Iranian cinema festival

With the rhetoric around a possible US attack on Iran heating up, there’s a timely season of films called War In Iranian Cinema playing at the Barbican in the City of London from 22-27 February. The films on show are made between 1988 and 2005 and the Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) is the background or theme for all but one of the films.

The season starts with a gala opening and a screening of the 2005 film Gilaneh followed by a question and answer session with its director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. Its £11 for this opening and like the rest of these films its Persian with English subtitles.

The day that would probably be most interesting to George Bush is the Saturday 24 February Symposium which looks at the theme of martyrdom in the Iranian Revolution, the Iran-Iraq war and Iranian cinema. I was reading a newspaper article over the weekend which was emphasizing how martyrdom is central to Iran’s shia Islam following the massacre of a religious leader and his followers in the 7th century, and how Iranian pilgrims still visit the shrines in Iraq even though they have a good chance of being killed in the current situation. If the US and other countries decide to attack Iran they better take into account that side of the Iranian mentality and be prepared for a determined enemy.

The schedule for War in Iranian Cinema is;
22 February Gilaneh 8pm £11 - opening gala
23 February Enamoured of Love and Recognition 6.15pm £7
24 February Symposium/Study Day £20 10am
24 February Living in the Clouds and Captive Waiting £7 6.15pm
25 February Gilaneh, Bashu Little Stranger and Kimia £7 2pm
26 February The Legend of Love £7 6.15pm
27 February The Adult Game £7 6.15pm