FILM - CEN - ASIA

"Iran Southwestern" - Directed by Mohammad Reza Fartousi

2011-12-21T07:38:00.000-08:00

This documentary is about Al-Azim marshes (wetland), located in southwest Iran, a large portion of which suffered considerable degradation and deterioration during the long years of war between Iran-Iraq (1980-1988). The remaining parts of "Al-Azim" got even further destroyed with the discovery and exploitation of Azadegan Oilfield and also the fall out of the construction of Karkheh Dam.

Drying up of these marshes (wetland) , considered as the sole source of the local people's sustainance, has caused most residents to migrate surrounding cities. This film is story of drying up Al-Azim marshland with look at the lifestyle of last residents living in those lands.

3D photo Slideshow of Iran Southwestern

Film Directed By: Mohammad Reza Fartousi

Photo: Reza Abyat

Motion Graphic: Adel Davoodi

Awards won:

Special prize from Ficma film festival-Spain

Honorable mention at Tur ostrava film festival- Czech

Gulf film festival dubai

Ficma film festival Barcelona

Ecozine film festival Zaragoza

RAI film festival - London

Jean roach film festival - Paris

Roterdam arab film festival - Netherlands
Teheran documentary film festival - Iran

Click to watch the trailer of the documentary

An Anthropological Lens on Zar Rituals in S. Iran

2011-12-21T04:05:00.000-08:00

The Iranian Ethnographic Film Day held in November 2011 at the British Museum, London had a unique aspect in terms of the films selected for screening. All those films covered aspects of life along the southern coastline of Iran. Some of these films that covered elements of Zar rituals observed by the people living in Southern Iran or its islands included:

Hengam, Land of Nobody (Maryam-e Jazirey-e Hengam)
Director: Mehrdad Oskouei, Date: 2005, Running time: 26’
Country: Iran; Keywords: Hengam Island, fishermen’s traditional life, fishing techniques

Iran Southwestern (Iran, Jonub-e Gharbi)
Director: Mohammad Reza Fartousi
Date: 2010, Running time: 52’, Country: Iran
Keywords: Al-Azim Marshland, Iran-Iraq War, fishermen’s traditional life

The Refrain of Locked Launches (Safir-e Lenjhayeh Darband)
Director: Mehdi Omidvari
Date: 2005, Running time: 38’, Country: Iran
Keywords: fishermen’s ritual, Zar ritual, boat fabrication

The Persian Gulf (Daryay-e Pars)
Director: Manouchehr Tayyab
Date: 2006, Running time: 93’, Country: Iran
Keywords: Iranology, historical background, ethno-history of region

As co-organizer of the Film event, Anthropology Professor William Beeman pointed out that the Zar cult that exists in Makran, Baluchistan and in the coastal location in Southern Iran like Salkh, Keshm and Kish island. These are rituals to treat individuals who come under influence of a spirit or Jinn i.e. a trans-positional cult of people at ill-ease upon inhibited by the Jinn who join a rehabilitative group who help them go into a trance to communicate with the Jinn.

Professor Beeman who has analyzed the Zar practice both as a ritual and as a performance for decades explains: “The success or failure of the Zar often rests on the skill of the Baba or Mama practitioner. The event, replete with drumming and chanting is aimed at reaching the Jinn who inhabit the individual and propitiating them. The Baba or Mama can only do this when in trance. Thus the performative aspect of the Zar is as important as the ritual aspect. Indeed, unless the performance succeeds the ritual fails.

The Zar "cult" is one of the most interesting features of culture in the Gulf region. Its origins are unclear, but it has important affinities with other similar trance-possession practices in South Asia and Africa reaching as far as the Hamadsha practice of Morocco, notes Beeman who, owing to his fieldwork of over 30 years in the Gulf, has witnessed a number of Zar ceremonies and had the opportunity to interview participants the Zar in the Gulf region.

According to Professor Beeman, performance in general is a human practice that binds individuals in a community. The Zar has this very profound effect. It is seen by outsiders as a cult because those involved with it return again and again to share the experience of participation.

Among people living along the coastline in southern Iran, some believe that spirits and Jinn float on those winds which at times enter their bodies. These winds are deemed as dangerous and damaging winds as the "windswept" person struggles with bouts of ‘insanity’, writes Ruzbeh Farazmand:

As a result of paying several visits to the Salkh people on Qishm Island, producer Mehrdad Oskouei was able to acquire consent for capturing the proceedings of Zar rituals on camera. With the assistance of specific rhythms, the healer helped the affected person reach a state of trance which helped him rid of the ‘red wind’ from his body. During those ritual proceedings a unique repertoire of perfumes, musical instruments and duhul (drums) said to be of African origins are used.

