On the last Wednesday of every month, a documentary about or made in Iran is shown in American and Canadian cities.
The program ‘ Docunight’ is organized by Ahmad Kiarostami, son of Abbas Kiarostami, and aims at creating an opportunity for cultural exchange and providing proper grounds for foreign audience to better understand the Iranian society through prominent documentaries, Mehr News Agency reported.
A monthly program, it screens films in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Washington, Santa Monica, San Diego and Minneapolis as well as in Canadian cities Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Waterloo.
This Wednesday ‘Trucker & the Fox’ by Arash Lahouri will be shown. It is based on the life of Mahmoud Kiani-Falavarjani, a truck driver who is newly released from a psychiatric hospital after a bout of severe depression caused by the death of his pet fox.
Mahmoud returns to his family, work, and favorite hobby - filmmaking. Having previously won awards for his short films starring his beloved fox, he sets out to film another ambitious project.
Lahooti’s sympathetic documentary captures Mahmood’s fascinating life as a family man, eccentric animal lover, and artist. It has been screened in over 45 festivals and received 9 awards.
Noble Laureate’s Suggestion
The 1976 Nobel peace prize winner Mairead Maguire has invited people to see Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Eslamzadeh’s documentary ‘Seeking Peace’ to “understand the roots of Syrian conflict.”
In a message on Eslamzadeh’s documentary, she wrote, “I recommend this excellent documentary to all those wishing to understand the roots of the Syrian conflict.”
“Although deeply sad, as it shows the cost of proxy wars, it gives hope that through peace and reconciliation, the Syrian people are rejecting violence, war and all outside interference in their country, and rebuilding their beloved Syria together,” the 71-year-old Irish peace activist added.
The documentary is about the efforts of a Christian nun in establishing peace and saving the lives of Syrian child refugees.
More than 200,000 Syrians have lost their lives in four years of armed conflict, which began with anti-government protests before escalating into a full-scale civil war. Million of people have been forced from their homes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad and those opposed to his rule battle each other.
The movie was unveiled in Iran two weeks ago and is set to attend international festivals in coming months.
