Upcoming in March and April - Film Series: Women in Modern Iranian Cinema
Film Series: Women in Modern Iranian Cinema
All screenings begin at 6:00pm in Collins Cinema.
In partnership with the Cinema and Media Studies program, the Davis presents this series of film screenings dedicated to exploring the groundbreaking achievements of women directors in modern Iranian cinema. Proportionally speaking, there have been more high profile female directors in Iran than in several Western countries, despite the hardships of women in post-Revolutionary Iran. These films range from drama to comedy and explore a broad range of topics, suspending generalizations of Iranian society and provoking curiosity. These selections highlight just a few of these critically-acclaimed films - sure to delight cinephiles, art-lovers, and everyone in-between.
Generously supported by the Davis Museum Film Program Gift.
March 4: Blackboards (2000, Dir. Samira Makhmalbaf)*
Carrying large blackboards on their backs, a group of teachers cross the mountainous paths of the remote Iranian Kurdistan region in the wake of the chemical bombing of Halabja, searching for students to teach. But as the teachers encounter one hardship after another, it seems that hunger and insecurity has not left any chance for the education of the future generations. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival.
March 11: The Day I Became a Woman (2000, Dir. Marziyeh Meshkini)*
Meshkini’s film tells the interconnected stories of three Iranian women struggling with their female identity at different stages in their lives. Winner of three awards at the 2000 Venice Film Festival, The Day I Became a Woman has been described as “Felliniesque” by several critics and was temporarily banned upon its release in Iran.
April 1: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014, Dir. Ana Lily Amirpour)
The first Vampire Western ever made in the Farsi language, Ana Lily Amirpour's debut basks in the sheer pleasure of pulp. A joyful mash-up of genre, archetype, and iconography, its prolific influences span spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films, and the Iranian New Wave. (Source: Kino Lorber)
April 15: Fifi Howls from Happiness (2013, Dir. Mitra Farahani)
Farahani’s lyrical documentary explores the enigma of provocative artist Bahman Mohassess, the so-called “Persian Picasso,” whose acclaimed paintings and sculptures dominated pre-revolutionary Iran. A lasting tribute to an elusive artistic genius, Fifi Howls from Happiness affirms the power of creative freedom, the right of the artist to create and to destroy, and above all, to have no regrets. (Source: Music Box Films)
*Special presentations in 35mm.