Venice Winner Arsalan Amiri on Censorship in Iran and Busan Apm Project ‘For The Girls Of The Tribe’
Iran’s Arsalan Amiri, who won two awards at Venice for his debut feature “Zalava,” is at the Busan International Film Festival’s Asian Project Market with “For the Girls of the Tribe.”
Inspired by a real historical event that took place in 1905 in Iran, the film will tell the story of a group of peasants who rescue two girls among dozens who were kidnapped by rebels. The girls have information about a betrayal and are taken before the ruler to provide their testimony but he refuses to accept it, as, according to tradition, a woman’s testimony is only half as valuable as a man’s.
“For hundreds of years before this event and even decades after, this situation has recurred in different parts of the world: a group of women is oppressed and most of society, the government and even some other women are silent or passive about it due to fear,...
Inspired by a real historical event that took place in 1905 in Iran, the film will tell the story of a group of peasants who rescue two girls among dozens who were kidnapped by rebels. The girls have information about a betrayal and are taken before the ruler to provide their testimony but he refuses to accept it, as, according to tradition, a woman’s testimony is only half as valuable as a man’s.
“For hundreds of years before this event and even decades after, this situation has recurred in different parts of the world: a group of women is oppressed and most of society, the government and even some other women are silent or passive about it due to fear,...
- 10/6/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Set in the late Seventies in an Iran on the brink of giving way to religious fundamentalism, Arsalan Amiri’s Zalava presents a scenario which functions like a microcosm of the forces at work, and whose release seems timely now as other parts of the world are threatened by the mass rejection of reason in favour of simpler apparent solutions. It follows the sergeant of the local gendarmerie, city-born Massoud (Navid Pourfaraj), as he attempts to disabuse residents of the titular village of the notion that demons are taking possession of people and livestock.
If this sounds like a trivial exercise, consider this: when a person is thought to be possessed, the treatment involves shooting them in the legs so that they bleed heavily and the demon will be flushed out of the body. This isn’t inhumane – it is thought to be the only way of saving such a person,...
If this sounds like a trivial exercise, consider this: when a person is thought to be possessed, the treatment involves shooting them in the legs so that they bleed heavily and the demon will be flushed out of the body. This isn’t inhumane – it is thought to be the only way of saving such a person,...
- 3/17/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The scariest part about writer/director Arsalan Amiri’s Iranian Revolution horror movie “Zalava” is an invisible, potentially demonic force housed inside a glass jar. Whether or not what’s in there is actually a demon or not remains ambiguous in the film’s economic screenplay, nor does it really matter. The real harbinger of doom here is the violent aura of persecution plaguing the small, eponymous village nestled in the mountains of Kurdistan, and the real curse is the paranoia of one’s own neighbor raining down fire on the community. set off by a shaman who claims he has a solution to the townsfolk’s fears.
The movie kicks off with a series of title cards to settle us into the time and place: “1978. Before the revolution. A century ago, a band of gypsies traveling from east to west settled in lava and became acquainted with the customs...
The movie kicks off with a series of title cards to settle us into the time and place: “1978. Before the revolution. A century ago, a band of gypsies traveling from east to west settled in lava and became acquainted with the customs...
- 10/1/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Fantastic Fest 2021 is bringing its physical edition to an end on September 30, and IndieWire is exclusively revealing this year’s award winners below. Many of the winning features will be available to stream September 30 through October 11 as part of the virtual Fantastic Fest at Home, including “After Blue,” “Zalava,” “Name Above Title,” and “Let the Wrong One In.” All the award-winning short films will stream virtual as well.
This year’s Competition winner for Best Film is Bertrand Mandico’s “After Blue.” The movie is set on a mysterious planet populated entirely by women, where a teenager and her mother set out on a journey to find a murderous criminal.
“After Blue (Dirty Paradise) is a mutant-cinema dream,” Mandico said in a statement. “The dream of taking my actresses and collaborators towards an emotional lyricism of creation. The dream of giving spectators an out-of-format, intoxicating and disturbing fantasy. Thanks to...
This year’s Competition winner for Best Film is Bertrand Mandico’s “After Blue.” The movie is set on a mysterious planet populated entirely by women, where a teenager and her mother set out on a journey to find a murderous criminal.
“After Blue (Dirty Paradise) is a mutant-cinema dream,” Mandico said in a statement. “The dream of taking my actresses and collaborators towards an emotional lyricism of creation. The dream of giving spectators an out-of-format, intoxicating and disturbing fantasy. Thanks to...
- 9/29/2021
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
It should be hard to dislike a movie in which one of the first lines of dialogue is “My sheep are possessed!” Unfortunate, then, that the allegorical scare-flick Zalava, Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Arsalan Amiri’s feature directorial debut, proves so dull and deadening, even at a brief 93 minutes.
Set in 1978, on the cusp of the culture-altering Iranian Revolution, the film follows a gendarmerie sergeant named Masoud (Navid Pourfaraj) who is in his last days policing the superstitious residents of the eponymous village. Masoud has the pierce-you-to-the-core stare of a born skeptic; The X-Files’ Dana Scully would think he ...
Set in 1978, on the cusp of the culture-altering Iranian Revolution, the film follows a gendarmerie sergeant named Masoud (Navid Pourfaraj) who is in his last days policing the superstitious residents of the eponymous village. Masoud has the pierce-you-to-the-core stare of a born skeptic; The X-Files’ Dana Scully would think he ...
- 9/17/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
It should be hard to dislike a movie in which one of the first lines of dialogue is “My sheep are possessed!” Unfortunate, then, that the allegorical scare-flick Zalava, Kurdish-Iranian filmmaker Arsalan Amiri’s feature directorial debut, proves so dull and deadening, even at a brief 93 minutes.