Another way of approaching the Zar phenomena is through the medium of music. For centuries women in Africa and the Middle East have used this music to cure pain in times of stress or illness. Followers of the Zar cult believe that sometimes their illnesses are caused by "red spirits" - the Zar - who use human

bodies as hosts. These spirits attract attention to themselves by making their hosts sick. Only after acknowledging a spirit's presence and meeting its demands can a woman hope to attain a symbiotic relationship with her possessor --- and she

discovers the identity of this intruder through a dance-induced trance.

Music from this piece is from Sands of Time:

The Zar (www.sandsoftimemusic.com) and the end

performance piece: Rapture Rumi by Steven Flynn

(www.stevenflynnmusic.com) ©1995
Wild Child Music BMI

Visit

http://anthropology.ir/node/2886

http://bit.ly/zarmusic1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KJFlDtT70c

Further information:
http://www.bellydancestuff.com/style-zar.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z%C4%81r

Literature about Zar

Ghulam Hussein Sa'edi, an Iranian physician with anthropological interests, has presented an extensive study of the maladies that afflict the black communities of the Persian Gulf. The local people attribute these diseases to the "Winds" or baads. Sa'edi has also provided detailed information on the type of rituals performed to control the power of the Winds, http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/bashiri/gulf/gulf.html

Sa'edi, Ghulam Hussein. Ahl-i Hava, University of Tehran Press, 1967.

Here is a review of Sa'edi’s book in Perisan,
http://ketabamoon.blogsky.com/1389/09/22/post-219/

Also,
G. P. Makris : Changing Masters : Spirit Possession and Identity Construction among Slave Descendants and Other Subordinates, http://amzn.to/rpYqqT

http://bit.ly/uqPW30

http://jhs.pagesperso-orange.fr/A-sha.pdf

http://www.h-net.org/announce/show.cgi?ID=163627

http://anthropology.ir/node/9346

http://theater.ir/fa/reviews.php?id=20788

http://jahed.malakut.ws/archives/2010/02/post_197.html

Noha’s Ark (Kashtiy-e Nouh)

2011-12-07T14:26:00.001-08:00

Soudabeh Babagap

Born in 1971 in Iran. Immigrated from southern Iran after the Iraqi-imposed war. Graduated from the Islamic Training Center of Filmmaking in cinema directing. Besides filmmaking, she has also been involved in films as a writer, painter, poet, assistant director, scriptwriter and researcher. Works published in the book A Selection of Works.

This is what she says about her approach to the way she took it for filming Noah's Ark:

I think the visual structure of Noah’s Ark is the direct result of the characters of my film—the canal, the ruins, the burnt trunks of the palms, and the drowned ships. These characters brought about the visual structure of the film. Moreover, as soon as I think of a subject, I imagine it in a specific visual form and gradually develop and refine it in my mind, just like what you experience in painting and poetry when form and content come to you at the same time.

http://fa.shortfilmnews.com/shownews.asp?id=435553676

Produced by the Iranian Young Cinema Society, the 26-minute documentary studies the aftermaths of sea wars on the southern Iranian coast, particularly the fate of the wrecked ships Mina, Marjan, and Farnaz.

With its inventive soundtrack, this film gives a
sometimes rhythmical, sometimes tragic interpretation
of the fate of these discarded wrecks and the affection
shown by the owners who search for them, while
showing reconstruction work using primitive shipbuilding
techniques and the scars of war that can still be seen around.

http://www.yidff.jp/2003/cat037/03c049-2-e.html

Beside the Yamagata documentary films 2003 festival in Japan, “Noah’s Ark” among others, also competed at the 13th Golden Knight International Film Festival held in May 2004 in Irkutsk in southern Russia. It was also screened at Golden Pulpit Festival http://mfmk.ru/m/eng/index08.php

It won the Golden Medallion of Belgrade for The Best Foreign Film http://www.shortfilmfest.org/51st/eng/4winn.htm#mplak

It is showcased among films produced by female directors in Iran, See page 107 http://www.scribd.com/doc/7187641/Filmhaye-Sakhte-Shode-Tavasote-Zanan

