Ron Holloway, Berlin, 30 November 2005
A decade ago, while Dorothea Moritz was serving as a member of the Selection Committee for the Children’s Film Festival at the Berlinale, she was invited to attend the Esfahan International Children’s Film Festival in southern Iran. I went along as her companion – an unforgettable experience, particularly if you like medieval history and Oriental architecture. Back in the 17th century, when Esfahan was the Persian capital, it was reckoned one of the world’s most beautiful cities. The immense Royal Square in the center of the city hints of this splendor. It is enough to take your breath away. I fell in love with ancient Persia.
So, this year, when I was invited by Rahmatollah Mehrabi, the progressive Iranian Minister of Education, to participate in one of the four juries at the 35th Roshd International Film Festival (8-17 November 2005), I jumped at the chance. A festival of research and educational films, Roshd (read “upbringing” in Farsi) changes host cities annually. The 35th Roshd International Film Festival, coupled with the 3rd Student Filmmakers Festival, was hosted in the pilgrimage city of Mashhad, the site of a Shiite Muslim shrine honoring Imam Reza (martyred in 818 AD) near the border to Turkmenistan. But a short distance away lies the ancient capital of Nishabur, famous for the tombs of two great medieval Persian poets: Omar Khayyam and Farid Al-din Attar.
Why was I invited? Probably because the editors at Moving Pictures had regularly called upon me to write about Iranian entries at Cannes. Gradually I became an admiring disciple of the cinema of Abbas Kiarostami (The Taste of Cherries, Golden Palm, Cannes 1997), Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Kandahar, 2001), Jafar Panahi (The Circle, 2000), Rakhshan Bani-Etemad (Under the City’s Skin, 2000), Samira Makhmalbaf (At Five in the Afternoon, 2003), Bahman Ghobadi (Turtles Can Fly, 2004), and Hassan Yektapanah (Story Undone. 2004), among a half-dozen others. Never mind that some of these auteur directors are presently working abroad.
Of course, visas can be slow in coming. In my case, it took a month and a couple phone calls to Tehran for officials in the Iranian Embassy in Berlin to make up their minds. After all, I was the only American invited to attend the festival. So why go in the first place? The best reason of all: my documentary jury at Roshd was stacked with some prominent Iranian film scholars, all of whom had studied and worked abroad. Vahid Vahed, our jury president, currently produces and directs documentaries from his base as artistic director of the Cinewest festival in Sydney, Australia. Esmail Mir Fakhrai, a noted lecturer, had obtained his B.A. in Radio-Television at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, not far from where my father was born and raised. Last, but not least, there was Kamran Shirdel, founder-director of the Kish International Documentary Film Festival (KIDFF) in the Persian Gulf.
Kamran Shirdel (born 1939) had emigrated abroad to study architecture and cinema in Rome, then returned to Iran in the mid-1960s to become a severe critic of the Shah in a string of timely documentaries of social and political relevance. Among his previously banned films were Women’s Prison (1965) on inhumane prison conditions, Tehran Is the Capital of Iran (1966/80) on the urban poor, Women’s District (1966/80) on prostitution, and The Night It Rained (1967/79) on oppression in a corrupt society. When his documentaries were smuggled out of the country, to be screened at the 1999 Leipzig DOKfestival, the Kamran Shirdel retrospective tribute organized by Swiss critic Robert Richter was nothing short of a sensation. While attending the Roshd festival in Mashhad, Kamran Shirdel was informed that his KIDFF bureau had been taken over by conservative authorities in the new regime. Now approaching its seventh year, KIDFF was considered a festival oasis in Iran. “Both films and submission forms were confiscated,” he confirmed at an evening forum.
Another bone of contention these days is the fate of women filmmakers in Iran. As it turned out, however, some outstanding films were programmed at Roshd. Rakshan Bani-Etemad’s Gilameh, a fiction feature, portrays the suffering of a mother during the recent Iran-Iraq war. This is the first film to depict in some detail the bombings of Tehran that resulted in heavy civilian losses. Sudabe Mojaveri’s Inana, a treatise on ancient Sumerian inscriptions, recounts the role of the goddess of life and fertility in three poetic chapters with social and aesthetic reference to the present. Whether or not this enlightened 30-minute documentary can be seen by the home public outside of a festival event is an open question. And Laleh Barzegar’s End of Winter, a fiction short, blends visual poetics with light musical interludes to depict the trials of a talented young girl who has been refused entrance into a music conservatory.
