ARCHIVES

girlsofthesun-3screencomment

“Girls of the sun,” Eva Husson’s retelling of the Kurdistan girl fighter batallion

Iraqi Kurdistan, 2014
Golshifteh Farahani, Emmanuelle Bercot and Zübeyde Bulut
Directed by Eva Husson

Bahar (Golshifteh Farahani) is commander of the Daughters of the Sun battalion in Kurdistan. They are preparing to free her city from the hands of Islamists and find her son who is behind enemy lines. A French journalist on assignment in the area, Mathilde (Emmanuelle Bercot, of "Mon Roi" fame, among others), joins their platoon to cover the offensive and help bring the spotlight on these women ... more >

fillesdusoleil-golshiftehfarahni-screencomment-cannes18

CANNES FESTIVAL, “Girls of the sun”

A France Belgium Georgia Switzerland production
Golshifteh Farahani, Emmanuelle Bercot and Erol Afsin
Directed by Eva Husson

In Kurdistan, Bahar (Golshifteh Farahani) is commander of the Daughters of the Sun battalion. They are preparing to free her city from the hands of Islamists, hoping to find her son who is behind enemy lines. A French journalist, Mathilde (Emmanuelle Bercot, of "Mon Roi" fame, among others), joins their platoon to cover the offensive and bring attention to these women warriors. Strong women, who ... more >

american-honey-screencomment

CANNES FESTIVAL DAYS 4 AND 5, “American honey,” “Mal de Pierres” and “Paterson”

Three films from DAY 4 and 5

CANNES, France - “American Honey,” which I consider to be the best film out of this still-young Cannes Festival, played here last night. The Andrea Arnold-directed road movie stars newcomer Sasha Lane and Shia Labeouf and Riley Keough (Elvis’s granddaughter) and follows a crew of twentysomethings from all over the country (from Texas to Nebraska) who circle the mid-west selling magazine ... more >

Asghar Farhadi’s ABOUT ELLY to finally get released here

(from affiliate Iranian Film Daily) - “About Elly,” which stars Golshifteh Farahani (pictured) is finally getting a stateside limited release, well after the fact. Let’s remember that the year of release for this film is 2009. That’s six long years during which theater-going Americans were deprived of this slow-burning drama surrounding the mysterious disappearance of a woman vacationing at the ... more >

KURDISH WESTERN: My sweet pepper land

Golshifteh Farahani
Directed by Huner Saleem

After "If you die, I'll kill you" ("Si tu meurs, je te tue" in French) Kurdish filmmaker Huner Saleem has teamed up with Golshifteh Farahani again in this modern-day western set in a Kurdistan that's emerging from years of civil warring. In this second film with the Iranian actress Saleem subtly juggles epic with intimate, the tragic with the comical. And while he borrows from the genre's ... more >

The Patience Stone

The successful film adaptation of the namesake novel
Golshifteh Farahani and Hamid Djavadan
Directed by Atiq Rahimi

The Persian story goes, when your heart is filled with sorrow, find a patience stone or syngué sabour that will listen as you talk to it until it can take no more and bursts into pieces, lifting that weight from your shoulders and leaving you free. This well-known legend has been written up any number of times, including by Iranian novelist Sadegh Chubak, and filmed at least once, in 1968. It is ... more >

[2011] VENICE MOSTRA – Chicken with plums

A disappointing second film by the Persepolis directing team

Marjane Satrapi’s “Poulet aux Prunes” (“Chicken with Plums”) is the French-Iranian filmmaker’s live-action adaptation of her namesake graphic novel. Co-directing once more with Vincent Paronnaud, who also worked on the 2007 film adaptation of “Persepolis,” Satrapi creates a fairly-tale 1950s Tehran as the backdrop for the story of Nasser Ali, a violinist (Satrapi’s uncle, or so she claims) who ... more >