Azadeh Akhlaghi; By An Eye-Witness

Azadeh Akhlaghi 

Born in 1978, in Shiraz Azadeh Akhlaghi studied computer science at RMIT University. She is a conceptual artist who began her career in 2001. Akhlaghi’s main concerns are photography, video-arts and short movies. Akhlaghi’s practice acknowledges conceptual approaches to contemporary art through photography. She has made a number of short films which have been screened in numerous film festivals such as the Berkeley Art Museum, Pusan and Oslo. From 2001 to 2010 Akhlaghi has participated in numerous art exhibitions ranging from such countries as Iran, Australia, England to Turkey. Akhlaghi has also won a number of international prizes including the third prize of the UN Habitat Photography Competition and the first prize of the Women and Urban Life Competition of Iran. (From Galley MAMAK)

In her project By An Eye-Witness, Akhlaghi photographically reconstructs the death stories of a number of significant Iranian personalities. These figures include influential politicians, journalists, writers, and sports celebrities. The following passage has been written by Azadeh Akhlaghi about By An Eye-Witness. 

"Is it possible for a moment in present time to become so tumultuous and critical to break the linearity of time, bring the past to the present and thrust the dwellers of the present to the past? Is it possible that we come upon a radical opening in the course of history, through which the spirit of those who fought and died tragically for a common cause, walk alongside us shoulder-to-shoulder in the streets of our contemporary cities? Is it viable that a human being, doomed to the present time, takes the spirits of his precursors out of the massive ruins of history, call them on to the present, and relishes their precious support?

How about the opposite way? Is this extraordinary moment a new possibility to move on for us? Is it possible that we, in the heat of the moment, manage to detach from the triviality of our everyday life and travel back through history? A journey backward, not through memory or mind or analysis or reading or writing, but through our very flesh and blood, which seems profoundly attached to the moment?

The point of departure of this project derives from the shock – a collective shock – of the present, rather than a historical preoccupation and is a meditation on those possibilities. Perhaps what I bring to the fore is nothing but utopic daydreaming, one of those candid optimistic moments that come around during abrupt social cracks and collective hopes. This is perhaps imagining simultaneity of us and the dead we admire in an essentially different time, the time that is yet to come."  

CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE 

Jahangirkhan Sur-e Esrafil, Nasrollah Malek-Al-Motekallemin - 24 June 1908 - Bagh-e Shah, Tehran

Samad Behrangi - 03 September 1968 – Aras River, Iran

Marzieh Ahmadi Oskuie - 26 April 1974 - Tehran

Bijan Jazani - 18 April 1975 – Evin Hills, Tehran

Hamid Ashraf - 29 June 1976 – South Mehrabad House, Tehran

Ali Shariati - 18 June 1977 – Southampton, UK

Mahmoud Taleghani -10 September 1979 - Tehran

Mehdi Bakeri - 14 February 1985 – Majnoon Island,Iraq

Sohrab Shahid Saales – 1July 1998 - Chicago

Colonel Mohammad Taghi Khan Pesyan - 7 October 1921 - Mashhad

Mirzadeh Eshghi - 3 July 1924 - Tehran

Mohammad Farokhi Yazdi - 18 October 1939 - Qasr Prison, Tehran

Taghi Arani - 4 February 1940 – Tehran

Azar Shariat Razavi, Mostafa Bozorgnia, Ahmad Ghandchi - 7 December 1953 - Faculty of Engineering, Tehran University, Tehran

Forough Farokhzad - 13 February 1967 - Tehran

Mohammad Mosadegh - 05 March 1967 – Ahmad-Abad, Iran

Gholamreza Takhti - 7 January 1968 - Atlantic Hotel, Tehran

Understanding Persian Culture through Film

The Iranian Crystal Phoenix Award

Tehran-based film critic, festival organizer and director of Iranian Independents, Mohammad Atebbai joins a panel of scholars including Dr. Kaveh Ehsani, editor and Assistant Professor of International Studies, DePaul University, Chicago; Dr. Wimal Dissanayake, Professor of Intercultural Studies, University of Hawaii at Manoa, East West Center; Dr. Norma Claire Moruzzi, Associate Professor of Political Science (Gender and Women's Studies) and Director, International Studies Program, University of Illinois, Chicago; and Alissa Simon, film reviewer for VARIETY and senior film programmer for the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Topics of discussion include Iranian Film History, Contemporary Iranian Urban Society, Culturally Specific and Universal Experiences, and Women in Film and Society.

