Revenge and retribution is a strong driver of violence in the Middle East. The films Asghar Farhadi is involved in are nothing short of poignant.
I remember the first Iranian film I ever saw and it was at the TCFF years ago. It was not a Farhadi film. It was about 90 minute film of a father and son that fashioned satellite dishes for media reception. They found a way to hammer sheets of metal into satellite dishes, would deliver them to residents in tenement buildings by bicycle. The roof tops were full of satellite dishes.
Eventually, the Iranian government (under Ahmadinejad) would show up and remove all the satellite dishes. That was good news for the father and son team, because, the residents would order more satellite dishes.
It provided a magnificent glimpse of the Iranian people, their resourcefulness and their desire to be part of the world, too.
The TCFF brings films from around the world to the people attending. The festival is about the directors and some producers. They are respected at the festival and attend parties dedicated to the Directors of independent film. There is a great deal going on all the time.
Come and visit, it is worth it. There is even an Open Space where films are shown every evening for free. There is also cutting edge technology at a venue called "The Woz." Dutmers Theater is a specialized venue where thought is the experiment.
Hope to see you there!
Ianian director Asghar Farhadi (“A Separation”) made global headlines for boycotting the 2017 Oscars in protest of President Donald Trump’s travel ban. Despite the backlash, Farhadi won the Best Foreign Language Oscar for his minimalist masterpiece—a simmering domestic thriller with masterful Hitchcockian suspense and twists. Married couple Eman and Rana are starring together in a local production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” when a violent assault upends their lives. Eman is disastrously driven to seek revenge, more motivated than he realizes by his portrayal of Willy Loman, a character who similarly struggled with his inability to provide for his wife. A climactic final act brings the parallel between Miller’s play and Eman and Rana’s lives to a quietly devastating conclusion. Tragic and transcendent, it will leave you breathless.
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