Washington’s Smithsonian to screen Iran Film Festival

The Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC has scheduled to hold the 22nd Annual Iranian Film Festival next month.

A selection of 12 cinematic productions by Iran-based directors will be shown at the event, according to the website of the host venue, Freersackler.si.edu.

The screening program includes celebrated Iranian films such as ‘Blockade’ by Mohsen Qaraei, ‘Breath’ by Narges Abyar, ‘Negar’ by Rambod Javan and ‘24 Frames’ by Abbas Kiarostami, among others.

Screening of ‘24 Frames’, the final film by the late auteur Abbas Kiarostami, is a response to the paintings and photographs that inspired him, prompted by the desire to hold the frame steady so as to watch each image come to life, each drama play on.

Directed by Mohsen Qaraei, ‘Blockage’ chronicles a devastating chaos that occurs to a ferocious contemptible man who works as a street vendor control officer.

‘Breath’, a feature film by Narges Abyar, shows how hopes and dreams of many Iranian children shattered by the flames of the war that Iraq lit in 1980.

‘Negar’ tells the story of a girl whose economically-struggling father dies due to excessive pressure in life. Fishy circumstances surrounding the case lead a historian to review the last days of the man's life in order to understand the origin of his story.

The 22nd edition of the Annual Iranian Film Festival, titled ‘Iran Inside and Out’, will be held at the Meyer Auditorium in Washington on January 12-February 23, 2018.

AI/MG