Fight Feast (Bazm-e Razm) is about the vicissitudinous story of Iranian music between 1979-1989, the years just after the revolution through the end of the Iran-Iraq war. The narrative of restrictions and obstacles told by musicians, composers, and state authorities. The confrontation between music and politics. The simultaneous narration of two stories: the story of young people who sacrificed their lives for their homeland, and the story of musicians who on one hand entered the battlefields by their own language and on the other hand kept Iranian music alive and thriving.

The Story of Boulevard is a documentary about Keshavarz Boulevard, one of Tehran’s important streets, The film is in effect a line-up of histories, events, and narratives of the place and it’s deep-rooted desires and contradictions waxing and waning, a course that makes Boulevard a collective belonging.

Davood Ashrafi is an independent filmmaker based in Tehran. A graduate of Cinema from the University of Art and a member of Khane Cinema. He worked for years in feature films as a camera assistant and is now a cinematographer. In his work, he is interested in the intersection between documentary and fiction film. His documentary The Story of Boulevard won the Art & Experience prize at the 11th Cinema Verite Festival and Best film with the focus of Tehran at Shahr 7th International Film Festival.

The Mannequins of Ghale Hassan Khan tells the story of the birth and life of some mannequins. They are all created in the same way but their faith is not the same.

Sam Kalantari, bornin 1976 in Tehran, is considered to be the fourth generation of Iranian documentary filmmakers. He began filmmaking academically the same time as he entered university to study civil engineering, he entered the realm of Iran’s professional filmmaking scene by making his first short film “The Unknown Desire” (Tamanaye Majhoul) in 2001. After completing his studies in Ireland, he entered the international realm of Iranian cinema as the director of films “from the House No.37” and “He”.

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.

On the spring of 1967, when the first Paykan rolled off the assembly line on an outskirt of Tehran, no one thought this car would be produced for 38 years, or that it could have such an impact on a whole nation.

Iran’s Arrow features numerous talking heads who share a common interest for the country’s emblematic car, ranging from historical to sociological analyses, from technical to artistic expertise and from sheer passion to a complicated love-hate relationship. The film uses rare archival footage, as well as a large collection of vintage photos and imagery, to document the history of Paykan, the way it’s been perceived throughout the years, and its links with Iran’s major historical and sociological landmarks, such as the White Revolution (1963), the industrialization, the rise of the middle class, the Islamic Revolution (1979), the Iran-Iraq War (1980-1988), and social economic mutations of the post-war era.

Older Paykan owners – including official and unofficial taxi drivers- testify of the fundamental role it played and still plays in their everyday life, as a means of transport, a source of income, and sometimes an achievement in itself. A number of Paykan enthusiasts, most of them from the younger generation, are being interviewed about their very special relationship with the car they grew up with. The film also documents the decline of the Paykan, while showing how it is still very much alive in the culture and memory of the country. Interviews are also conducted with artists who use Paykan as a medium or the subject of their art.

Shahin Armin is an automotive design-engineer and a lifelong Paykan expert. Born in Tehran and a car enthusiast before he could even talk or walk, he moved to the US in his twenties and worked in the US car industry for 13 years (Chrysler, Michigan and Honda America, Ohio).Although he worked on the design of modern and sophisticated cars, he could never get the Paykan out of his head. In 2009 he started the PaykanHunter.com blog, thus initiating an extensive research about Iran’s emblematic car. Upon returning to Tehran in 2012, he co-curated two Paykan themed art exhibitions exhibiting work from prominent Iranian artists.Iran’s Arrow is a result of his many years of extensive research into the history of this car, his experiences interacting with his fellow Paykan enthusiasts, and his comprehensive understanding of the car’s impact on Iranian society.

Sohrab Daryabandari is a Tehran based professional photographer and filmmaker whose 25 year-long career has been stretching between almost all areas of expertise in analog and digital photography. His work has ranged from journalistic, commercial, and artistic to architectural and industrial photography, which later lead him to editing as well as industrial, artistic and documentary filmmaking.His photographic work, which was regularly exhibited and published in Iran and Europe, has later been influencing his filmmaking, notably in Dammam (Iran, 2003) and Sharveh (Iran, 2005), his two documentaries on ethnic Iranian music.Iran’s Arrow owes him its remarkable photography, the minute treatment of archive material, and its overall filmmaking and editing quality, considering the conditions of production and the limited resources.

This is the story and history of the longest street in the Middle East that expands 17 km from the south to the northern parts of the city of Tehran. This is also the largest plane grove, found in these parts with the plane trees lining and adorning the street all along its corridor.

This street holds the collective memory of the Iranian people and has been witness to the country’s most important social and political upheaval taking place in and around it. The street has gone through many reformations in step with the changes in the society; mass increase in population, changes in the governmental systems and social changes, to name a few, have all left their marks along the side of Vali e Asr Street. The street itself has changed names in line with the times, from Pahlavi to Mossadegh to the current Vali e Asr.

This engaging film is not only nostalgic in many ways, but educational as it provides a glimpse into Iran’s past century.

