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.

Alex & Ali
Directed by: Malachi Leopold
2014 / 87 mins

This feature documentary tells the epic love story of an American and an Iranian gay couple. Alex, a former Peace Corps volunteer, spent a decade living in Iran (1967 – 1977). While there, he met and fell in love with Ali, an Iranian whom Alex considers his soul mate. When the Islamic revolution erupted in the late 70’s, Alex was forced to leave Iran – and Ali. But the two men kept their relationship alive through letters, phone calls, and emails.

In May 2012, documentary filmmaker and human rights advocate, Malachi Leopold followed Alex to Istanbul, where Alex and Ali reunited for the first time in 35 years, hoping to rekindle their relationship. The film follows the men as their best-laid plans are turned upside down, revealing emotionally painful twists and turns that transform their lives forever.

THE CHICAGO TRIBUNE: “Extraordinary. A complex story with a ruinous outcome. And it left me wrecked. I can’t remember the last time I had to pause a screener to collect myself. Deeply emotional, the film itself generates a slew of ethical questions. Which makes it intellectually involving as well. Most documentaries contend with ethical issues; all of that is heightened in Alex & Ali.”

SF WEEKLY: “The next great love story. What unfolds is at once heartwarming and heartbreaking as the two lovers confront more than just the wear and tear of time but the reality of a world still unwilling to recognize their union. Hollywood couldn’t have written it better.”

TORONTO FILM SCENE: “Absolutely essential viewing. An incredibly important film.”

Social entrepreneur, filmmaker, and human rights advocate Malachi Leopold is the Founder of Left Brain/Right Brain Productions, a full-service production company with a mission to create positive social change. From Chicago to the Congo, Gaza City to Amsterdam, Leopold has created documentaries, original series, and video content in collaboration with UNHCR, mtvU, Inc. Magazine, and TEDx, as well as the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Global Fund for Women, and Interfaith Youth Core. Previous projects include 22 Years from Home (documentary, qualified for 2010 Academy Awards); Standing Silent (documentary, currently in film festivals); Bringing Hope to Justice (documentary, in distribution); and Trep Life (documentary series, in distribution).  Alex & Ali is Leopold’s 5th documentary film.

An unfinished story about the Mohammadi family who is living in Canada. The father was an enthusiastic and faithful supporter of Mojahedin e Khalq (an Iranian opposition group) for more than 30 years and he encouraged his daughter to join this organization in Iraq when she was 17 years old. Now after 30 years he begins to lose trust in the organization, Meanwhile, her daughter starts to promote and she becomes one of the key figures of the organization, he is concerned about his daughter’s future so he decides to go to Iraq and find her daughter. This is the story of a father who lost his daughter Somayeh and he believes that now she is some sort of hostage that she cannot understand, so he tries to rescue her from captivity in Iraq.

‘An Unfinished Film, for My Daughter Somayeh’ is based on more than 500 hours Mohammadi’s family videos from 1992 to 2013 which were taken by the father.

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.

Hollywood Reporter writes:

“Iranian expat documaker Mehran Tamadon brings a European sensibility and sense of humor to a surreal encounter he engineers by inviting four bearded defenders of the Islamic Republic of Iran to debate basic issues with him, like the need for women to wear headscarves and freedom of the press. Even if the outcome of their discussions is easily foreseeable, the concept is irresistible. Yes, there are small chinks in his guests’ ideological armor, but the East-West positions are discouragingly fixed. What would have made this small doc exceptional is some significant breakthrough in cross-cultural understanding, some off-guard moment of doubt, which never happens.”

Mehran Tamadon left Iran at the age of 12 and moved to France in 1984. The son of active Communists, he studied Architecture in Paris. In the year 2000, he returned to Iran for four years and worked as an architect. Since 2002, he has given his career a distinctly artistic orientation. During an exhibit of conceptual art at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tehran, he showed an artistic installation called “From the eyes of a stroller”. In 2004 he made his first documentary, Behesht Zahra/ Mothers of Martyrs.  His fir long documentary, Bassidji (2009), is about the defenders of the Islamic Republic of Iran.  Basiji was screened at Docunight in April 2014.

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”.

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.

A documentary about the Godars, Artist-Gypsies Living in Iran. The Godars are nomadic gypsies who migrated from India to Iran and share the same heritage as the gypsies who moved into Eastern and Western Europe and into the Middle East. This tribe speaks Chuleh, which is a combination of Sanskrit, Mazandarani, and Farsi. Their original religion, Animism, was based on the belief that natural objects and phenomena possess lives and souls. During the Islamic Revolution, they were forced to convert, and although they are now officially Shiite Muslims, they are still outcasts and considered infidels. Infidels recounts the four ways which the Godars make their living: dancing, acting, hunting and music, and showcases their dedication to preserve their art and age-old rituals. In this film, the Godars sing songs, play music, and tell the ancient tales of their heritage which often deal with their problems with God. Infidels is the first film record of the Godars, their lives, and their efforts to maintain the independence of their culture.

Despite the threat of mines, assassination, and death by dehydration and starvation determined Shiite Muslims as many as 3,000 a day, have been pouring across the Iran-Iraq border since the fall of the Iraqi government. They risk their lives for only one reason: to visit the holy city of Karbala, fifty miles south of Baghdad. This city houses the magnificent shrine of seventh-century leader Imam Hussein, grandson of the prophet Muhamed. Hussein died in a battle in 681, a martyr to the Shiite faith. The intense devotion of these pilgrims to Imam Hussein and Karbala astounds outside observers at the same time that it puts the Iranian government in a major predicament. Torn between bureaucracy and allegiance to Islam, Tehran is continually revising its emigration policies, periodically opening and then closing its border. Meanwhile, people are dying, and chaos reigns at crossing points.

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.

• World Cinema Jury Prize Documentary, 2012 Sundance Film Festival
• Special Jury Award, 2012, Full Frame Film Festival
• Special Jury Prize, 2012, Hot Docs Film Festival
• Best Documentary, 2011, Jerusalem Film Festival

In “The Law in These Parts”, acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Ra’anan Alexandrowicz has pulled off a tour-de-force examination of the system of military administration used by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967 — featuring the system’s leading creators. In a series of thoughtful and candid interviews, Israeli judges, prosecutors, and legal advisers, who helped devise the occupation’s legal framework, paint a complex picture of the Middle East conflict and the balance among political interests, security and human rights that has come with it.