Whither Iranian cinema

Richard Pena is the program director of the New York Film Festival. He has introduced some of best Iran filmmaker over the years. Iranians over the years have produced three generations of highly rated film-makers and also produced popular entertainment. Iranian films in the past decade have won awards at international festivals, where directors such as Abbas Kiarostami and Mohsen Makhmalbaf are recognized as among the cinema's most proficient artists. There are many critics of Iranian cinema. Some believe that the Iranian cinema is locally irrelevant and inaccessible. However, it is relevant internationally and that is why they won so many awards. The Iranian cinema might seem irrelevant locally due to its real complexity; as result, it challenges the public’s intellectual limits. Iran's cinema offers an alternative that is fascinating, amazing, for its artistic sophistication and passionate humanism. Their films contain real people, not actors, and real locations. Non-Iranian viewers admire Iranian cinema. They are fascinated with the location used to describe the culture of Iranian people. The filmmakers often focus on ordinary people caught in harsh circumstances, cultural or natural forces, the prejudices faced by women, and the extreme poverty. These are powerful messages to viewers. Iranian filmmakers address issues with insight and the sense of storytelling and with a striking purpose. Despite the beauty of Iranian films, they missed the color of the Iran landmark. There are debate among Iranian audiences in foreign countries about what comprises a true, genuine, factual representation or image of the native soil, Iran, and what should be shown in films in order to avoid a negative image of Iranian culture. Iranian filmgoers feel shame and anger about the images of Iran society on the screen. No matter how beautiful and inspiring the films are, they think that Western viewers see them as a statistic. Some Iranians criticize Iranian filmmakers, such as Kin and Ziba for their film Divorce Iranian Style.  It was produced in 1998. Parts of the critics’ problems were the women being portrayed in this film, particularly in the courtroom. The majority of Iran films reflect the filmmaker and his attitude. The negative images’ locations are constrained by numerous factors. The main one is the limited budget. There is an international demand for certain film descriptions of real locations in Iran. To have it portrayed as a beautiful place and to really embellish the exotic images. Their films are restricted to specific types of locations due to a limited budget. This film often referred as Iran neo-realism. However, the success of Kiarostami film has persuaded many filmmakers to upgrade their film style. International film festival and film markets also encourage Iranian filmmaker to meet the demand of the Western cultures. Mohsen Makhmalbaf is a major figure in Iranian cinema. His films have explored the relationship between the individual and a larger social and political environment. Makhmalbaf directed Gabbeh in 1995. The film provides colorful landscapes, and tribal, costumes and rituals to non-Iran audiences. He produced films outside of Iran. This provided an up close and personal look into locations other to the Iranians that viewed the films. A Time to Love, filmed in 1991, took place in Turkey. The story of love, betrayal, and adultery was portrayed by Turkish actors. This film gave the message to the people of Iran that adultery and betrayal in other cultures did in fact exist. It also gave the message that love exists in other places other than Iran. Just like any country, Iran has beautiful, wealthy regions. It also has dismal and poverty stricken regions. The desire of the critics is to portray them equally.

Written by student: Donald