Mehrdad Oskouei: An anthropological lens

2011-12-07T13:16:00.001-08:00

BIOGRAPHY

Independent filmmaker and photographer, Mehrdad Oskouei was born in 1969 in Tehran. He has a B.A. in film directing from University of Arts. Oskouei started his artistic career as a theater actor and filmmaker in 1981 and 1988 respectively. The most intersting aspect of Mehrdad Oskuei is that he is the founding committee of the Anthropology and Culture Association. He has made rich contribution to the understanding of anthropology through the medium of film
http://anthropology.ir/node/5941
http://anthropology.ir/node/3158
http://irandocfilm.org/membersfa.asp?id=34

FESTIVALS

Oskouei is well acclaimed as he has won eighty awards for films contesting in 50 national and international festivals including:

International Short Film Festival (Iran) Golden Award for Best Film
Festival Der nationen (Australia) Silver Award for Best Documentary
Doc Film Festival Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
Leipzig International Film Festival (Germany)
Maremma Doc International Film Festival (Italy)

“The Other Side of Burka” was nominated as the best Iranian documentary
and Oskouei as the best young Iranian filmmaker of the year in 2004 and 2005.

Grand Prize for Best Documentary, Audience Award
Sony Short Film Festival (Iran) Grand Prize for Best Film
Mediawave International Film Festival (Hungary) Global Tube
Akademie Der Kunst (Germany)
Werkstatt Jung Akademie, Talent Campus (Germany)

OSKUEI is also the founder of Iran's Film and Documentary Association's (IDF).

For pages related to Anthropology and Culture see:- Cultural figures in 2010:

M. Oskoee evening in Manchester: The complexity of simplicity
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/10046

- Mohammed Reza talks with M. Oskoee http://www.anthropology.ir/node/10005
- View "The Last Days of Winter" and lectures on the pathology of teen poverty, Oskoee http://www.anthropology.ir/node/9793- The fourth exhibition http://www.anthropology.ir/node/9735

M. Oskoee- Yoosh, father's house and tomb of the narrative images Yooshij Nima http://www.anthropology.ir/node/9461-

Meetings with M. Oskoee at Exhibition of historic art postcards http://www.anthropology.ir/node/9445

- M.Oskoee: The "prairie" narrative images
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/9346

- Report of a meeting on "Iran's historical postcards" http://www.anthropology.ir/node/8944

-Exhibition "postcards on Iranian history."
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/8885

- Interview with Elie Drkz, the Amsterdam Documentary Festival, Aydfa (1):
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3996

- Interview with Elie Drkz, the Amsterdam Documentary Festival, Aydfa (2):
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3999

- A trip to ... Dialogue with Morteza Mehrdad Oskoee:
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/1310

- Interview with M. Oskoee:
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3253

- Interview with M. Oskoee (1):
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3158
- Interview with M. Oskoee (2):
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3162

- Close-up of the Long Shot: A day on the calendar:http://www.anthropology.ir/node/4401

- The Nose and a new identity:http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3358

- A series of turning and twisting symptoms: The documentary "Nose Iranian Style"
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3259

- Two views of a documentary about "the calendar days ":
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3241-

"Behind the burqa" M. Oskoee:
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/2940

- Interview with M. Oskoee: Days of the
Calendar:
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/5232

- A documentary about Iran:
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/1341
- The nose job (look at the documentary Nose, Iranian Style):
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/1036

- Displease the taste of freedom:http://www.anthropology.ir/node/3170
- Maziar Bahari and M. Oskoee:http://www.anthropology.ir/node/707

- Screening of M. Oskoee Movie:
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/5103

- M. Oskoee speech: approach to the documentary:
http://anthropology.ir/node/1294

- Some experience and a companion!http://www.anthropology.ir/node/6940
- M. Oskoee Prince Claus Award 2010http://www.anthropology.ir/node/6789

- Documentary so far awayhttp://www.anthropology.ir/node/6980

- Dialogue with M. Kalantari win Oskoee about workshops outside Iran.
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/7927

- The simplicity of it: Prince Claus Award 2010 for M. Oskoee.SF
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/8187

- Interview with M. Oskoee: experience ahead
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/8290

On life experiences
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/11184

 References;(Written in Persian:)

- M. Oskoee in documentary films about Iran:
http://www.irandocfilm.org/membersfa.asp?id=34

- The other side of the Burqa (M. Oskoee) / Short Film News:http://fa.shortfilmnews.com/shownews.asp?id=-1410245253

