Iran’s late Kiarostami celebrated by Italian Embassy in Tehran

The Italian Embassy in Tehran hosted on Thursday a tribute to renowned Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami with a special photo exhibit, a classical music performance, and the screening of two video documentaries featuring the places which have served as inspiration for Kiarostami.

Iranart: In his introductory remarks on the cultural initiative, the Italian Ambassador in Tehran Giuseppe Perrone recalled the extraordinary artistic importance of Kiarostami’s work, as well his innovative and unique style, which he said was also inspired by Italian neorealist cinema, according to the embassy’s press release obtained by Iran Daily.

The photography exhibition displayed in the gardens of the Italian residence in Tehran featured a selection of 21 photographs from the 2021 ‘5 Photo Award’ international festival by 16 prominent Iranian and foreign photographers.

The festival is inspired by Kiarostami’s acclaimed documentary, ‘Five’ (2003), consisting of five long shots, set by the ocean and shot mostly with fixed camera positions. The annual photo exhibit, founded by Mehdi Shadizadeh in 2020, is curated by Farhood Nasiri and Alireza Shadizadeh, and managed by Simin Bayrami.

 On the same occasion two short video documentaries were screened, titled ‘Single Arrow’s Tree’ and ‘In Search of Lost Time’ by Mehdi Shadizadeh, featuring the natural landscapes and locations which have inspired Kiarostami and appeared in his movies. A special piano and violin performance by Elnaz Moshtaqi and Behzad Ja’farian also participated in the event, with the goal of recreating, through the sound of minimalist music the neorealist soul of Kiarostami’s cinema.

Source: Iran Daily