere spiritual exercises which include concentration and reflection about oneself by living in silence for weeks on end. Andrea, who cannot cope with that situation, finally escapes in a moonlit night.

The film, which is based on a novel by Furio Monicelli, is the second film of Costanzo after Private, which earned him a Locarno Golden Leopard in 2004. Unlike One Hundred Nails, In Memory of Myself is full of details and cinematography is superb, especially when shooting labyrinthine passages of the monastery that sometimes take the place of the leading character and play a great role in conveying the concepts of the film.

What the Hell Am I Doing Here! and Turtles on Their Backs showed another facet of the Italian cinema. What the Hell Am I Doing Here! is made by Francesco Amato (born 1978) and focuses on a familiar subject which is repeated in many places and times and is very popular. It is about adolescents who leave home, face many problems, go through spiritual and physical development, and finally return home (or achieve their goals) after gaining a lot of experiences, some of which may be horrible. Such films have been frequently made in various countries and will continue to be made like eternal stories.

The story has been made into a film using light satire and a tinge of summer, sea and holidays. The main feature of What the Hell Am I Doing Here!, is that it amounts to revisiting the jovial and lively Italian society which radiates warmth and exhilarates the audience.

Turtles on Their Backs is the first feature film of Stefano Pasetto (born 1970), which in addition to sharing the lively atmosphere of the previous film, its story is not about outright and classic love. The film is like sorting out a puzzle, which needs guessing and is difficult, but enjoyable. The story is told through frequent flashbacks. Although this storytelling technique has become rife in cinema, Stefano Pasetto has used it in a totally new way. Unconventional storytelling as well as suspension and problem solving in addition to apparently inorderly sequences make the audience vacillate between doubt and certainty up to the very last scene. In conclusion, the viewer would find out that how his/her unconscious mind has been a partner to creation of the film without feeling deceived. The feeling that they are a partner to an artistic work will be much more pleasant to them than common, and sometimes affected, “identification” with people in a movie. The story explains this new and different model to some extent:

The man is in prison and whenever his wife goes to see him they play a game of “scrabble”. Every game is a trip to past and future. They gradually find missing parts of their lives and put them together; both the times they have spent alone and those times they spent together. Both of them behave like aliens who do not like to give in to ordinary rules of life. The woman has left medical school while the man has been temporarily employed here and there and sometimes has worked as an experimental photographer. Both of them find communication with the outside world difficult. Despite their passion for each other, they have never had easy relations and have always been looking for an excuse to cut relations with other people. In fact, they have found each other quite accidentally and destiny has parted them after a short period of happiness.

It is not only Turtles on Their Backs whose innovative narrative method keeps up our interest in the Italian cinema. A film like The Golden Door, which s one of the best products of the Italian cinema in the past decade and has won a Silver Lion from Venice Film Festival (2006) also increases our enthusiasm for the Italian cinema. I don’t recommend that you should forget about all films that you have seen about immigration to the United States, but The Golden Door is unique and will bring to life memories of good films of the past. Valuable screenplay, impeccable characterization, brilliant and believable performances by actors and skillful cinematography can all be seen in some past films, but what differentiates The Golden Door is its documentary and profound approach along with an unheard interpretation of the story. Common motif of most immigration films is that immigrants have lost their identity. However, tragic depiction of spoiled identity of Salvatore and his family in this film is unparalleled and very impressive.

The film starts in the 20^th century Sicily. Salvatore is a village man who is a widower, but still young. He hears strange stories about happy life in the United States and believes them. He then decides to sell his property and take his children and old mother to land of dreams. Before embarking the ship, which is taking in hundreds of other immigrants like herds of sheep, Salvatore comes to know a young woman called Lucy who claims to be a British noblewoman. In later scenes, which depict their difficult journey to the United States, Salvatore defends her against a couple of feudal lords and falls in love with her. The third part of the film is when they reach Ellis Island, which is similar to foggy scenes of Fellini’s And the Ship Sail on. After arriving on land, the immigrants have to go through painful tests and examinations some of which are inhuman, to make sure that they are qualified to go through the golden door.

