The Iranian Film festival at National Theatre
Feb 11, 2014
At the mention of Iran, one quickly thinks about political unrests, weapons of mass destruction and, for the most part, the loggerheads with the western world.
By Edward Nimusiima
At the mention of Iran, one quickly thinks about political unrests, weapons of mass destruction and, for the most part, the loggerheads with the western world. Hardly do they know that Iran boosts of a film industry that produces a variety of commercial films annually and has a substantial footing in great story telling.
Iranian art films have garnered international fame and now enjoy a global following. Furthermore, some critics now rank Iran as the world’s most important cinema, artistically.
The Cultural Counsel of the Embassy of Islamic Republic of Iran presented the 2nd Iranian film festival at the National Theatre last weekend, and a total of 12 films were screened starting with the film Mr Yosef on Friday.
It was about Agha Yousef who lived with his daughter. He did everything for a living and for his daughter’s sake hoping that she is his forever.
But a misunderstanding made everything complicated for him. There were also screenings of films like Colour of Paradise and As Simple As That. All the movies had English subtitles.
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The opening ceremony was colourful with a pulsating musical performance by Abidar music group who wowed the audience, the film savvy souls, with their somewhat complex but well-churned performance.
Renowned filmmaker, Ashraf Ssemogerere called upon Iranian filmmakers to merge talents with local Ugandan filmmakers.
The ceremony was graced by the Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, who shed light about the memorandum (which is in the pipeline) the parliament of Uganda is yet to sign with the Assembly of Iran.
Between Saturday and Sunday, there were screenings of Endless Dream, Beloved Sky, Paradise Is Somewhere Else, Alzheimer, and M For Mother.
The closing day, Monday, saw the screenings of three films: The Foot, Under The Moonlight and Family Bond.
The four-day cultural extravaganza was, undoubtedly, worth the time spent.