In 1971, the Shah of Iran, the self-proclaimed ‘king of kings’, celebrated 2,500 years of the Persian monarchy by throwing the greatest party in history. Money was no object – a lavish tent city, using 37km of silk, was erected in a specially created oasis. The world’s top restaurant at the time, Maxim’s, closed its doors for two weeks to cater the event, a five-course banquet served to over sixty of the world’s kings, queens and presidents, and washed down with some of the rarest wines known to man. Over a decadent five-day period, guests were treated to a pageant of thousands of soldiers dressed in ancient Persian costume, a ‘son et Lumiere’ at the foot of Darius the Great’s temple, and the opening of the Azadi Tower in Tehran, designed to honor the Shah himself. Every party leaves a few hangovers. This one left a country reeling, never to recover. It crystallized the opposition, led by the Ayatollah Khomeini. More than any other event, this party marked the break between the king of kings and the people of Iran he reigned over.

In 1842 the 11-year-old heir to the Persian throne received a camera from Queen Victoria of England. In the following decades, he documented his life, revealing to the public eye what it was never supposed to see.

“Nasseredin Shah and his 84 Wives” is based on the photos taken by the Shah himself as well as by his court. With the addition of several animated sequences, it tells the story of the rivalry and intrigues within the harem, the murders, the corruption, the political power struggle, and of Iran’s troubled relation to Europe.

Women with moustaches, a self-indulgent king, an imperialistic England, and not at least, a beautiful calico cat, are the main performers in this documentary depicting the power struggles and intrigues in the Persian harem in the second half of the 19th century. The film focuses on an aspect that is all too often overlooked: that is, the influential role played by women in the origins of modern Iran.

The documentary is partly based on animated sequences made by Raiavin Studio in Tehran, and partly on photographs were taken by the head of the country from 1848 to 1896, Nasseredin Shah, and his court photographers.

This film takes a historical look at the origin and development of the Grand Bazaar of Tehran which spans over ten kilometers and dates back to the medieval period. The Grand Bazaar of Tehran is still is one of the most vibrant centers of commerce in the country. The film compares and contrasts the past and present day methods of commerce and discusses the cultural, business and architectural aspects of the ever changing Grand Bazaar.

FINAL FITTING follows Mr. Arabpour, a master tailor with a specialty in religious attire. He has been the official tailor to the most important religious leaders of Iran for the past several decades, including the late Ayatollah Khomeini, former President Mohammad Khatami, and the current Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. It’s a fascinating story about the variations of the ‘Aba’ and ‘Ammameh’ (the turban and the robe) and how they can differ in style depending on the political inclination of the man wearing them.  The film showcases the changing cultural styles of Iran and its clerical elite through its portrait of one man and his time-honored craft.

In this one sequence-plan documentary, Mohammad satirically talks about his childhood memories and his strong sixth sense (Molf-e Gand) during the Iran-Iraq war. With his beautiful power of expression, he turns his bittersweet memories into eye-catching images which form and move before the eyes of the viewers.

Mahmoud Rahmani (born 1980, Izeh, Khuzestan), made his first short film, “Gagola” in 2003, and “Oha” (dragon) in 2004. He made his first documentary, “Naft Sepid” in 2005, which was well-received inside and outside of Iran and was screened at several film festivals such as IDFA, Cinema du Reel, and more. His second documentary film “Zero Degree Orbit” was produced in 2007 and received more than 15 prizes at in Iran and internationally. His latest documentary, “Molf-e Gand” was made in 2009.

I saw Shoosh is a short film based on a poem by Mehdi Akhavan-Sales (1928-1990), one of the most prominent Persian poets. It compares the ancient city of Shoosh in the south of Iran, formerly a gateway of civilization, to the modern Shoosh, an impoverished city without character.

Bahman Kiarostami (born 1978) lives and works in Tehran, as a documentary film director, editor, and cinematographer. He made his first documentary ‘Morteza Momayez: Father of Iranian Contemporary Graphic Design’ in 1996. Most of his documentaries focus on valuing and legitimizing processes in art, but also cover the visible yet obscured and unnoticed details which define Iran’s post-revolutionary visual culture.

During the 60’s and 70’s thousands of Israelis are living in Tehran, enjoying a special relationship with the Shah and his dictatorial rule. Protected by large arms deals and complex financial ties, the Israeli community enjoy a wealthy and luxurious lifestyle; failing to note that the corrupt and despised ruling power to which they are connected, is collapsing. By the time they understand that their ‘Iranian Paradise’ is turning into hell, it is almost too late, and they stand to find themselves in the middle of the Islamist revolution, due to take Iran by storm.

Using rare archive footage, interviews with diplomats, Mossad agents, businessmen, and their families, the director – whose family had been part of the very same community – reveals a new perspective on the revolution that changed the world. What starts as a nostalgic look at a lost era, becomes a thrilling story where huge dreams are shattered in a dark reality of greed, blindness, and lust for power.

Dan Shadur

A graduate of the Film and Television Department in Tel Aviv University, Dan was a writer and editor in some of the main newspapers in Israel, before shifting into Film and TV making. Dan was the founder and chief editor of the cultural section of Globes – Israel’s leading financial newspaper, and founder of Shadurian Publisher’s – a publishing house for cutting edge literature from Israeli and international writers.

In the last couple of years, he made a few shorts, video clips and various works for TV, including a 30 minutes fiction film – “Sunburn”.