FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

 

Media Contact:

Banafsheh Madaninejad, graduate student, department of Government, UT

979.525.9366, bmadaninejad@gmail.com

 

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS CELEBRATES IRANIAN DOCUMENTARY FILMS

 

(Austin, TX) – University of Texas, Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) today announced a special six week film series celebrating Iranian documentary films.  Starting March 22nd, every week for 6 weeks, CMES with the help of Austin Film Society will present one or two documentaries each night.

 

The first film, Mohammad Reza Moghaddasian’s CONVERSATIONS IN THE MIST (2002) follows the struggles of a woman politician within the patriarchic structure of her small town and will screen Wednesday, March 22nd at 7:30 p.m. in the CMA bldg. on UT campus, room 3.116.  The coming weeks will bring such international award winning films as Kaveh Bahrami Moghaddam’s I TALK TO GOD (2004) and Soudabeh Babagap’s NOAH’S ARK (1992).

 

Iranian documentary films have been marginalized by the state since 1982.  In 1999 however, this trend was slowly reversed.  Under the leadership of President Mohammad Khatami and his reformist cabinet, namely the Minister of Culture Attaollah Mohajerani, the strictures on freedom of expression were loosened.  2001-2002 was a banner year for small, independently produced documentary films tackling various social issues.  Rakhshan Bani Etemad’s OUR AGE (2002) was one of these films, focusing on one of several ordinary women who tried to run for the presidency in the June 2001 presidential elections.  The film was the first documentary film ever to be shown in movie theaters across Iran. 

 

Ahmadinejad’s presidency starts a new era in Iranian cinema.  Less than six months after taking office in 2005, Ahmadinejad placed a ban on the importation of all films with a feminist or liberal agenda.  The current president’s term in office promises less hopeful than his predecessor’s for documentary film.

Admission is free.

 

Please visit the CMES website, www.utexas.edu/cola/cmes , or the Austin Film Society website, www.austinfilm.org, for updates, as some titles are subject to change. The current schedule is as follows:

  • March 22 – and NOAH’S ARK (Soudabeh Babagap, 1992), CONVERSATIONS IN THE MIST (Mohammad Reza Moghaddasian, 2002)
  • March 29 – I TALK TO GOD (Kaveh Bahrami Moghaddam, 2004)
  • April 5 – BREATH OF SHADOWS (Mohammad Moghaddam, 2001) and IRAN Non-Government Organizations (Manijeh Hekmat, Mohammad Moghaddam, 2004)
  • April 12 – DREAM OF SILK (Nahid Rezaie, 2002)
  • April 19 – DESTINY (Farahnaz Sharifi, 2001)
  • April 26 – SARA KHATOON (Mohammad Moghaddam, 2005)
  • May 3 – OUR TIMES (Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, 2002)

 

 

This series is co-sponsored by the Austin Film Society, Iranian Studies and Radio TV Film departments at UT and ThirdCoastActivist.org.

 

 

The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, established in 1960, offers some 200 Middle East language and area studies courses each year. The Center provides a supportive environment for faculty researching and teaching on the Middle East throughout the University, which are carried out by 150 scholars with faculty appointments in 22 departments. The Center offers an interdisciplinary program in Middle Eastern Studies at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  The stature of its faculty and the quality of special programs such as conferences, educational outreach, and the publication of scholarly and literary works, have brought the Center national and international recognition in the field of Middle Eastern studies.

 

For more information on The Center for Middle Eastern Studies, visit http://www.utexas.edu/cola/cmes/

 

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