A ROCKY-esque tale of determination and grit, PLATFORM follows three Iranian sisters as they compete to become international champions of Wushu, a Chinese martial art. The sisters’ thrilling underdog story explores not only their dedicated training but also their surprising place in society as they challenge traditional gender roles on the path to success.

(Special thanks to @venerafilms)

Iran’s entry for the international feature film category
in the 92nd Academy Awards (the Oscars) in 2020.

“Finding Farideh” is a feature-length documentary about an Iranian girl named Farideh, who had been abandoned in a holy shrine in Iran when she was 6 months old in 1976, and then she got adopted by a Dutch couple and left Iran to the Netherlands to start her new life. Her parents promised to take her to Iran when she turns 18, but it never happened because they always thought that Iran is a dangerous country to go. Now, she overcomes her fears and starts a personal journey to her motherland Iran for the first time to meet three families who claim to be her biological family and to find out about her Iranian identity and culture.

Festivals:

• Cinema Verite International Film Festival, Iran
• Fadjr International Film Festival, Iran
• Iranian Film festival in Cologne, Germany
• Prague Iranian Film Festival, Czech Republic
• Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, USA
• Docudays UA International film festival, Ukraine
• Zurich Iranian Film Festival, Switzerland
• Middle East Now Film Festival, Italy
• Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey
• Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, Russia

Awards:

• Winner of the Special Prize of the Tataristan’s President for “Humanity in Cinema” at Kazan International Muslim Film Festival, Russia
• Winner of 4 awards in Iran’s international documentary film festival “Cinema Verite” : (Best Film in Art & Experience Section, Best Editing, Best Music and Festival director’s special prize).
• Winner of the best documentary award at the 20th Iran’s Cinema Celebration Academy Awards.
• Winner of an honorary diploma for best directing and the award for best sound design in the 10th Independent Celebration of Iranian Documentary Films.
• Winner of the best documentary film in the 1st “Cinema Cinema Academy Awards”

Faezeh Hashemi, daughter of Iran’s powerful former president, Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani,​ is the most news-making woman in the Islamic republic’s history. At first, she was only known as the daughter of Ayatollah Hashemi Rafsanjani, but with her stands on women’s right and more important Baha’i rights in Iran, she became an independent character and turned into one of the influential individuals in politics in Iran. Like A Woman is the first and only documentary about Faezeh’s personal and private life with a look at her family in which will cover many unseen aspects of particularly Ayatollah Hashemi’s family and his controversial children.

Flax to Fire depicts the life and work of Aliasghar Hajibaba, an elite Iranian industrialist and entrepreneur. Originally trained as a quiltmaker in his youth, he manages to start an independent business in the midst of a tumultuous life. With the help of his family, he successfully pursues his endeavors to the point that he eventually becomes known as a founder of Iran’s iron alloys and foundry industry. This film bears witness to Hajibaba’s incessant work ethic throughout his long life. He and his associates also discuss the political struggles, economic problems and social barriers of their times.

‘October 13, 1937’ is a documentary about Iranian-Armenian maestro Loris Tjeknavorian, an Iranian Armenian composer and conductor. He is one of the most celebrated cultural figures in Armenia and Iran. As one of the leading conductors of his generation, he has led international orchestras throughout the world: in Austria, UK, United States’ Canada, Hungary, Copenhagen, Iran, Finland, USSR, Armenia, Thailand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Denmark, and Israel. His compositions have been performed by major orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Philharmonic Orchestra Helsinki, American Symphony Orchestra in New York, Tehran Symphony Orchestra, Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, Haifa Symphony Orchestra, the Mexico Symphony Orchestra, London Percussion Virtuosi, Strasbourg Percussion Ensemble and English Chamber Orchestra.

Tjeknavorian himself said the film is about a mad person, and “I have always said that the mad people make the world and the wise ruin it”.

“When I was told they were going to make a film about me I was afraid, since we are all making changes every day, I never thought about the replies to the questions in this film and gave the responses immediately. I am still a child and I never want to leave this childhood of mine because that world would have no pleasure for me.”

