Leila Hatami, Payman Maadi heading to Istanbul

TEHRAN.(Iranart) - Leila Hatami and Payman Maadi, two of the most distinguished actors of Iranian cinema, are coming to Istanbul as the guests of Bosphorus Film Festival that will kick off on October 26.

'Bomb: A Love Story', bringing together the duo 7 years after the Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winner film “A Separation”, will be screened for the first time in Turkey at Bosphorus Film Festival.

Organized with the contributions of Republic of Turkey Ministry of Culture and Tourism, General Directorate of Cinema, Turkish Airlines and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Department of Culture and with the support provided by TRT as the Institutional Partner, Türkmedya as the Institutional Communication Partner, Anadolu Agency as the Global Communication Partner, TV+ as the Communication Sponsor, 6th Bosphorus Film Festival is on the boil for hosting world-renowned personages. Two of the highly anticipated guests of the festival, to kick off on October 26, will be Leila Hatami and Payman Maadi, the most distinguished two actors of Iranian cinema. Having received both Golden and Silver Bear awards from Berlinale, the duo, that we know from Asghar Farhadi’s film 'A Separation', the winner of 2012 Golden Globe and Oscar at the category of Best Foreign Language Film, will come to Istanbul for participating in the Turkey premiere of 'Bomb: A Love Story'.

Unfinished Love Stories

Pairing up Hatemi and Maadi 7 years after 'A Separation', 'Bomb: A Love Story' takes place in 1988 and is a story of love and hope in the relentlessly bombed Tehran during the last days of Iran-Iraq war. Payman Maadi points out, with the film he wrote and directed, that he aims to illustrate the violence of modern times and continues: 'Every time I think about war, I remember those people whose lives are ruined by bomb. People whose passion was buried with them and their love stories left unfinished… This film is the story of those people who demanded from me to tell their fairy tales; their simple and humane love stories.'

Cinematographer of the film is Mahmoud Kalari, who we know from Asghar Farhadi’s 'A Separation' and 'The Past' and the composer is Eleni Karaindrou; the creator of the scores of Theo Angelopoulos masterpieces; including 'The Suspended Step of the Stork', 'Ulysses’ Gaze' and 'Eternity and a Day'.

'Bomb: A Love Story' will meet the cinephiles in Turkey for the first time at Bosphorus Film Festival.

The international face of Iranian cinema: Leila Hatami

Leila Hatami, daughter to the famous Iranian director, Ali Hatami and actress Zari Khoshkam, started acting when she was only 12 with the historical TV series, 'Hezardastan' (1988) directed by her father, but paused her career for her studies in Electronic Engineering in Switzerland. Having moved back to Iran in 1997, and having received rave reviews from critics with her performance in Dariush Mehrjui’s film 'Leila' (1997), Hatami received the Best Actress Award at Fajr Film Festival. During 2000's, Hatami worked with some of the most celebrated Iranian directors and she became one of the most famous actresses of Iranian cinema. Moreover, her performance in 'The Deserted Station'” (2002) won the Best Actress Award from Montreal Film Festival. However, she earned her major international success in 2011 with her role as Simin in Asghar Farhadi's 'A Separation'. Collecting more than 100 awards and especially Golden Globe and Oscar awards at the category of Best Foreign Language Film, the film also brought Hatami Silver Bear from Berlinale at the category of Best Actress in a Leading Role.

From Iran to Hollywood: Peyman Maadi

Peyman Maadi was born in 1972 in New York City to an Iranian couple, who moved back to Iran when he was 5 years old. He graduated from Metallurgical Engineering department at Karaj Azad University. Maadi initiated his film career as a screenwriter in early 2000’s and started his acting career in Asghar Farhadi's film 'About Elly' (2009). His successful performance led him to the following Farhadi film; 'A Separation' and he received the Silver Bear award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance from the Berlin Film Festival. A year later, he directed 'The Snow on the Pines', which he also wrote. The international success of 'A Separation' took him to Hollywood, where he performed in films “Camp X-Ray” (2014) that he co-starred with Kristen Stewart, 'Last Knights' (2015) where he co-acted with Clive Owen and Morgan Freeman, and Michael Bay’s '13 Hours'” (2016). 'Bomb: A Love Story' is Maadi’s sophomore film as a director.

Organized by International Bosphorus Cinema Association and Istanbul Media Academy, 6th Bosphorus International Film Festival will run this year from October 26 to November 3, 2018 in Istanbul and the screenings will take place in Atlas, Beyoğlu and Kadıkoy movie theatres. 

Source: Mehr News