- Oskoee: continuous and legal documentation is in TV / Film News brief:
http://fa.shortfilmnews.com/shownews.asp?id=438518612

- H. and M. Jabali Oskoee, guest focus and the future Taryana:
http://sokhango.blogfa.com/post-285.aspx-

M. Oskoee / House of Iranian cinema:http://www.khanehcinema.ir/fa/indexfa.aspx?mid=27&NewsID=882&type=8

- Documentary film workshop with M. Oskoee in Central / News - Analysis of the Central Province:

http://markazidaily.com/?p=3242

- M. Oskoee about the short film-fest:

http://www.shortfilmfest-ir.com/2006/eng/dav/jury_national_2006_page-oskoee.htm

- About the film "House of my Mother Lagoon" and M. Oskoee:http://www.smediaint.com/documentary/d31_2.html

- Behind the burqa in Aydfa
http://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?ID=30cc6284-c221-4eb4-80c4-12316d1c0f5e

For more information:
http://irandocfilm.org/membersfa.asp?id=34
http://www.anthropology.ir/node/9793
http://fa.shortfilmnews.com/shownews.asp?id=1186084689
http://parastoofilm.com/my-mothers-home-lagoon/ http://anthropology.ir/node/10742 http://www.radiozamaneh.com/taxonomy/term/7607

The Old Man from Hera

2011-12-07T12:40:00.001-08:00

Pir e Hira is a documentary directed by Mahvash Shekholeslami, made by the Iran's Young Film Makers' Union. This documentary opens a widow for viewers to look at life in the southern shores of Iran. Mahvash Shekholeslami manages to establish a meaningful link between the documentary films and anthropological/sociological studies.

Perhaps it is for this reason that is was selected for the Iranian Ethnographic Film Day: The Persian Gulf and Its People Through Image held at the British Museum. The event was jointly organised by Professor Bill Beeman, Chair, Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, USA) and Dr Pedram Khosronejad, Department of Social Anthropology, University of St Andrews, Scotland, with financial support from the Houtan Foundation, USA, and collaboration of Iranian Documentary Film makers Association, Iran, and Documentary and Experimental Film Centre, Iran.

The film is about an elderly male who lives a lonely life on the Qeshm Island in Southern Iran. It shows glimpses from the man's struggle to sustain himself conducting different chores between dawn and dusk. Thus we find him mending his net and placing it along the path of a stream when water has receded. Going back to cook his lunch, resting in the afternoon before returning to the fishing site for the night.

The portrayal of silence and pain of loneliness speaks volumes leaving little need for sound effects or any background music.Without many dialogues, it is the camera that narrates the story of the old man's struggle effectively, without depending on any secondary means. In the words of Dr Pedram Khosronejad, curator and co-host of the the Iranian Ethnographic Film Day, the images allow the viewers to perceive the way they chose to. A spectator is able to appreciate the hardships through which the old fisherman goes through each day.

For further information see:

http://anthropology.ir/node/5383

Iranian Documentary Film Makers Association

http://www.irandocfilm.org/aboutusen.asp

پیر حرا؛ فیلم مستند، کارگردان: مهوش شیخ

http://irandocfilm.org/2akhbar.asp?ID=1120

Yamagata Film Festival
http://www.city.yamagata.yamagata.jp/yidff

http://fa.shortfilmnews.com/shownews.asp?id=2057304174

http://sites.google.com/site/kamangirorama/home

http://www.sourehpictures.com/search.php?term=Mahvash

http://www.sourehpictures.com/links.php

Documentary and Experimental Film Centre, Iran.

http://www.defc.ir/Default.aspx

Iran's Visual Media Institute
http://www.visualmediains.com/
http://www.rasaneha.org/index.php

http://cinemamuseum.ir/en/

Iranian Alliance of Motion Pictures Guilds

http://khanehcinema.ir/EN/IndexEN.aspx

Iranian Artistic & Research Organization
http://www.honar.ac.ir/en/sitemap/organization.htm

http://fcf.ir/farsi/index.asp

http://www.iranartists.org/en/
http://www.irandocfilm.org/aboutusen.asp
http://www.tajasomi.ir/Default.aspx?page=835

http://www.sourehpictures.com/links.php

www.sourehcinema.com

http://anthropology.ir/pre_and_rev?page=2

Accelerating freedom, Interview with filmmaker Mahvash Sheikholeslami, http://bit.ly/sIRVAr

«پير حرا»،

http://www.imna.ir/prtb.ab0urhbw5iupr.html

http://bit.ly/tUMEbl

A Fishing Journey

2011-12-06T14:55:00.001-08:00

A Fishing Trip tells the story of Captain Azmoon and
seven of his sailors who set off to fish at the and
of the fishing season when the empty sea can
promise no catch.

