Iranian Artists Forum to unspool great comedian works

Cinematheque of Iranian Artists Forum (IAF) is set to launch a retrospective of major works by Iran actor Akbar Abdi, a household name in Iranian cinema.

The forum based in Iranian capital city of Tehran will host a program titled ‘Akbar Abdi in the Frame of Cinema’ screening a total of seven cinematic works by Iran great comedian Abdi, local media reported on Monday.

 The special screenings include ‘The Tenants’ by Dariush Mehrjui, ‘Mother’ by Ali Hatami, ‘Oh Iran’ (1990) by Naser Taqvai, ‘Reyhaneh’ by Alireza Reisian, ‘The Love-Stricken’ by Ali Hatami (1992), ‘The Game Rules’ by Ahmadreza Motamedi and ‘I Feel Sleepy’ by Reza Attaran.

Widely known for comic movies, the actor appeared in movies such as ‘Doll Thief’ (1989), ‘Nassereddin Shah Film Actor’ (1991), ‘The Devoted’ (1991), ‘Angel Day’ (1993), ‘A Gift From India’ (1994), ‘Mr. Lucky’ (1994), ‘Snowman’ (1994), ‘The Sunny Man’ (1995), ‘The Loser’ (1995), ‘Night of the Fox’ (1996), ‘The Eagle’s Eye’ (1998), ‘The Victorious Warrior’ (1998), ‘The Rich and the Poor’ (1999), ‘The Outcasts’ (2006), ‘Flying Crow’ (2007), ‘Checkmate’ (2008), ‘The Outcast 2’ (2008), ‘Heartbroken’ (2008), ‘The Extremists’ (2009), ‘The First Condition’ (2009), ‘The Outcasts 3’ (2010), ‘The President’s Cell Phone’ (2011), ‘Stingy’ (2011), ‘The Wrong Story’ (2012), ‘Scandal’ (2012), ‘The Backstreets of Shemroon’ (2012), ‘Kindergarten Operation’ (2012), and 'The Ascended' (2014).

Abdi has also acted in series such as ‘Hygiene Neighborhood’ (1984), ‘Imam Ali’ (1991), ‘Night of the Fox’ (1999), ‘Godfather’ (1999), ‘As Simple As That’ (2000), ‘Under the City Sky 3’ (2002), ‘Lost Innocence’ (2002), ‘In the Eye of the Storm’ (2003-2009), ‘Era of Constitutional Revolution’ (2009), ‘Open Parenthesis’ (2009-2010), ‘Wake Up’ (2011), ‘Passion to Fly’ (2011), ‘Relatively Bad Guys’ (2013) and ‘The Ascended’.

Abdi’s flexibility allows him to take on diverse roles such as the role of a child and middle-aged man in ‘The Magical Journey’(1986)  and a mentality-disabled boy in ‘Mother’ (1989) as well as playing roles of a man and a woman in ‘Snowman’ (1994).

He has won numerous awards, notably for his appearance in ‘Mother’ (1989) and ‘I’m Sleepy’ (2012) which won him the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor in a Supporting Role from Fajr International Film Festival.

AG/AG