Set in 1978, on the cusp of the culture-altering Iranian Revolution, the film follows a gendarmerie sergeant named Masoud (Navid Pourfaraj) who is in his last days policing the superstitious residents of the eponymous village. Masoud has the pierce-you-to-the-core stare of a born skeptic; The X-Files’ Dana Scully would think he ...
Set in 1978, on the cusp of the culture-altering Iranian Revolution, the film follows a gendarmerie sergeant named Masoud (Navid Pourfaraj) who is in his last days policing the superstitious residents of the eponymous village. Masoud has the pierce-you-to-the-core stare of a born skeptic; The X-Files’ Dana Scully would think he ...
- 9/17/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Set in 1978, in a Kurdish village high in the mountains, Iranian horror entry “Zalava” pits rational, scientific beliefs against superstition and groupthink, a theme that carries a lot of resonance just now. At the same time, it sports a sly sense of humor before edging into tragedy. . But perhaps its biggest asset is the performance of tall, toned and impressively mustached star Navid Pourfaraj as the sergeant of a nearby gendarmerie, whose attempts to lay down the law with the trigger-happy residents of Zalava result in unintended consequences. Nabbing the Venice Fipresci nod should raise the profile of this offbeat title.
The first half of the film uses title cards and dialogue for exposition, some details of which are never further developed. Most pertinently, we learn that Zalava was founded a century ago by a band of Gypsies traveling from east to west. Now, the inhabitants are a credulous, inbred bunch,...
The first half of the film uses title cards and dialogue for exposition, some details of which are never further developed. Most pertinently, we learn that Zalava was founded a century ago by a band of Gypsies traveling from east to west. Now, the inhabitants are a credulous, inbred bunch,...
- 9/10/2021
- by Alissa Simon
- Variety Film + TV
Some 22 projects are receiving support from the Swedish fund.
The new Göteborg Film Fund has confirmed its second round of funding, including its first development grants.
The supported projects include the Iranian-Kurdish thriller Zalava, the feature debut of Arsalan Amiri, which is competing in Venice Critics’ Week; and Ukrainian drama Pamfir, by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. The latter is now in post and selected for the Venice Gap Financing Market and is about a decent man who gives up his honest job to help his family.
In addition, Oleg Sentsov, who is premiering Rhino in Venice, is receiving development supportt for his fiction film Kai.
The new Göteborg Film Fund has confirmed its second round of funding, including its first development grants.
The supported projects include the Iranian-Kurdish thriller Zalava, the feature debut of Arsalan Amiri, which is competing in Venice Critics’ Week; and Ukrainian drama Pamfir, by Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk. The latter is now in post and selected for the Venice Gap Financing Market and is about a decent man who gives up his honest job to help his family.
In addition, Oleg Sentsov, who is premiering Rhino in Venice, is receiving development supportt for his fiction film Kai.
- 9/6/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
International sales and aggregation outfit LevelK has picked up darkly funny feature “The Cake Dynasty,” toplining Anders Thomas Jensen regular Nicolas Bro. The feature is adapted from the eponymous stage play by debut director Christian Lollike.
One of Denmark’s most lauded contemporary playwrights and stage directors, Lollike is well-known for his topical and often politically-charged works staged in Europe, Australia and the U.S.
Co-written by Lollike and Sigrid Johannesen, “The Cake Dynasty” turns on debt-ridden cake factory owner Niels Agger whose numerous suicide attempts have failed miserably. His wife Else tries to save the factory by asking her daughter and son-in-law for help. The young business school graduates suggest a comprehensive modernisation of the factory, focusing on trendsetting healthy food. Stressed about these new ideas, Niels instead falls in love with the factory’s new cleaning lady, Zeinab, originally from Iraq.
Cast against Nicolas Bro as the crisis-stricken...
One of Denmark’s most lauded contemporary playwrights and stage directors, Lollike is well-known for his topical and often politically-charged works staged in Europe, Australia and the U.S.
Co-written by Lollike and Sigrid Johannesen, “The Cake Dynasty” turns on debt-ridden cake factory owner Niels Agger whose numerous suicide attempts have failed miserably. His wife Else tries to save the factory by asking her daughter and son-in-law for help. The young business school graduates suggest a comprehensive modernisation of the factory, focusing on trendsetting healthy food. Stressed about these new ideas, Niels instead falls in love with the factory’s new cleaning lady, Zeinab, originally from Iraq.
Cast against Nicolas Bro as the crisis-stricken...
- 8/25/2021
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Arsalan Amiri, who previously served as screenwriter on Titi and Nahid, makes his feature directorial debut with the film.
LevelK has boarded international sales for Iranian drama Zalava, which will screen in Toronto’s Midnight Madness and Venice Critics’ Week.
Arsalan Amiri, who previously served as screenwriter on Titi and Nahid, makes his feature directorial debut with the film. The drama is set in 1978 in a small village called Zavala, where the villagers claim there is a demon amongst them. A young sergeant arrests an exorcist for fraud, causing fear and anger to escalate in the village.
Amiri also writes...
LevelK has boarded international sales for Iranian drama Zalava, which will screen in Toronto’s Midnight Madness and Venice Critics’ Week.
Arsalan Amiri, who previously served as screenwriter on Titi and Nahid, makes his feature directorial debut with the film. The drama is set in 1978 in a small village called Zavala, where the villagers claim there is a demon amongst them. A young sergeant arrests an exorcist for fraud, causing fear and anger to escalate in the village.
Amiri also writes...
- 8/19/2021
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
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