Hossain sabzian biography of christopher columbus

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In dialogue with Kiarostami, By Ali Akbar Mahdi, August 25, 1998[]

text source The Iranian[1]

In dialogue with Kiarostami

By Ali Akbar Mahdi

August 25, 1998

The Iranian

Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's films seek to uncover the deepest human emotions in the most ordinary events in life. His works are a demonstration of the significance and relevance of these emotions to the restless, captive, and tormented individuals of the twentieth century.

With a profound understanding and a sharp view of the fate of the modern individual, he searches for the good and bad among a constellation of events and structures which are neither under human control nor of human service.

The protagonists of his films are the ordinary people who surround us. Their lives represent no more and no less of what constitute ours. Their presence in films provides us with an opportunity to think about the everydayness of our existence and relationships; an opportunity to see them as a mirror that reflects the depth of our human feelings and thoughts.

On March 3, 1998, Kiarostami was invited to Columbus, Ohio, to open the screening of his celebrated "Taste of Cherry" as the guest of the Wexner Center for the Arts, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.

He attended a public forum in which he engaged in a conversation with Bill Horrigan, the curator of media at the Center, Ali Akbar Mahdi, associate professor of sociology at Ohio Wesleyan University, and the audience present in the meeting.

Kiarostami spoke in Persian and Mahdi translated his responses for the audience. The following is the full transcription of this dialogue.

Bill Horrigan: Let me start with a funny story. This afternoon Mr. Kiarostami came to the Wexner Center and we went through the four galleries, one painting, two sculpture and one architecture. When we bring filmmakers to the Center, we usually have them visit the galleries. They often seem more interested in what is in our vid

Naficy, Hamid. "3. All Certainties Melt into Thin Air: Art-House Cinema, a “Postal” Cinema". A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 4: The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010, New York, USA: Duke University Press, 2012, pp. 175-268. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393542-008

Naficy, H. (2012). 3. All Certainties Melt into Thin Air: Art-House Cinema, a “Postal” Cinema. In A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 4: The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010 (pp. 175-268). New York, USA: Duke University Press. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393542-008

Naficy, H. 2012. 3. All Certainties Melt into Thin Air: Art-House Cinema, a “Postal” Cinema. A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 4: The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010. New York, USA: Duke University Press, pp. 175-268. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393542-008

Naficy, Hamid. "3. All Certainties Melt into Thin Air: Art-House Cinema, a “Postal” Cinema" In A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 4: The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010, 175-268. New York, USA: Duke University Press, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393542-008

Naficy H. 3. All Certainties Melt into Thin Air: Art-House Cinema, a “Postal” Cinema. In: A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Volume 4: The Globalizing Era, 1984–2010. New York, USA: Duke University Press; 2012. p.175-268. https://doi.org/10.1515/9780822393542-008

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The "Film History 101" series at the Wexner Center for the Arts will return for its monthly engagement with Close-Up (1990).

Because truth is stranger than fiction, Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami blends real-life footage with dramatic re-

enactments to tell the story of Hossein Sabzian, a sporadically employed man who posed as famous filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf (Kandahar) to dupe his way into the comfortable life of a well-to-do family.

Rather than steal from the family, though, Sabzian explains that he simply loves cinema - especially Makhmalbaf's The Cyclist - and wanted to be a part of it.

Sabzian "plays" himself, as do the family members. Kiarostami, too, appears on camera and - most noticeably during a late scene in which his sound equipment breaks down while filming - further blurs the line between reality and cinema.

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Works by Kiarostami include Taste of Cherry (1997); The Wind Will Carry Us (1999); and, most recently, Certified Copy (2010) with Juliette Binoche.

Close-Up, showing in a new 35mm print, is among the most notable works of a director whom other filmmakers love. Kiarostami "represents the highest level of artistry in the cinema," Martin Scorsese said. More recently, TheVillage Voice called Close-Up the "Iranian new wave's seminal creation."

Next nightmare

Next in the ongoing "Nightmares on High Street" series at the Gateway Film Center: Exorcismus (2010), in which a teenage girl dabbles in evil forces and soon finds herself suffering from seizures, memory loss and other afflictions that science can't explain.

Could it be time to summon an exorcist?

Also in the "Nightmares" series: a final showing of the post-apocalyptic vampire thriller Stake Land (2010).

DETAILS Stake Land: 9:30 tonight; Exorcismus: midnight Friday, 1:30 p.m. and midnight Saturday, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and 9:30 p.m. next Thursday, Gate

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