For producer Ibrahim Mokhtari, his documentary A Fishing Journey serves as an interesting test case of making a documentary amidst uncertain and unpredictable circumstances. Here is a somewhat liberal English rendition of his description:

Prior to commencing on the expedition, the fishing crew gave us an optimistic outlook for a rewarding fishing trip promising a big catch. In reality, they were to venture all this outside the normal fishing season. As a result, a few days turn out to be without result, no actual fishing taking place compelling the expedition to get fish from a passing by launch to feed themselves. Hence, many aspects of the documentary reflect the dismal prospects of the fishermen. There was frustration of the filming crew who aimed to film them in action. Without nding a shoal there was no footage there won't be much substance in a documentary on fishing. Another morning passed away in a new pursuit with no fish in sight. The futile struggle proved agonizing to the extent that the producer asked the captain to return back. Some boatmen inform the producer that on occasions, they are compelled to return home empty handed. This dimension in fact brought forth the tribulations a fisherman's life goes through - the true face of those fishermen's tough and trying trade not usually covered in films which tend to portray thriving fishing trade with a boatful of catch.

This observation made me think of a different dimension and I resumed filming without further ado. This time, the aim was to capture the search, looking for possible fishing sites. We used up the remaining two days supplies of fuel and food documenting the endurance of fishermen trying to find sustenance in an off-season period.

For further details see:

Mokhtari: Trials of documentary film making

http://www.sourehcinema.com/SCO/FSS/Images/MAG/32/PDF/page73-82.pdf

http://www.ravy.ir/content296657.html

Documentary & Experimental Film Centre

http://www.defc.ir/festival/JurorBiography.php?id=46&fid=1&yearId=9

http://www.afarineshdaily.ir/afarinesh/News.aspx?NID=33524

مختاري "يک سفر صيادي"

Producer's own blog http://www.ebrahimmokhtari.com/indexf.htm

http://www2.irib.ir/cima%20film/htmls/en/doc/fisherman.htm

http://www.ebrahimmokhtari.com/Yek%20safar%20sayadi.htm

Other documentaries Zinat a fisherman's nurse wife

http://www.ebrahimmokhtari.com/middle%20of%20way.htm

Detailed bio: life and works

http://vista.ir/?view=article&id=329358

A Memo on Mukhtari

http://filmism.blogfa.com/post-3.aspx

News item on Mukhtari

http://patoghu.com/forum/thread68605.html

http://cinema-tv-teater.blogfa.com/cat-4.aspx

Information on Iran Movies Data Base

http://www.sourehcinema.com/People/People.aspx?id=138201070233

POSTCARDS FROM TORA BORA

2009-02-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

This documentary comes with many unique characteristics. Firstly, it brings glimpses of the past memories to which many of the growing Afghan generations have very little access, if at all. It reminds observers of peaceful times and days of affluence. Secondly, while tracing back the past of a person, this documentary also opens many windows to the realities that the present day Afghans face in a poignant way.

Seen through the eyes of a Kabul born film studies student at New York University viewers get a look at the lives of what Afghan individuals and families go through in their homeland and abroad.

The documentary tells us about Wazhmah, the girl ripped away from her childhood, her family uprooted from their home and now living far away in the USA. We also get to know about Wazhmah’s father, Ahmad Osman, the kind-hearted doctor (seen on the right) who despite having lost his youth days in prison during the socialist regime, later dedicates rest of his life to serve his Afghan compatriots and turns down all requests to leave the risks and hardships and move to USA to join his family saying: “The US may have a million doctors, but who will come to work in Afghanistan.” But the young girl longing is evident from her telling remark, “but who will fill my need for a father’s company.”

The 87 minute documentary is in fact a story comprising of several other stories each worth a short documentary in its own right. Above all it tells the tales of lives turned topsy turvy due to the upheavals the Afghan people have passed through. The documentary is a reminder of past tranquillity and recent turmoil amidst subtle references to how much has changed can draw many inferences on how the process of reconstruction in Afghanistan and rebuilding the lives of the Afghan people is faring.