The Roshd festival is composed for four sections – documentary, fiction, animation, student films – each with its own international jury. Altogether 198 competition films were programmed in a half-dozen venues scattered across the city: 58 documentaries, 55 fiction films, 42 animation films, and 43 student films – with cross-references to be noted in each section. Since Roshd is primarily an educational film festival, a Panorama of Austrian Documentaries from the ORF-Universum series was also programmed. And Serbian documentarist Miroslav Petrovic was honored with a retrospective tribute (see list of awards below). Throughout the entire Roshd festival the main topic of conversation among both foreign guests and Iranian filmmakers was the recent proposal of the Islamic government to oversee religious education from the early school years. Should this happen, say some, the restrictions might possibly affect the thematic content of the more progressive Iranian filmmakers, enough perhaps to spark another emigration of talent abroad.
AWARDS
I. DOCUMENTARY / SCIENTIFIC / EDUCATIONAL
A. Documentary
Gold Award
Jestem (I Am With You) (Poland), dir Maciej Adamek
For its humanistic portrayal of family tragedies that provoke the audience without notice of the camera or the director’s bias point-of-view.
Silver Award
Innana (Iran), dir Sudabeh Mojaveri
For exploring a direct relationship between filmmaker and subject matter in order to present the essence of womanhood and her mythological identity, both from an historical and contemporary point-of.view.
Diploma of Honor
I Talk to God (Iran), dir Kaveh Bahrami Moqadam
For its respectful depiction of a subject matter that delves into psychological disorders of a mental hospital, incorporating historical notions of politics, culture, and economics without provoking through excess dialogues.
Special Jury Award for Best Cinematography
I Talk to God (Iran), dir Kaveh Bahrami Moqadam
For creating a frightening atmosphere in a mental hospital, utilizing appropriate lighting and camera angles, by the director of photography Morteza Poursamadi.
B. Scientific and Educational
Gold Award
First Flight (Austria), dir Steve Nicholls, Alfred Vendl
For its humorous and in-depth analysis of flying and its relationship to nature.
Silver Award
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Australia), dir Larry Zetlin
This is a cinematic campaign to save one of the world’s most precious heritages, “The Barrier Reef.”
Diploma of Honor
A Silent Killer (India), dir Dhananjoy Mandal
For realizing the frightening reality of contaminated water, consumed by citizens of various regions in India without warning from the government.
Special Jury Award for Best Research
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Australia), dir Larry Zetlin
For the significance of its investigation and its educational and cinematic excellence to introduce the audience to its subject matter and promote awareness.
Special Mentions
Squids – Hunting for the White Gold (Germany/South Africa), dir Owen Pruemm
Poisoned! (Austria), Steve Nicholls, Alfred Vendi
Alphabet Pam (USA) and Alphabet Zelda (USA), dir Eva Saks
II. FICTION / LIVE ACTION
A. Shorts for Children
Gold Award
The Rain Is Falling (Germany) dir Holger Ernst
For its artistic perfection in creating strong impression about paradoxes in the human life.
Silver Award
Initiation (Russia), dir Roman Filipov
For the original portrayal of a young boy expressing changes in his feelings from the deepest fear to discovery of the art of music.
Diploma of Honor
Kabul Cinema (Afghanistan), dir Mir Veys Rekab)
For its fine approach in rendering hard emotions and for the survival of a young and lonely boy in a country in war.
Special Mention
Pilala (Greece), dir Theo Papadoulakis
B. Features for Children
Gold Award
Hayflower and Quiltshoe (Finland), dir Kaisa Rastimo
For the original reflection of the a boy’s world and good education through games, art, and joy.
Silver Award
Narrow Alleys (Iran), dir Ali Zamani Esmati
For paying attention to the children’s world and presenting the victory of friendship over disagreements and dealing with important moral points in a neorealist way.
Diploma of Honor
Lepel (Netherlands), dir Willem Van De Sande Bakhuyzen
For its amusing performance of melodramatic topics that are good for both children and parents.
