Asian Film Festival Barcelona screening Iranian lineup

The 7th edition of the Asian Film Festival Barcelona (AFFBCN) in Spain has been screening a lineup of Iranian movies.

The lineup includes ‘Reza’ by Alireza Motamedi, ‘The Dark Room’ by Rouhollah Hejazi, ‘Astigmatism’ by Majid-Reza Mostafavi, and ‘Orange Days’ by Arash Lahouti.

‘Orduckly’ by Behrouz Gharibpour, ‘Pastarioni’ by Soheil Movaffaq, ‘First Autograph for Rana’ by Ali Zhakan, and ‘Footwork’ by Mazdak Mirabedini have also been on the Iranian list.

‘Orduckly’ is about a technician at the Tabriz Railway station who is forced to move to Tehran to treat his wife suffering from a terminal illness. Once in Tehran, he registers his clever son at a renowned school without thinking about the tragic consequences he will be facing.

In ‘Pastarioni’, when Houshang returns home he finds out that his father’s restaurant has closed. However, he is not willing to give up.

‘First Autograph for Rana’ is about Jahangir Golstaneh, a novelist, who has been married to a woman called Rana for several years and they have a 7-year-old son. Jahangir has written several novels, however, he has only been able to publish one of his books. His only source of income is through writing and he is not willing to do anything else to make ends meet. This decision creates problems and obstacles in his life.

The main character of ‘Footwork’, Mohammad Ali Vandi, is a filmmaker, actor and theatre director. Having lost all hope to finally migrate to the US, he returns to his home country with his wife. Upon arriving in Tehran, he is forced to find a suitable house to rebuild his life once more. At the same time, they find out that they are expecting their first child. His wife, Mitra Sadri, is a painter and shares with him the concern to become parents.

Iran-Armenia coproduction ‘Yeva’ directed by Anahid Abad and Rahbar Qanbari’s ‘Wild Jonquils’ are also on the Spanish screen.

‘Yeva’ is about a young woman who escapes her influential in-laws with her daughter Nareh, after her husband’s tragic death and takes refuge in one of the villages of Karabakh, Armenia. However, Yeva is a complete stranger in this village and is obliged to live her daily life in disguise. Yeva is forced to face the problems, threats and even their own weaknesses.

‘Wild Jonquils’ depicts a school in rural heights which receives a warrant from the Ministry of Education, stating that if the required capacity is not fulfilled, the school should shut down. The teacher decides to go to the neighboring villages, heights and forests in person to convince all the parents that is a must for their children to get educated. When he falls ill, his fiancée steps forward to assist him. But everything gets more complicated and eventually one of the students volunteers to take responsibility for keeping classes running.

The 7th AFFBCN is screening more than 100 films from 25 Asian countries. It has been slated for October 30-November 10, 2019 in the Spanish city of Barcelona.

MG/AG