But what qualification? The Salvatore family and many other immigrants have been stripped of their human values in the course of a trip which is reminder of the corridor mentioned in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Behind the golden door and before entering the new world, they suffer the worst form of humiliation with shattered personalities whose examples have seldom been seen in cinema. They qualify to enter the modern times only when all values, beliefs and lifestyle of the old world has been buried. It is moving from a civilized primitiveness to a primitive civilization.

*

Are you downbeat with this sad story? What can be done? It is a nasty world in which we are living, so what else can we expect? Anyway, try to be patient because I’m almost finished with this report. I also watched four or five important films in other sections whose details may interest you though it may not diminish your sorrow.

Private Fears in Public Places, the last film of Alain Resnais (born 1922), is one of them. You know him. He is one of the most acclaimed French filmmakers in the second half of the 20^th century whose films have had great impact on narration in cinema. His track records indicate his commitment to social and political issues and his indefatigability in penetrating deep inside human hearts. His recent films are a combination of intelligence and understanding; a rich satire added to some strangeness.

The story of Private Fears in Public Places goes on in Paris. Six urbane and good-looking characters are hiding their concerns behind artificial smiles at beautiful and ornate places. Dan and Nicole are planning to find a condo in downtown but it seems this would only make their shaky relationship worse. Gaelle is a romantic personality seeking love, but comes across Dan. Thierry, the brother of Gaelle, is living with a young woman and is afraid that the woman may leave him. He is shocked by finding out about a dirty secret which has been hidden by his colleague, Charlotte. However, he shows many houses to Dan and Nicole as a real estate agent. These strangers come across each other in wintery days quite by accident. The story is told vividly and with some Bunuelesque strangeness. However, the main sense which lingers is one of depression which underlies the whole story.

Flight of the Red Balloon, which was to be a tribute to Albert Lamorisse and his brilliant The Red Balloon neither lived up to Hou Hsiao Hsien credit, nor was a proper tribute to Lamorisse. The main problem with the film is lack of strong connections among characters which bewilders the audience. There are four main characters in the film: Simon is a seven-year-old boy who is followed by a mysterious red balloon all along the way from school to home; his mother, Suzanne, loves puppet shows and is preparing a new show; and a Chinese student called Song Fang who is studying cinema in Paris and helps Simon with housework. The Red Balloon, Simon, Suzanne, and Song Fang are separate stories and this has stripped the whole work of needed coherence.

This film was the first of a collection which has been presented by D’Orsay Museum of Paris on the 20^th occasion of its establishment. Hou Hsiao Hsien says that after he received the order from museum, he met various people, has read books about Paris and has found out about Albert Lamorisse’s film (how belatedly!). He has had the opportunity to combine his discoveries about Paris with the unique film of Lamorisse and his own love for puppet show; but he has not been very successful. Hou Hsiao Hsien, who has been born in China in 1947, is one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of Southeast Asia. During 1980s, he gained international acclaim for making A City of Sadness and A Time to Live, A Time to Die. His interest in puppet show is evident in In the Hands of a Puppet Maser. In his films, he mostly reflects on the history of Taiwan in the 20^th century through autobiographies and emotional themes; the country where he immigrated along with his family when he was only one year old.

Like his other films, in Born Equal, Dominic Savage (born 1962) is critical of contemporary Britain and has focused on social inequalities. At first, he wanted to make a film about the homeless, but the subject was further extended and problems of the homeless were discussed on the side of other problems.

The story goes on at a shelter where the homeless and other people banished from the society are living. Michelle is pregnant and has taken refuge at the shelter along with her daughter to avoid her violent husband. Robert has been just released from prison. Yemi, who is a journalist, has fled from Nigeria to save himself as well as his wife and child. Mark is a 40-year-old wealthy man who feels guilty when he sees other people who are not as fortunate as him. Therefore, he decides to start working on the streets.

Born Equal is a bitter movie which moves the audience. Dominic Savage had appeared in Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon as a child. He was a pioneer documentarian for years before making his first feature film in 2005.

