Author queerguruPosted on Categories 5 min movie guideDespite the fact that he is only in the 8th year of 20 year ban from filmmaking by the Iranian government Jafar Panahi is still managing to make excellent films on the ‘downlow’ which somehow find their way to prestigious European Film Festival where they add to his collection of Awards. His latest one … Continue reading
Author queerguruPosted on Categories 5 min movie guideThe first words we hear in the movie’s opening scene are “I should never have left my country!‘ They are uttered slowly with great sadness by Moncef a 60 year man of Middle-Eastern origin. He and his family have ended up as immigrants in Paris far from home and he is desperate to insure that … Continue reading
Author queerguruPosted on Categories 5 min movie guideThis coming-of-age story tells of two teenage girls, who are best friends, dealing with all the restrictions of growing up in Iran today. The girls are exploring their emerging sexuality as they become part of Tehran’s underground party scene. When an older brother straight out of drug rehab becomes a religious zealot and even joins … Continue reading
Author queerguruPosted on Categories 5 min movie guideIt’s rare to get the whole crux of a movie in an opening scene but that’s exactly what happens here when we see Nader & Simin facing a judge on their own in an otherwise empty room arguing about getting a divorce. They are a successful middle-aged professional couple living in present day Iran who had agreed in principle … Continue reading
Author queerguruPosted on Categories 5 min movie guideMehrdad Oskouei’s unflinching and extremely personal documentary shot in a rehabilitation center for female juvenile delinquents in Tehran for 20 days leading up to New Year, will unquestionably be one of the saddest stories to hit our screens this year. It took the filmmaker seven years to persuade the Iranian authorities to allow him to film an imprisoned … Continue reading