Country:Iran

Director:Abbas Kiarostami

Program:Parralel Pathways

Summary:

Abbas Kiarostami took the real people involved in a headline incident and restaged the circumstances with them up to the point where the film collides with actual documentary reality. This startling trope of intermingled fiction and documentary elements is a groundbreaking provocation that initiated the meta-reality cinema that increasingly came into vogue in Iran. Pretending to be famous director Mohsen Makhmalbaf making his next movie, Ali Sabzian enters a well-to-do family in Teheran with the understanding that he will make a film with them.

Country:Iran

Director:Ramtin Lavafipour

Program:Contemporary World Cinema

Summary:

This curious murder mystery revolves around an old woman who wanders about in an obscure, deserted village. She is not truly alone, but rather surrounded by the souls of all people dear to her. She can see them clearly. They talk to each other in the shade; sometimes they bring her food. The villagers who moved away years ago all have their own versions of the woman’s story. Is she disturbed, or brave and loyal? She is supposedly waiting for the return of her son. Her tale remains just as impenetrable as the images of the village where the last candles have long burned down.