Tuya’s Marriage was another remarkable film, which has already won a Golden Bear from Berlin Film Festival in 2007. It is about a love affair between two shepherds. The leading actress is a Mogul woman called Tuya who takes care of her two children and paralyzed father. She also grazes sheep, which are their sole source of income. One day, a bitter cold kills the sheep and Tuya wonders how she should support the family. Although she is in love with a poor man, she is forced into marrying a rich old man. When asked about why he had chosen that story, director Wang Quan’an (born 1965) told reporters that Moguls are the biggest ethnic group in Inner Mongolia, which accounts for 12 percent of the area of China. “The place where my mother was born is not far from the location. Therefore, I have always loved Moguls. I came to know their lifestyle and music when the industrial development was turning their pastures into desert and local officials drove them out of their homes. I decided to make a film to record the way they live before they are uprooted.” Tuya’s Marriage is the third feature by Wang Quan’an.

The Banishment by Andrey Zvyagintsev (born 1964) from Russia is the last film which I will discuss here. Enthusiasts were looking forward to seeing it. It was made by a director whose first feature, The Return, was widely acclaimed and earned him a prize from Venice Film Festival in 2003. The film is based on a short novel by William Saroyan called The Laughing Matter (1953). The film is about a family in crisis and takes us to an unknown time and place (it has been shot in Moldavia, Belgium and France). The main characters are Konstantin Lavronenko and the Scottish movies star, Maria Bonnevie.

Alex takes his wife and two small children out of the city to spend a few days at the house where he had been born. The house is located in a remote place outside the city. In the meanwhile, his wife Vera tells him that she is pregnant, but not from him. Alex, who is greatly upset, insists that she should abort the child. He sends his children to a friend and, helped by his brother, Mark, who works with mafia, arranges the abortion. But there are tragic consequences to this adventure.

The Banishment is not as powerful as The Return, but is impressive and memorable. If you have not seen The Return, The Banishment would look a good film to you. Unlike The Return whose time frame (105 minutes) played an important role in its aesthetics, The Banishment (150 minutes) is somehow longer and this has reduced psychological impact of the film. The main feature of the film is its striking cinematography by Mikhail Krichman (who was also director of photography of The Return). Every picture reminds one of fascinating paintings of the great Russian painter, Vasili Grigorievich Perov (1834-1882).

*

That’s all. Forget what you have heard. Now, we can stand up, leave the elegant theater, go down its marble steps, cross the old bridge over the singing river and, on the other side, just 50 meters from the theater go up the steep forest road which is flanked by fragrant flowers and wet leaves. After passing by spruces, willows and poplars, we would reach the peak of a hill wherefrom you can have a bird’s-eye view of all houses, all cities and the entire world. You can see and listen to all the people in the world and be fascinated by their tales; tales of suffering and ecstasy.