In 1963, Professor Carl Orff granted Loris Tjeknavorian a scholarship, which allowed him to reside in Salzburg and to complete his opera, Rostam and Sohrab, based on a story from the epic Shahnameh.

Seventy-year-old Ali Aqa’s large, fleshy hands shake as he helps a newborn pigeon chick hatch. His pigeons, which he keeps on the roof of his home, mean everything to him. He calls his favorite white pigeon “sweetheart” and even takes her into his bedroom. His wife is less than enthusiastic about this, and has good cause to be jealous. He may be the embodiment of tenderness when dealing with his beloved pigeons, but this cantankerous old man is a trial for the human beings around him, as we soon learn from this dynamic portrait, shot up close to its protagonist. He orders his wife and son around and is consumed by paranoia. When it goes too far, even the film’s director Kamran Heidari abandons his strictly neutral position as an observer. The pigeons are Ali’s way of escaping reality—in particular, an impending hospitalization—but this proves ever more difficult. Ali Aqa’s small-scale, everyday story encompasses a great human drama: how do we accept the inevitable?

With more than 4000 death sentences in 45 years, judge Azizmohammadi not only has a record in issuing death sentences in Iran, but also in the world. “Death and the Judge” is a powerful documentary about Iran’s most famed and feared criminal judge, and it offers an intimate yet chilling portrait into the professional and private lives of this criminal judge.

This documentary takes a brief look at Hayedeh Shirzadi and her husband’s shared life, love and work and their attempt to put an end to the dumping and burial of urban garbage. Due to their hard work and ingenuity, 100% of the city of Kermanshah’s garbage is now recycled and the biowaste is made into organic fertilizers.

Shirzadi studied recycling in Germany. She returned to Iran in order to clean up the environment, to stop the destruction of arable land, and to curb air and water pollution. Her first attempts were ignored but she kept at the local government until she was successful in getting the job of waste manager, first in her birthplace Gilane Gharb and then in Kermanshah. She also traveled around Iran and helped establish a recycling center in many cities. Today Kermanshah’s waste is all recycled and converted into useful products.

She is an energetic leader and the fate of the earth is her main concern. Shirzadi has recently launched a site for recycling construction rubble.

The Karestan Documentary Series features stories about Iranian entrepreneurs of both genders who have taken personal risks, and through their creativity and innovative approach, became an instrument of change in their own as well as the lives of others. Their impact, even if confined to a small scale or limited to a geographical area, has inspired big change and progress.

Shirin Parsi is a rice farmer, but not an ordinary one! After receiving a BA in French literature from the University of Paris, she returned to Iran but decided not to live in the megapolis capital, Tehran. Since her husband had inherited some land in Shanderman, a village near the Caspian Sea, they decided to relocate there and take up rice farming. The Parsi family, including their two sons, instituted innovations in rice production, promoted sustainable farming and have always refrained from using chemical pesticides and fertilizers. In a region where more and more farmers are selling their farms at very cheap prices to developers, the Parsis are busy cultivating pure organic rice. Shirin and her family have chosen an exemplary lifestyle which is rich in indigenous values. In addition to rice farming, Shirin spends time as a social activist and volunteers with several local NGOs. She is especially active in women’s groups where she focuses on raising awareness. This film follows Shirin preparing the rice paddies until the rice harvest, as well as showing her social activities, as she attempts to bring about social and environmental change.

The Karestan Documentary Series features stories about Iranian entrepreneurs of both genders who have taken personal risks, and through their creativity and innovative approach, became an instrument of change in their own as well as the lives of others. Their impact, even if confined to a small scale or limited to a geographical area, has inspired big change and progress.

Dust-Flower-Flame, ​is a documentary film by Shabnam Tolouei, about the life of Tahirih Qurratu’l-Ayn, a woman of letters, the effect of whose presence on women’s equality movement in the 19th century during the reign of Qajar has continued up until today. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran, it is forbidden to write or talk about Qurratu’l-Ayn. Even her name, or pages and chapters about her, have been removed in later editions of historical or literary books published in Iran. Instead, many sponsored books have been published, in numerous copies, to tarnish her character as an apostate and even a prostitute.