“Filmfarsi was the cinema of a nation with a split personality”, says filmmaker Ehsan Khoshbakht in this film-critical history of Iran under the Shah. Khoshbakht’s found-footage essay film salvages low budget thrillers and melodramas suppressed following the 1979 Islamic revolution. These films defined Iranian cinema in the 1960s and '70s, when the industry shared an equal percentage of the market with the USA. Little more than VHS rips remain.
Khoshbakht here uncovers that which was thought destroyed. A cinema of titillation, action and big emotions, which also presented a troubling mirror for the country, as Iran struggled to reconcile its religious traditions with the turbulence of modernity, and the influences of the West.
The often cheap, sleazy and derivative films offer an insight into Iran’s psyche. Among the scratched reels, some keystones of Iran’s extraordinary film culture emerge, too: Gheysar, whose title design was done by a young Abbas Kiarostami; the work of director Samuel Khachikian, a progenitor of Iranian noir; and The Deer, a film which more than any other symbolises the historic violent turns in Iran’s recent past. Filmfarsi presaged a revolution, and it became one of its first victims. — Yusef Sayed
No Body is an autobiographical poetic short animation film
This is an experimental charcoal animation , story is giving a thought of City and me through 3 emotional chapter of excitement/ frustration/ hope.
What price do the farmers of Punjab pay for the rice on our plate?
The north Indian state of Punjab was said to have produced enough food to feed the entire country during the Green Revolution. However, the overuse of chemicals introduced to enhance production poisoned the water with carcinogens and created an infertile soil addicted to chemicals. Just as the land is dependent, so are more and more farmers becoming addicted to drugs, which help them to work longer hours in the fields. The expense of the chemicals and drugs forces farmers to take loans from 'Arthis', the rich middlemen who increase their interest rates without warning. Over 50,000 farmers have committed suicide in the last ten years, by drinking the toxic chemicals that are murdering Punjabi soil.
The story of Diva – a fading superstar preparing for a comeback performance at the 2065 'eSports Olympics' – and Geo, an AI with artistic yearnings. Set in a smoke-and-mirrors realm of fantastical architecture, sentient drones and snow-deluged jungles, AIDOL revolves around the long and complex struggle between humanity and Artificial Intelligence.
Fame – in all its allure and emptiness – is set against the bigger contradictions of a post-AI world, a world where originality is sometimes no more than an algorithmic trick and where machines have the capacity for love and suffering. Contemporary anxieties and fixations – the rise of AI, the formulaic dictates of celebrity, the hegemony of technological giants – are refracted through a quixotic prism. AIDOL is accompanied by a score composed and orchestrated by the artist.
An immigrant Iranian news anchor works for a Persian TV channel in UK. His nude pictures are going viral on social media and he is trying to remove them.
A journey of relationships between women.
When society refuses to hear them, the Birangona, heroines of the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, hold closely to tell their stories to each other and the next generation to understand their identity. To never forget how as women they have refused to be diminished as they have tried to heal and overcome the ravages of conflict, violence and prejudice. To create the future with the power of unconditional love.
Female sumo wrestling champion Hiyori confronts obstacles both inside and outside the ring in an attempt to change Japan's national sport forever.
Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival 2019 - International premiere
Nestled between a beautiful lake and the Himalayas, Ashmina, 13, lives with her family at the outskirts of Pokhara Nepal, paragliding capital of the world. The remote and traditional town is also a busy tourist destination where the locals are profoundly affected by the swarms of tourists who visit it daily. Forced to skip school, Ashmina helps her family make ends meet by working at the landing field, packing the parachutes of foreign pilots in return of small change.
Official Selection BFI London Film Festival 2018 - World premiere
A Mongolian coming-of-age drama featuring seven original music tracks recorded live on set...
Up on the vast Mongolian grasslands, Ulaanbaatar city stands as an island of tightly packed humanity. The constant noise and energy crushes OD’s spirit; causing him to escape onto rooftops or out to the peaceful steppe.
He’s the singer of a successful band but grows tired of playing in bars. After an altercation with a drunk he turns his back on his band-mates and music.
At a new job translating for corrupt politicians Od meets GEGEE. Her name means ‘brightness’ and she shines a light on the true, deeper meaning of Mongolian music.
They begin creating a new musical style together and when Gegee suggests they play a small concert, Od reluctantly agrees. However, his depression resurfaces and he flees to the countryside leaving Gegee to play solo.
Angered at the betrayal Gegee joins up with Od’s old band-mates. At rock-bottom, Od is reminded of a traditional Mongolian ‘long-song’ Gegee’s mother had sung for him. It’s meaning sparks a light in his heart to reconnect with Gegee. And together they will sing up on the hill.
Zahida Kazmi is the first female taxidriver in Pakistan and a local legend. Independent, feisty and street-wise, she is a master hustler. Twice a widower and 56 years old, she is fighting to make a living on the dusty roads of Rawalpindi. Also a mother to 7 year old Zara, she is continually juggles her home life with behind the wheel. Reciting beautiful poetry in nostalgic moments off the road, Zahida reflects on her fate. Zahida is a fascinating insight into the trials faced by a determined woman carving her own path within a patriarchal society.
An exploration of the term Deva meaning god, heavenly supernatural being as seen through the relationship between a mixed race british black and indian couple Dev and Sarah displaying the rhythmic flow of reality and dream states as shown through a surreal pre wedding dance rehearsal.