C. Shorts for Families
Gold Award
Say Sorry (UK), dir Camille Griffin
For the easy and effective reflection of the wrong ways in education of children and for brilliant, brief, and artistic presentation of children’s loneliness due to our wrong behavior.
Silver Award
Binta and the Great Idea (Spain), dir Javier Fesser
For light and bright storytelling and for the director’s optimistic vision of solving educational problems in Africa.
Diploma of Honor
Rosario (Spain), dir Juan Miguel Del Castillo
This work is selected A brilliant presenting of a great and eternal feeling called mother’s love.
Special Mention
End of Winter (Iran), die Laleh Barzegar
D. Features for Families
Gold Award
For the Living and the Dead (Germany), dir Kari Paljakka
For a brilliant and intelligent presentation of everyday philosophy – in front of death we should love life for the sake of each other – and for defending the union of the family in very difficult moments.
Silver Award
Moony (Iran), dir Ruhollah Hejazi
For the poetical and metaphorical manner to state the existence of faith in human life, which we are not able to explain, and for avoiding direct pedagogical narration.
Diploma of Honor
Homesick (Finland), dir Petri Kotwica
For modern and artistic performance in an unstable world and for an expressive and very dramatic way in telling the story of adolescence.
Special Mention
Gilaneh (Iran), Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
E. Other Awards
Special Jury Award for Best Film
Hayflower and Quiltshoe (Finland), dir Kaisa Rastimo
For spectacular, detailed, balanced, and functional unity of all the cinematic elements in sketching charming and artistic film about two small girls and their parents and neighbors.
Special Jury Award for Best Director
The Rain Is Falling (Germany), dir Holger Ernst
For the intelligent use of all the means of expressions, for exact mise-en-scene, and for the good balance between images and sound.
Special Jury Award for Best Adult Actor
Asuncion Balaguer, Rosario (Spain), dir Juan Miguel del Castillo
Diploma of Honor for Best Adult Actor
Farhad Aslani, Moony (Iran), dir Ruhollah Hejazi
Special Jury Award for Best Child Actor
Fatemeh Sajadian, Mother Came While Raining (Iran), dir Ali Sokhdari
Diploma of Honor for Best Child Actor
Adipas Damotsidis, Pilala (Greece), dir Theo Papadoulakis
III. ANIMATION
Golden Award
Flatlife (Belgium), dir Jonas Geirnaert
For its humorous and artistic interpretation of life in society.
Silver Award
Imago (France), dir Cedric Babouche
For its humanistic and emotional strength.
Diploma of honor
Ayaran (Iran), dir Mohammad Reza Zahab
For utilizing traditional Iranian music and icons to depict an oriental story, incorporating an appropriate technique.
IV. STUDENT FILMS
A. Fiction
Gold Award
Eager to Travel (Iran), dir Saman Shabani
For its educational content and popular form as well as skillful direction and naturalistic performance.
Silver Award
We Are (India), dir Sahiful Mandal
For respecting history and tradition as well as the nature.
Diploma of Honor
The Route (Iran), dir Amir Hossein Ahanj
For creating a clever plot to tell the story.
Special Mentions
Milad (Iran), dir Bayan Sijani
Technology (Iran), dir Alireza Habib
B. Documentary
Gold Award
End of Destiny (Iran), dir Mina Zakeri
For its honest depiction, transcending emotion and humanistic messages.
Silver Award
No Evade (Iran), dir Parisa Mohammad Hossein Shirazi
For allowing the audience to comprehend without slogans.
Diploma of Honor
Secret of a Need (Iran), dir Marjan Sadighi, Mahbobeh Salehiyeh
For avoiding excess dialogue in order to visualize the process of creativity.
C. Animation
Gold Award
Escape from Salad (Ukraine), dir Dima Egdelshtein
For its inelegant subject matter and creating a easy connection between the characters of the story.
Silver Award
For A Coconut (Belgium), dir Camera Enfants Admis
For paying attention to visual art in a universal message.
Diploma of Honor
Brave Cat (Mexico), dir Eugenio Garza Banos
For depicting an attractive story utilizing simple methods.
Special Mentions
We Love School (Iran), dir Nima Naderi
It’s not a Bird (Iran), dir Sadgad Vojdani, Mohay-Oldin Eskandari
Jury Award
Voting with IOU (Iran), dir Majid Ashori-Nasab