Munich Hosting Cinema Iran

Munich is hosting a festival titled ‘Cinema Iran 2017’ which shows a selection of current Iranian fiction and non-fiction feature films, July 12-16.

The selection includes movies set outside the capital Tehran, especially those in the southern parts of the country.

“Iranian cinema in Germany is mostly known with filmmakers such as Abbas Kiarostami, but the festival of Iranian films in Munich has emphasized on other directors. The festival has focused on Iranian films made out of Tehran and in the south of the country,” Suddeutsche Zeitung, a German newspaper wrote.

“Silvia Baer, the festival’s director, has been interested to screen movies on the ethnic groups and different lifestyles of geostrategic regions in the Middle East and the Persian Gulf,” the daily added.

According to the festival website, the films chosen for the festival program all present Iran from different perspectives, both internal and external, and cover a wide range of topics such as culture-specific issues, art, historical heritage, and love. They allow the audience to gain insight and to immerse themselves into the colorful everyday life and the diverse history of Iran.

A photography exhibition is also held at the festival which deals with the daily life of the urban, post-revolutionary generation by internationally renowned visual artist and photojournalist Kaveh Rostamkhani and a literary reading with German-Iranian author Shida Bazyar from her debut novel ‘At Night It Is Quiet in Tehran’ in which she looks back at Iranian history and events since 1979 through the eyes of her family.

Further, discussions with the lead-actress of the opening film ‘Lantouri’ Maryam Palizban and filmmaker and artist Shahram Entekhabi give the audience opportunity to engage with the film on an interactive level.