Cinema Thermometer
 by Massoud Mehrabi 
  
   Iran has gone through many ups and downs during the past 25 years. Those developments have led to basic changes in political, economic, social and cultural structures of the country. Eight years of war with Iraq, tensions related to reconstruction period after the war, election of a reformist government and subsequent conflicts between it and fundamentalist groups, establishment of a radical government, the issue of nuclear energy and so on portray a picture which is indicative of more tumult ahead. Despite such historical developments, International Fajr Film Festival has moved steadily ahead like a boat sailing on choppy seas and this year, it will berth for the 25th time.
   About 25 years ago, when the first instance of the festival was held in the heat of war with only five Iranian films taking part and an unknown jury that did not consider any of those films to be worthy of a prize, it was hard to believe that the festival will reach its 25th anniversary. Some festivals had been held before and none of them had lasted for more than two or three years. International Fajr Film Festival evolved year after year in a gradual manner and grew stronger in parallel to developments of the Iranian cinema. Since the first year, holding the festival at an international level greatly tempted its organizers and policymakers, especially in view of the fact that before victory of the Islamic Revolution, Tehran International Film Festival had been held for six consecutive years as a Class A festival. Therefore, starting at the fourth festival, three sections were added to it in which foreign films were screened, thus giving “international” credit to the event. One of those sections was “children and young adults cinema,” which evolved into an independent festival three years later (this was also due to the fact that Tehran International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults was one of the most creditable and important global festivals in the field). During the past 25 years, the Iranian cinema has been constantly growing despite all difficulties with International Fajr Film Festival as its full-length mirror. For many years, most filmmakers regardless of their attitude toward cinema policies and political officials have been eager for their films to be screened at International Fajr Film Festival because the attention of all filmmakers and serious moviegoers is riveted on this major event of the Iranian cinema.
   During all those years, International Fajr Film Festival has been a reflection of policies adopted by the country’s cinema officials. During early years, Iranian cinema authorities were very sensitive about making sure that domestic productions completely comply with their policies and goals, though that sensitivity has relatively faded during recent years. Although, supervision over production of a film usually started with studying the screenplay and approving it and continued until the very end of filmmaking process, if the film had not remained inside the predetermined framework, it was rated C or D. That rating caused the film to be publicly screened only at a limited number of low-quality and inferior theaters and the filmmaker would have received less financial assistance and equipment (which are usually supplied by the government) for his next productions. Rating films started from A, which was given to those films that completely complied with predefined cinema policies. A-rated films and some B-rated film, which were also called asterisked B (B*), were screened at competition section of International Fajr Film Festival while films rated B without asterisk, C, and sometimes D, were screened out of competition and even in accessory and less important sections. The jury of the competition section that was determined by cinema (and sometimes political) officials, awarded the best prizes to films that they liked and, thus, sent signals to other films to show them the correct direction in which they should move.
   What said before may cause one to think that the Iranian filmmakers have not been independent and all decisions were actually made by policymakers and cinema officials; but this is not the whole truth. It is true that most films that were rated C or D were insignificant movies that were merely made for commercial purposes and to earn more money at any cost. From this viewpoint, the measures taken by cinema authorities was, in general, to the benefit of the Iranian cinema and the “new Iranian cinema” which had grown a little before the Islamic Revolution, turned into a strong tree and bore fruit after the revolution as a result of the said policy. Most cinema authorities, like well-wishing filmmakers, were concerned about the national cinema, which has its roots deep in the Iranian culture and its artistic aspects prevail over its commercial and populist aspects. The cinema authorities clearly announced that the main goal of their policies was to “support, guide, and supervise” cinema activities while filmmakers tried according to their artistic capabilities and their understanding of cinema, to produce films that would make them dignified in the eyes of critics, viewers, and the history of the Iranian cinema. Of course, there were few filmmakers and films that did not receive the praise that they deserved.
   For many years, International Fajr Film Festival has attracted not only ordinary and transient viewers, but also special and professional ones. Film buffs give up their daily chores during 10 days that the festival is going on and try to watch three or four films every day as a selection of films that will be screened at the Iranian theaters during the forthcoming year and also to watch a number of major foreign films before their public screening. Those viewers feel less need to go to theaters during the year and quench their thirst for cinema by watching the latest films of the world on DVDs that can be bought at very high quality and everywhere in the big cities of Iran for one euro. During many years of the festival, especially during the first and second decades, this group of viewers crowded around theaters that screened festival’s films so intensely that the window panes were broken. They stood in long lines for many hours to watch films that were made by such filmmakers as Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Abbas Kiarostami, Massoud Kimiaei, Bahram Baizai, Dariush Mehrjui… and sometimes forced festival organizers to consider extra showtimes at 02:00 or 03:00 hours in the morning! They thought that films made by the said directors will be censored on public screening or will be totally banned and sometimes, their worst fears came true.
   International Fajr Film Festival is thermometer of the Iranian cinema. Higher temperatures shown by this thermometer do not necessarily indicate illness, but are the sign of more warmth, vivacity, liveliness and prosperity of the Iranian cinema. The festival is still a meeting place for cinema policymakers, filmmakers, and viewers who try to do their part in increasing the temperature.