Directors Wazhmah Osman and Kelly Dolak make imaginative use of the promotion material from Afghan national airlines Ariana and illustrates how the image portrayed on those photographs contrasts with the actual state those very places are situated in these days. This reveals the difference between the real life and the make believe world, between a romanticist’s version of Afghanistan and the realities found in the country today.

The festive family gatherings attended by Afghan women in skirts reminds of the freedom women availed in those years. The documentary later shows how those times have starkly changed ever since enforcing many contrasts as reflected from the image contrasting images of past and present.

Producer/ Editor/ Animator Stephen Jablonsky brings to life the paintings drawn by Afghan boys and girls at the International Orphan Care centre in Kabul. The pictures make us think about the trauma of growing up in years of conflict in which many of these children lost their parents and other loved ones. The documentary takes us to outings in Kabul’s outskirts that are forty years apart. A selection from surviving recording of film allows the viewers to peek into the past to late 1960s when Wazhmah’s parents got married, to the parties they held and the picnics they went to.

The documentary carries tales of the country’s tormented transition and the troubled transformation that the society has endured and is still encountering. We are reminded that in the aftermath of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Wazhmah’s family sought refuge in Peshawar, Pakistan and how she longed that soon she could return to a peaceful Kabul.

When talking to a few people on Kabul’s streets, Wazhmah steps into a video shop where her

conversation with the shop owner reveals tensions that Kabul residents encounter daily to survive, reflecting a rift between hopes of a better tomorrow that Kabul residents anticipated in past years and the tough realities they face today.

The conversation also hints at the difficult nature of local-alien dynamics in present day Afghanistan. There is a sense of friction, the bitterness the locals feel as they notice the few wealthy locals and well-off immigrants by paying higher fare raise the bar higher for majority who struggle to survive.

One interesting character that illustrates the sharp contrast experienced between a bright past and a dark present is Wazhmah’s aunt, Tohira, the lady Doctor from Kabul. As Wazhmah and aunt Tohira go on an outing they find a bunch of young lads staring at them disapprovingly. Asks why it is so a young person remarks “you lot are weird women.” This makes the contrast even starker as they find a few Afghan women sitting in a part of the secluded with sheets so that they can’t be seen by passersby. Doctor Tohira turns down an invitation to sit inside this secluded zone candidly remarking, “I will get bored in there.” This exchange suggests that difficulties of adjustment resident Afghans and those who now travel back to their past homeland from abroad undergo. As the visiting lady doctor revisits locations linked to her birthplace and childhood past with a sense of entitlement what she encounters is a sense of estrangement.

It is very interesting to find some common observations captured by another documentary albeit in a different geographical setting "Open Shutters Iraq" by Maysoon Pachachi which chronicles a project where Iraqi women created photo diaries of their lives. Both documentaries speak of the upheaval in the lives of individuals from a conflict ridden country, the change they undergo and the way their lives are affected and transformed personally and collectively.

The writer and director of this documentary have a sharp sense of observation and a delicate way of conveying their subtle but poignant observations effectively. In one episode of the documentary, Wazhmah Osman visits Kabul’s Puli Charkhi Central Prison where his father Dr. Ahmad Osman was held by the socialist Afghan regime in 1978-79. On her way in she noted an inscription and filmed it on her video camera. It reads: “We have 800 prisoners in here. Prison is like a backbone of the society, it is an important institution.”

The documentary introduces us to the Omar Mine Museum, a sombre reminder of the dark side of Afghanistan’s brush with globalization over different periods ranging from days of ideological contestations between and against Khalq-Parcham Party, military invasions, armed interventions all the way to the present day operations of foreign forces stationed there.

"The Calender of Longing" screened at SOAS conference

2008-06-09T03:44:00.000-07:00

The participants of a 3-day conference titled: Communicating with the Persian Speaking World were treated with a few good films. These included screening of a film from Tajikistan: “Calendar of Expectations” (2005) and a Q&A session with the Director: Safarbek Soliev

"The Calender of Longing" provides several illustrations of how people pass on their present in the hope and anticipation of what the future would bring for them. The film is set in Tajikistan's high mountain district of Nurabad and is a realistic reflection of how people go about their lives amidst tough terrain, harsh climate and severe shortages. The film provides a snapshot of the melting pot nature of the Tajik society its roots in the past and the changes being experienced in the present times.