Generously co-sponsored by the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, AsiaPacificFilms, and NETPAC/USA

Amir Sadeghi Konjani: The Bone, Performance Art (2011)

Setareh Pessyani, Amir Sadeghi Konjani, Pegah Ahangarani

Amir Sadeghi Konjani, conceptual artiste, pianist and composer has received performances of his works by eminent musicians including the conductors Peter Manning, Gregory Rose , Andy Morely, violinist Darragh Morgan, harpist Sioned Williams, The Finzi Quartet, and the poet Ahmad Shamlou at prestigious venues such as The QEH London ,the Ether Festival , the USA and Canada, and on television broadcasts. Born in 1983, Amir received Masters Degree course under the tutelage of Dominic Murcott, Stephen Montague and Edward Jesson, and is the recipient of a scholarship from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. In 2005, the UNESCO National Music Committee of Iran selected him as a ‘notable composer’, and he was also an award winner at the 24th international Fadir Music Festival. His first CD released in 2009 worked with the well-known Iranianpoet Ahmad Shamlou on a creative presentation and subsequently produced further CD of contemporary music ”Metaphor till eternity” for the same Iranian company Mahoor. In recent years Amir’s work have been given much exposure both within Trinity, as well as further afield During 200910- he worked with harp players from Trinity on extended techniques, including experimenting with the use of a cello bow on the wire strings, and further exploration of sounds emanating from wire cello string tied between two harps, also played with a cello bow which has been presented at Royal Academy of Music.Concept and Composed by:Amir Sadeghi KonjaniCast:Pegah AhangaraniSetareh PesianiFlutists:Mona Taherian, Asal Hanachi, YaldaEhsani, Sachli haghighat talab,BaharBehzad, Sahar Jahantash, shararehsheikhan, shabnam sarmadi, FahimehNasiri,Shirin azadi, Elika Malek, Asalkheradyar, Pegah TaslimiPiano:Paria Shokouhi –Shahrzad SafaieCello:Maral MohammadiConsultant Director:Salar Salari, Maral Mohammadi, Amirhossein davani, Ankido Darash, FoadMokhberi, Mohsen RastegarProduction Designer:Amir Hosein Davani, Amir SadeghiKonjani, Ali SadeghiTechnical Director:Amir Hosein BabaianCostume Designer:Neda NasrPhotography:Salar SalariProducers:Maryam Sadeghi ,Aun Gallery andKh.A.V Group.Special Thanks to:Tansy Davies, Mira Calix, DominicMurcott, Nasim Bagheri, NooshinRahimi, Maryam Salari, NedaGhanizadeh, Mehran Danaie, Bahman Mazaheri. (From Aun Gallery)

Today's Life and War (2008) by Gohar Dashti

Gohar Dashti

Gohar Dashti received her M.A in Photography from the Fine Art University of Tehran in 2005. She has developed a practice concerning social issues with particular references to history and culture in modern society.

She creates artwork using different media such as photography and video. She has participated in several art residencies and scholarships such as DAAD award (2009-2011); Visiting Arts (1mile2 project), Bradford –London, UK (2009) and International Arts & Artists (Art Bridge), Washington DC, USA (2008).

She has held various exhibitions around the world, being shown in many festivals and biennales. Her works are in many collections including Museum of Fine Arts (MFAH), Houston (US) and Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City (US). (From Gohar Dashti's official website)

"Rashid Khan"

Shojaoddoleh's Manor House in Ghoochan

"Rashid Khan" is an Iranian folk song from Ghoochan, located in northeast of Khorasn, Iran. In Ghoochan, the song is known as "Ghoochan Kharabeh" or "Ruined Ghoochan", but in the rest of Iran, it is usually referred to as "Rashid Khan." Here are two different performances of the song, Pari Zangeneh's "Rashid Khan" and a modern instrumental adaptation of the Khorasani classic by Shirin Delsooz.

Pari Zangeneh

Pari Zangeneh, an acclaimed Persian female vocalist, began her study of music in Iran at a very early age before continuing her studies in Italy, Germany, and Austria. Renowned for her unique opera-style music, Zangeneh’s beautiful music is both charming and soothing. Her musical portfolio is varied and complex. She has been given as much credit for generating interest in Persian folk music as for her solo performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Florida Symphonic Orchestra. Her voice has been heard around the globe: at the Palazzo Barbarini in Rome; the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.; Lincoln Center in NYC; Herbst Theatre in San Francisco; Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Salmino, Paris; Hercules Hall, Munich; Wilshire Ebell Theatre, Los Angeles; to name but a few. She is the recipient of many international awards for her magnificent performances, including the First Medal of Work, the International Gold Medal for Voice, and the title of Ambassador of Good Will.

In 1971, unfortunately, Ms. Zangeneh lost her eyesight in an automobile accident. This incident did not diminish her enthusiasm and passion for life, nor her pursuit of excellence. In addition to her musical performances she has studied and researched the folk music of many countries, and has preserved a wealth of melodious songs and stories. She has authored several books all to critical acclaim. All her writings are available in Braille. (From Encyclopædia Iranica)

Shirin Delsooz

Shirin Delsooz is a Persian-Canadian musician based in Montreal whose influences range from alternative to traditional music. Her latest EP features her singing, playing mandolin and guitar, and also features musicians she met in the Irish and Quebecois traditional music scene.Shirin combines her Persian heritage and inspirations ranging from Celtic, Quebecois and Bluegrass genres into her songs.