The Quiet Duel
Massoud Mehrabi

With the emergence of television and expansion of television networks in the world, filmmaking companies and producers were suddenly faced with a powerful rival. They tried to oppose that adversary through technical innovations, including production of 70-mm films, 3-D effects, stereophonic sound, use of color, which was not available to television at that time, as well as producing spectacular movies with populous scenes and magnificent decors that were only impressive on the silver screen. The confrontation even found its way into cinema press and publications. For example, Arthur Knight dedicated one chapter of his book, History of Cinema, to this issue.
Though that confrontation has now greatly ebbed in the world with both cinema and television using their own techniques to enthrall viewers, the fight is still raging in Iran.
The rivalry began when the first television network was launched in Iran on October 3, 1958. As a first step, the network attracted a group of efficient technical crew of the cinema by offering them higher salaries. Since they only made up a small part of the mainstream Iranian cinema, the measure did not elicit a negative reaction from film producers. However, when several years later, “National Television of Iran” started to work with its vast facilities and great financial resources, the fight became serious. A large number of filmmakers joined television because it enjoyed more powerful financial backing. As a result, television became one of the main filmmaking centers in the state-run sector. More than 1,000 feature and short films and series were made before the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Subjects chosen by or ordered to television filmmakers were not related to major problems and realities of the Iranian society. On the whole, entertainment and popular themes were the main motif of those films. Cinema producers did not like this because they made similar films and viewers had to pay to watch them.
In view of financial facilities of the national television and unwillingness of the private sector to invest in making art films, more intellectual Iranian filmmakers were attracted to the television. Iranian television established Tel-Film Company to make feature films such as The Spring (Arbi Avanessian), Bita (Hazhir Dariush), Still Life and In Exile (Sohrab Shahid-Saless), Zanboorak (Farrokh Ghaffari), as well as The Moguls and OK Mister (Parviz Kimiavi), which were among valuable films produced by the Iranian television between 1971 and 1979 and contributed to the New Wave in the Iranian cinema.
A financial crisis gradually engulfed the Iranian cinema as of 1972 and reached its peak in 1978. Up to that year, not only Iranian film producers were not willing for their films to be aired on television, but also vehemently protested to television broadcast of a number of popular films during New Year holidays of 1976. However, a year later, box office revenues of Iranian films dipped so low that the same producers, one after the other, allowed television to broadcast their films for a single viewing. They aimed at making up for a small part of their losses and encouraging Iranian people to watch Iranian films, but on the opposite, the number of moviegoers plunged more than before!
After the revolution, the rivalry between television and cinema, willingly or unwillingly, stopped for several years because both of them had suffered serious blows and while licking their own sores, did not have time to fight each other. The revolution had deprived both of them of part of their manpower. The state-run management was commanding both and since similar ideas were running them, there was no ground for serious competition between the two entities. A new round of confrontation started again after reformists led by the former president, Mohammad Khatami, took charge of the government as well as management of the Iranian cinema. At the same time, state television was governed by fundamentalists. All of a sudden, television refrained from airing film trailers and was also too selective when choosing Iranian films. Before that, cinema producers tried to ensure return of part of their capital through selling copyrights of their films to television. Now, the state-run television did not buy many of their films and proposed very low prices for those films that were selected. As the fight raged on, television increased production of feature films; so that, five years ago and in order to put more pressure on cinema managers, television authorities called for screening of ten feature films produced by television in competition and non-competition sections of Fajr Film Festival.
After appointment of Ezzatollah Zarghami as chairman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the situation calmed down relatively. Several years earlier, he was in charge of the Iranian cinema and due to his familiarity with cinema and filmmakers, he changed television policies. He opted for friendship and cooperation without having any intention to withdraw in the longstanding fight between cinema and television for attracting audiences. Although trailers of the Iranian films are now being aired on the national television and it pays a good price on spiritual movies that are closer to the Islamic values, the number of feature films broadcasted by the television is so high that clearly reduces box office revenues. For example, Iranian filmmakers have always reckoned on sales of their films during Iranian New Year holidays while the state television broadcasted more than 70 feature films in two weeks (all television channels in Iran can be received without subscription). Those films included recent productions such as La Marche des l’Empereurs, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Cold Mountain…. However, this was not the end of it. Television has recently signed expensive contracts with a group of the best Iranian directors such as Majid Majidi, Dariush Mehrjui, Ebrahim Hatami-kia, Rasoul Sadr-Ameli, Massoud Ja’fari Jozani, and Kamal Tabrizi, among others, to make television series. In those series, superstars of the Iranian cinema are sometimes paid up to tenfold what they earn in cinema to play the roles.
So, despite friendship, the quiet duel is still going on.