The film's central character, Samad, a elderly villager is collecting wood for a coffin so that his soul could rest close to his roots. This matters vital for him as his grand father died on the front in WW2 while his father perished in Siberia-the duress of living in the Soviet era that also affected people from Tajikistan.

Samad’s son is one of the many thousands who has to away for long months working in Russia. His wife Ira and her daughter Mavluda are with their in-laws waiting when the split family could rejoin.

Upon noticing how her mother crosses the date

on the calendar marking each day spent waiting
for her father’s return, the little girl impatiently strikes off several days at once so that time passed quickly and she could see her father. This is what denotes their calendar of longing.

Their longing reminds the
viewers of the fact that as 93% of Tajikistan’s territory consist rugged mountains and sites on high altitude offer little farming opportunities compelling a large number of rural youth go to Russia to earn a livelihood.

The viewers are introduced to a Russian visitor Victor who was born and brought up in a Nurabad district village but left for Russia when security deteriorated during the civil war years 1992-97.

He comes to pay respect to his father's grave

who lived and helped constructing a bridge in the area. This is a reminder of the past where people from diverse ethnicity and believes lived together and contributed to their common abode. These characters show that Tajikistan not only comes with a multi-faith and multi-ethnic past but diversity has taken some new forms with the change in circumstances.

The character of Ira, a Russian married to a Tajik immigrant labourer , shows how she has made adjustments and adapted

to the local traditions, attire and customs carrying

all chores that a typical wife carries out in the

rural settings of a Tajik village.

The producer uses Ira' evening recital

of hymns to show how diverse

faiths continue side by side

even under one roof.

While many young men return with wealth some come back with poor health as reminded by a character who suffers from with HIV having got infected by a used syringe while donating blood for a fellow labourer.

Conversations between the characters are used to inform the viewers of the challenges faced by the inhabitants in the mountain areas. As Samad and Victor walk by an under construction tunnel, we are reminded that under snow conditions road links between different parts of the country get severed for several weeks at stretch.

The selection of rich musical scores composed by Daler Nazarov is impressive as it is diverse and suits the changing settings and scenarios of the film.

The film also reflects how a non-local politician is trying to curry favours with the village elders to get their support in his bid to get elected as the district chairman. This is a suggestion about the society where loyalties and favours matter more than ideology or political positions. The situation is contrasted by showing how the fortunes have changed since the dissolution as the past Chairman of the district surrounded with portraits of Lenin and Stalin is shown operating a grain mill powered by a water spring in the absence of regular electric supply saying that once wheat was supplied by trainloads and now it has come to improvise for survival. The film is not a casual reflection of life in a typical mountain village in Tajikistan. Rather, it offers insightful illustration about life in the contemporary Tajik society with its many complications and contradictions which are hinted at in very poignant manner. The jeep of a travelling film unit getting stuck in the mud and people pulling it together is one among the film’s several scenes that speak of the subtleties of the society noticed by a keen eye and the sensibilities exercised in conveying them.

The hard work of director, producer and writer Safarbek Soliev (right) has been recognized for its contribution far and wide. It was lauded with the New Perspective award at the 27th Three Continents Film Festival Nantes, a special prize at the 8th East & West Film Festival in Baku and at the 10th National Film Producers’ Forum of CIS and Baltic States Moscow, besides laurels won in Paris, Rome, Teheran, The International Film Festival Eurasia III in Kazakhstan, Osian Cinefan festival of Asian and Arab Cinema, India.

Uzbek Classic screened at CCCAC

2007-11-11T08:50:00.000-08:00

Shuhrat Abbasov's 1957 epic You Aren't Orphaned was screened at the Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus, SOAS, London on 15 November.

The film comes from the Central Asia Cinema Collection portraying life in Central Asia during the Soviet and post-Soviet settings. The collection, is titled as “Two Epochs of National Self-Determination in Central Asian Cinema: The ’60s and ’90s” and contains two sets of films, feature and documentary. Both sets contain 10 films—five made during the Soviet times, and five made since independence—that are emblematic of each Central Asian Republic. The countries represented in the collection are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. A Central Asian cinema expert, Gulnara Abikeyeva, was commissioned to bring together this DVD collection by the Open Society Institute.

Movie title: You are not an orphan / Ты не сирота
A quick synopsis from the OSI Archives:

The film is the touching story of an Uzbek family who gave shelter to 14 children evacuated to Uzbekistan during World War II while the family's own son was drafted to the front. Children of different nationalities and ages learn to live together in one house - a veritable metaphor for the multi-national country itself. The Makamov family shelters a Russian, an Uzbek, a Jew and Lithuanian a Tatar, a Kazakh, etc.

