Fans honor Kiarostami with monument, cherry sapling

A monument has been built adjacent to the cherry sapling commemorating the memory of late Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami in the city of Neyshabour.

Iranian Young Cinema Society members recently planted a cherry sapling at the garden near Omar Khayyam’s tomb as a reminder of Kiarostami’s 1997 masterpiece ‘Taste of Cherry’.

The monument and cherry sapling mark the memory of the film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer who died on July 4, 2016, following a heart attack at the age of 76.

Kiarostami was also an accomplished photographer and painter. His last film was ‘Like Someone in Love’ (2012), a romantic drama set in Japan, which was nominated for a Palme d’Or at Cannes.

The late writer-director has been critically hailed as a pioneer of the Iranian New Wave.

Abbas Kiarostami has won many awards including the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Festival in 1997 for his film ‘Taste of Cherry’.

He is mostly known as a screenwriter, film editor, art director and producer as well as a poet, photographer, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer.

The veteran Iranian filmmaker was also honored at this year’s Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles.

‘Taste of Cherry’ tells the story of a man who drives through a city suburb looking for someone who can carry out the task of burying him after he commits suicide.

MG/AI