Iran is present at the 17th Festival of Archaeological Films in Belgrade, with two films on historical sites in the country.
‘Recreating Pasargadae’ by Farzin Rezaeian and ‘Chogha Mish’ by Arian Attarpur are the two Iranian films shown in the festival along with movies from 10 other countries, Cyprus, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Montenegro and Serbia, IRNA reported.
‘Recreating Pasargadae’ is a documentary that explores the palaces and gardens of Pasargadae, the capital of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great who ruled the Persian Empire 559-530 BC.
It is an illuminating documentary that faithfully restores and rebuilds the ancient city, allowing the viewer to feel what it would have been like to live there 2550 years ago. Comprehensively reconstructed through modern digital high resolution imagery and state-of-the-art computer and visual media, the documentary features several scholars of ancient Persia, who discuss the various unique features of this metropolis.
The 3-D reconstructions of the past are excellent tools for informing and educating the public. However, science, art and imagination are all needed for the digital reconstruction.
Today, new technology allows people to see ancient sites and landscapes in ways that were never possible before. “But technological innovations also have their limits, so we need to use what we know from other sites, artifacts, or textual records to develop a composite image of a landscape, a building, or even an individual person from thousands of years ago,” Rezaeian said.
Rezaeian is an award-winning documentary and educational film producer and director. He studied sociology, political science and communications at the University of Illinois in Chicago and then continued his studies in Iranian arts and civilization.
For the past 20 years he has researched and written for many educational and documentary films that he produced or directed. His historical reconstruction works include, ‘Persepolis Recreated’, ‘Iran: Seven Faces of a Civilization’, ‘Discovering the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Iran’ and ‘Incredible Isfahan’.
8800-Year-Old City
‘Chogha Mish’ is a short documentary on the site of the same name in Khuzestan Province, southwest of Iran, which dates back to 6800 BC. The place is considered the largest prehistoric site in the area. It was excavated by the Oriental Institute of The University of Chicago between 1961 and 1978, as scholars believe it must have played a key role in the cultural and social development of the region.
The two films introduce the rich culture and civilization of Iran in olden times to the foreign viewers through beautiful images.
Organized by the National Museum in Belgrade and Yugoslav Film Archive (YFA), the festival is held at YFA and will continue until April 7.
The National Museum has been hosting the event since 1998. A not-competitive festival and from the very beginning it was created as the revue of documentary achievements focusing on archaeology.
In a popular way and with an attractive approach to the cultural heritage, selected films present scientific discoveries from different eras and areas thus enabling experts and the public interested in ancient civilizations to find out more about important and valuable world monuments. The program mostly consists of short stories and new discoveries; however it also includes educational films.