Every child gets into the family by accident but eventually stays on by the decision and the good will of the foster parents who realize that their house is a safe haven for the kids during the complicated times, certainly preferable to the orphanage. The film combines staple patriotic and internationalist ideas of the time with the affirmation of the national mentality of the Uzbek people.

The film's director, Shukhrat Abbasov, received the "Hamza," a State award of Uzbek SSR. The film was also awarded best screenplay prize at the first All-Union film festival in Leningrad, 1964.Shukhrat Abbasov, Uzbekistan, 1963, Russian/Subtitles: English, 75 min, fiction film, DVD-ROMs

Film fans may get additional information from the following Russian language sites:

http://www.kinoexpert.ru/
http://www.uzbekkino.uz/ru/people/actor
http://www.kinoportal.uz/
http://www.kino.uz/

The Orator, Voiz

2007-11-10T16:09:00.000-08:00

The screening of a selection of Central Asian film organized at Centre of Contemporary Central Asia and the Caucasus at SOAS, London provides observers of the region's film scene a good opportunity to watch some interesting productions.

The first film in the series - The Orator (Voiz) – effortlessly cruises through a backdrop of historic moments visiting in the Uzbekistan of 1915 onwards peeking into how the circumstances touched the lives of ordinary men and women.

The Orator's writer and producer Yusup Razykov tells a story of Iskander, a poor cart man, who happens to find himself at the centre of events that impact his marital life, family relations and his position in the society. Firstly his dying brother compels him to marry his two wives to take care of their sustenance. Then, a chance encounter with some Bolsheviks on the run pulls him to the stage so that he could talk to the people of the locality, in their own language, about changes takes place in the society. The circumstances make him “the voice” of the Soviet authorities, who use him as a much needed public orator - an agitator.

Iskander’s ability to communicate brought him prominence in the local setup on the one hand but hosts of problems in his family life on the other as he faces a conflict between political compulsions and personal compassions. The well-timed twists and turns help a viewer witness clashes between some conserving social customs vis-à-vis while others conforming to the compulsions of the newly arrived communist comrades.

Despite the film being originally made in Uzbek language, it remains successful in getting its message across, offering poignant pointers to Central Asia’ past with many inferences still valid for the present. It offers a snapshot of the history of the establishment of Soviet power in Uzbekistan in a way not heavy with ideological debate but through light strokes of wit. Thus the film shows glimpses of “Hujum” a campaign during which Uzbek women were under pressure to renounce the wearing of traditional veils, embrace Russian language and march forward towards change.

Although the central character is a public speaker, the viewers are spared from long sermons about the ideology or history. Instead, a use of short but crisp dialogues and clever pauses is employed to convey and communicate with the viewers. The film is a delicate depiction of a long duel between dualities and dichotomies that were prevalent. Through episodes interwoven ingeniously the film shows an interplay of how individual lives was torn between own motivations and others’ machinations and the tussle between personal interests and party ideologies.

One is particularly intrigued by the character of Mariam Fazilovna, the local Commissar, symbolizing an interplay of interests and inhibitions, the concessions and compromises she makes in her compassionate attempts to coopt Iskander. Here she is shown taking Iskander on a
joy ride. A leading Central Asian film expert Gulnara Abikeeva makes this note about Maryam Fazilovna in her review of The Orator:

The revolutionary activist Mairam Fazilovna.. "represents a caricature of "the liberated woman of the East", and it is created in accordance with the colorful kitsch style of the filmmaker. Maraim Fazilovna is arrested for "distortion of the politics of the Communist party" and thrown in jail. In jail she gives birth to Iskander’s only son. Iskander is afraid to claim the child for he may be accused in connection with an "enemy of people". His wives claim the boy and raise him as their own child because he is a son of their beloved master and husband. It is interesting to note that it is ... the fruit of his Revolutionary love that gives Iskander an heir. The story is told from the point of view of the son of this heir – the grandson of Mariam Fazilovna."

It is no wonder that The Orator was declared the winner of Kino-Shock award at Open Film Festival of CIS and Baltic States as a recognition of the masterpiece by the writer/producer Yusup Razykov shown on the left here. More about the producer is available here

Details about the film's cast and other information may be seen at some Russian language sites.