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NAMEHAYEE AZ IRAN
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| Letters from Iran |
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Nezam Manouchehri
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'Letters from Iran' is a moving expression of
an exile's return to his homeland and the impressions it stirs
in him. It involves an effective blend of direct experience
and flashback, seamlessly handled, so that the viewer easily
synchronizes with the filmmaker in his sense of both homecoming
and lonesome nostalgia.
ñLetters form Iranä provides a glimpse of a generation of intellectuals blocked by political crisis from a true testimony to the diversity and the contradictions of a vast and varied nation, with both Islamic and Occidental sensibilitiesî
More than two decades after the revolution, Iran is still a mystery to outsiders as well as many Iranians who left the country for various reasons and haven't come back since. Some of whom have been contemplating return and even those who did manage to come and visit, are still unsure as whether to return or not? On the other hand the western educated Iranian returnees who are a considerable number have been continually contemplating whether to leave again.
The letters written to a friend in America comprise the narrative that is heard over the pictures of the protagonist's intimate life as well as varied social issues including the election, the educational system and innocent social vices, like renting videos and having a satellite dish.
While the film is about life in current Iran, it also contains visual references to ancient Iran, the destruction of the old and emergence of the new. It specifically focuses on the loss of the family matriarch and her house which symbolizes the family center and gathering place. There is also reference to the theme of artistic creation, the struggle for it and the existing odds against it, in a society that does not meet our modern specifications and basic social requirements for living but seems to have a logic of its own.
Letters from Iran is a candid portrait of life in Tehran's elite quarters, which is both individualistic as well as social. Letters from Iran also deals with work and recreation outside the family environs and the changes taking place in the local. It also contains references and philosophical tenets providing insight into the Iranian psyche.
This film portrays some aspects of life in Tehran as conveyed by a western educated upper middle class Iranian who returns from America just after the war. More than two decades after the revolution, Iran is still a mystery to outsiders as well as to many Iranians who have left the country. A major theme is the question of return and the comparison of ñhereî and ñthereî. The letters written to a friend in America comprise the narrative that is heard over the pictures of the protagonist's intimate and social life. While this intimate portrayal is not political per se it does deal with current issues like the previous elections, the educational system and innocent social vices, like renting videos and having a satellite dish. The film also contains visual references to ancient Iran, the destruction of the old and emergence of the new.
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Screenplay Nezam Manouchehri
Photography (colour) Nezam Manouchehri
Editing Nezam Manouchehri, Vahid Shafigh
Music Ali Bagheri, Amir Hussain Pour Javadi, Parisa, Abolhassan Hakim Elahi,
Ghasem & Shahriar Salari
Production Paradisa Films
Year of production 2004
Running time 33'
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Nezam Manouchehri
He is a filmmaker, writer and actor. He has played in a number
of Iranian films, among which the award winning Deserted Station,
currently released in the US. His film Letters from Iran (2004),
a 30 minute documentary he wrote, produced and directed, has
been previewed in CCCB in Barcelona with a magnificent review
in the Spanish daily El Pais and will have its official premier
at the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival.
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