Pakistan hosting Iranian film festival in Islamabad

The Pakistan National Council of Arts (PNCA) in Islamabad has been hosting Iranian film festival since Monday.

Arranged by the Cultural Consulate at Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Pakistan, opening ceremony of the five-day event was held on December 11, 2017, with officials from Iran and Pakistan present.

Speaking at the ceremony, PNCA Director General Jamal Shah said Iran is among the important film making countries worldwide and pointed out that the central theme of the Iranian movies pertained to protecting the society against use of drugs, corruption and social evils.

He also noted that those movies have had a very positive impact on the Iranian society.

“Film makers from Iran have taken filmmaking at a stage where it has become a reality. For many film makers, the film making is jihad against social evils, corruption, drug abuse or other evils in the society,” he said.

“Iran’s cinema is world’s best cinema today. This has been proven by Iranian filmmakers’ international prizes. I salute filmmakers from Iran for giving us true cinema,” he stated.

‘So Far, So Close’, ‘Bodyguard’, ‘A Cube of Sugar’, ‘Crazy Castle’ and ‘Where are my shoes?' have been scheduled to go on screen at the Pakistan National Council of Arts on December 11-12 and at Lok Virsa on December 13-15.

‘So Close, So Far’ (2005), directed by Reza Mirkarimi, is about Dr. Alam, a neurologist and a successful surgeon, who is swamped with work and has little time for his son, until the young man is diagnosed with brain cancer.

‘Bodyguard’ (2015), directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia, chronicles the story of a middle-aged man who protects high-ranking political figures. He gets into trouble when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest approaches the vice president. He then has to evaluate the values that he sacrifices for.

‘A Cube of Sugar’ (2011), directed by Mirkarimi, tells the story of Pasand, a young girl from a traditional Iranian family who is set to marry the son of a family friend who lives abroad. As her entire family arrives to take part in the wedding ceremony, an unexpected event turns the joy of the moment into sadness and sorrow.

‘Crazy Castle’ (2015), directed by Abolhassan Davoodi, depicts a group of people who met on social media and must work together when one of them commits a crime, which if not solved, will impact all of them.

‘Where Are My Shoes?’ (2016), directed by Kioumars Pourahmad, focuses on an old man whose wife and daughter lose touch with him. He suffers a memory loss that is attributed to onset of Alzheimer.

Iranian films are regularly shown in different Pakistani cities and people show keen interest.

Last year an Iranian film festival was held in Rawalpindi city and another one was held this January in eastern city of Lahore. Both events attracted a large number of audiences.

MG/MF