A recent trip to Iran opened her eyes to a genre of Persian gypsy music. Her mind has been made since, her next music project will incorporate their charming accordians and upbeat percussive drums. (From CBC)

"Simin Daneshvar: Early Iranian at Stanford"; a Documentary by Sharif University of Technology Association (Farsi)

Simin Daneshvar

Simin Dāneshvar (Persian: سیمین دانشور‎;‎ April 28, 1921 – March 8, 2012) was an Iranian academic, novelist, fiction writer and translator. Daneshvar had a number of firsts to her credit. In 1948, her collection of Persian short stories was the first by an Iranian woman to be published. The first novel by an Iranian woman was her Savushun ("Mourners of Siyâvash," 1969), which has become Iran's bestselling novel ever. Daneshvar's Playhouse, a collection of five stories and two autobiographical pieces, is the first volume of translated stories by an Iranian woman author. (From Wikipedia)

Hooshmand Varaei: "Whistling Under Water"

Whistling Under Water

The 2010 edition of the Videoex Experimental Film and Video Festival awarded Iran's Whistling under Water directed by Houshmand Varaei. The 15-minute film was granted the Special Mention of the Swiss festival, which was held from May 22 to 30, 2010 in Zurich. Whistling under Water also won the First Prize for Best Film and Second Prize for Best Director of the first Nowruz of Hamghadam Short Film Festival in Paris. A production of Iran Film School, Varaei's 2009 production was granted the Open St. Petersburg Film Festival Beginning's diploma 'in memory of Sergey Dobrotvorsky' for the fruitful search of sources of the impossible.Varaei has also directed the 30-minute film Kites Know No Chastity, which has been screened at Denmark's International Odense Film Festival and the Australia Experimental Film Festival.

"After Paradise": A Documentary about Contemporary Art in Iran by Fergus Meiklejohn (2006)

Fergus Meiklejohn

"My Tehran for Sale" by Granaz Moussavi

Granaz Moussavi

Granaz Moussavi (Persian : گراناز موسوی ), (born January 26, 1974 in Tehran) is an Iranian-Australian contemporary poet, film director and screen writer. She is primarily renowned for her avant-garde poetry in the 90's. Her award winning debut feature film My Tehran for Sale is an internationally acclaimed Australian-Iranian co-production. (From Wikipedia)

My Tehran for Sale (Persian :تهران من، حراج), is an internationally acclaimed 2009 Australian-Iranian feature film written and directed by avant-garde poet turned filmmaker Granaz Moussavi, produced by Cyanfilms and starring Marzieh Vafamehr, Amir Chegini and Asha Mehrabi.

Officially selected by Toronto, Rotterdam, Pusan and several other international film festivals, this debut art-house, explores the contemporary Tehran and its underground art scene focusing on the life of a young actress who has been banned from her theater work. Struggling to pursue her passion in art as well as her secret life-style in a socially oppressed environment, Marzieh gets involved in some subsequent and unexpected events leading her to a decision-making dilemma regarding her survival and identity.

Unlike already acclaimed Iranian exotic cinema which is mostly known in the West by its portrayal of rural life, nature landscapes, as well as socio-economically deprived children struggling for survival in the outskirts of Tehran, the writer/director of My Tehran for Sale attempts to depict the middle class people and the uncertainties in their every day urban life. My Tehran for Sale has a poetic language to address critical issues such as double life of young people, women oppression, HIV issue, secret abortions, underground art, massive immigration, crisis of identity, people smuggling and also asylum seeker detention centers.

My Tehran For Sale is the winner of Independent spirit Inside Film Awards 2009. It won the jury award for best feature Film at the TriMedia Film Festival in 2010. Apart from various festivals and universities the film was screened at Museum of Modern Art MoMA in New York as well as Cinémathèque Française in Paris.

The film has been an official selection to Toronto International Film Festival TIFF (Sep 2009), Vancouver International Film Festival (Sep-Oct 2009), Busan International Film Festival BIFF(formerly PIFF) (Oct 2009), International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg (Nov 2009), Museum of Modern Art MoMA (New York, Jan 2010), International Film Festival Rotterdam (Jan 2010), International Film Festival Prague - Febiofest, 2010 Cinema Novo Film Festival Brugges 2010, CPH:PIX Copenhagen International Film Festival 2010, Guadalajara International Film Festival Mexico, Sydney Travelling Film Festival, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival, Human Rights Arts and Film Festival HRAFF 2010, Focus on Asia Fukuoka International Film Festival 2010 , Global Lens USA 2010, Dialogue of Cultures Film Festival New York 2011 and SVAW Film Fesival Melbourne 2011, etc. (From Wikipedia)

Ghajar Women