F for Festival
by Massou Mehrabi

Film festivals have a rather long history in Iran which goes back to some 55 years ago. The first film festival held in Iran ever, was organized by the National Film Center of Iran in August 1950. It featured some fine British films directed by great filmmakers such as Carol Reed and John Grierson. At that time, Iran had started to produce films once again after a 12-year-long halt. The second period of film production had started in Iran as early as 1948. However, the films were still not qualitatively fit to be screened at any festival. In 1958, the first Tehran Film Festival screened, among other works, a few Iranian films only to show a national interest in films. It was in the early 1960s that a film festival was launched to become Iran's oldest film festival so far. This festival is organized by the Iranian Ministery of Education which has decided to give it a new name once in every few years. The names have changed from Educational Films Festival to Roshd Film Festival. Except two one-off film festivals, namely Retrospective du Cinema Francais which was held in collaboration with the Iran-France Cultural Society and the National Film Archive of Iran in 1962, and A Festival of Experimental Film, from the United States which was held in 1967 by the Iran-America Cultural Society, two more durable film festivals gave rise to the idea of the “Tehran International Film Festival”. These were the International Festival of Films for Children and Young Adults which was held for 13 years before the 1979 Islamic Revolution as one of the best-known film festivals of Iran, and Sepas film Festival which started in 1970 as the Iran equivalent of the Oscar. The latter was a review of the films made in the past year and presented awards for different fields.
It was after these film events that film industry officials came up with the idea of the Tehran International Film Festival and tried to hold it as an extensive event. The person who had launched the International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults and was now well experienced managed to convince the officials of the Ministry of Arts and Culture to organize a "class A" festival accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Association (FIAPF). Apart from convincing the Iranian officials, he had a hard time getting the consent of FIAPF about launching an international film festival in Iran. In those years, FIAPF was about to demote some old and well-established film festivals such as Locarno. So, it did not welcome the idea of another class A event. Iran's representative argued that Asia was a densely populated continent without any international film festival and that Iran could be the best possible venue for such an event. After convincing FIAPF that Iran was capable enough, the first Tehran International Film Festival opened in April 1973. Althouh the festival never reached the level of Cannes and Venice, however, it managed to become well known as a class A festival. It was a highly reputable festival and many well-known filmmakers took part in it with their films. Great filmmakers such as Francesco Rosi, Grigori Kozintsev, Alain Tanner, Pietro Germi, Nikita Mikhalkov, Krzysztof Zanussi, Martin Ritt won the festival's awards.
The Islamic Revolution put an end to that film festival but its image and idea never left the film industry's officials in the new government. One of the most relevant and frequently asked questions facing them was "How could we revive the Tehran Film Festival with the same international standards within the framework of the values of the Islamic Revolution?" Finally, they launched the Fajr International Film Festival in the first year of the 1980s. In the very first year, Milad Film Festival managed to keep the idea of a film festival up-and-coming. However, fultile moves like that, which like Sepas festival originated from the mainstream Iranian cinema led to discouraging outcomes. In 1982, while the image of the Iranian cinema was not clearly defined, the Fajr Film Festival provided a venue for determining and validating the rules. The first birthday for the new Iranian cinema was held well before its birth so that the path of its entry to a new world could be paved beforehand. On the other hand, the festival reminded that Iranian cinema was surviving. The Iranian cinema wanted to be alive and live on. There was an elaborate attempt to hold the Fajr Film Festival as magnificent and spectacular as possible from its very onset. It had a background as powerful as that of the Tehran International Film Festival and wanted to remain on the same track. But the new conditions and regulations rid the Fajr Festival of the qualifications for a class A festival. Another lingering question for the officials was whether the festival could take on part of the responsibility of policy-making and setting examples. 
This year, the 24th Fajr Film Festival is being held. With a logical attitude towards the world of the film industry-art, the festival could well celebrate its 34th birthday. Although names carry the signs and meaning of their time, do not need to highlight the content associated with them.
Although the Fajr Film Festival has not yet found the place it deserves among the class A film festivals, yet, it has been successful in making policies and setting examples for the future of Iranian cinema. One could always challenge the merit of these policies and examples though.