CANNES— After Clint Eastwood, Nanni Moretti, David Cronenberg, Jim Jarmush and Agnès Varda, it’s the turn of Jafar Panahi, to recieve the prestigious Carrosse D’Or however in absentia. Condemned and held in his country, the Iranian filmmaker received the Award in présence of French Culture Minister Frédéric Mitterand during the Festival’s conférence panel on a « filmmakers working under dictatorships ».
The Prize was confered to Mr. Panahi by the award’s former recipient Agnès Varda (who knows Iran well, having directed a short film in the 1970’s entitled , shot essentially in Isfahan) who took to opportunity to symbolically and humorously put on the prize an artificial bird in tribute to the Iranian filmmaker’s struggle for freedom of expression.
Remember the Flight The Bird Is Mortal …
Also present was legendary Filmmaker Costa Gavras (Z, The Confession), as well as director Olivier Assayas (Carlos), actor Michel Piccoli, Iranian Reza Serkani and Syrian Filmmaker Oussama Mohammed.
Films of Mohamad Rousoloff another Iranian director also condemned by the Islamic Republic’s judiciary to 6 years of prison will be screened during the Festival in a sign of Solidarity and calls for his immediate release have been endorsed by numerous personalities including this year’s Jury headed by Robert De Niro.
Agnes Varda’s Plaisir d’amour en Iran (1976/1977) :
Plot:
Pauline and a narrator comment on the sensuality ofPersian architecture. Made at a time when Iran had a seemingly revolving door for incoming European directors and bottomless funding for their projects, Plaisir d’amour en Iran is a short, sort of love story between a handsome Iranian Ali Darius (played by Ali Raffi) and a visiting French woman (Valérie Mairesse). The film was shot at the Shah Masjed in the romantic settings of theeternal city of Isfahan.
Official Website of the Cannes Film Festival Here
Recommended Readings:
(worldcinema.com)
Iranian Pioneers in French New Wave Cinema by Darius KADIVAR
Related Blogs:
UN CERTAIN REGARD: In tribute To Siamak Pourzand (1930-2011)
Asghar Farhadi Triumphs As An Artist But Fails As A Citizen
MISTER “Z”: Meeting Costa Gavras For “Une Journée à Tehran”
FARAH & CLINT: Shahbanou Farah Hosted by Clint Eastwood and Wife in Paris
EMINENT PERSIANS: Hadi Khorsandi and Shahbanou Farah at French Ministry of Culture (13th July, 2010)
