Majidi to click animation on Samarra

Iranian film director Majid Majidi has scripted the animation “Samarra” on children and the destruction of the holy Al-Askari mosque.

“The project, sponsored by Imam Sadeq University, aims to attract the attention of international viewers to the issue of bomb attack against the holy shrines,” the producer of the film, Majid Esmaili, said.

Esmaili said that the film has no intention of highlighting Shia or Sunni factions, but is aimed at consolidating Muslim unity. He stressed that the destruction of the holy site is at odd with religious and humane norms.

The script was written by Iran’s Oscar-nominated director Majid Majidi, and talks are underway with Majidi to direct the film, he said.

In 2006, the outstanding Iranian film director Majidi joined demonstrators in front of the UN office in Tehran, protesting international indifference to the destruction of the mausoleum of the holy Shia Imams at the Al-Askari mosque in Samara.

“When the Buddha sculptures were destroyed in Afghanistan – by the Taliban – the UN body protested. In the case of the holy shrines bomb blast, they did not even consider the shrines to be a historical monument,” Majidi said.

Esmaili said that a second animation on Samara will be on-screen within the next few months.

Dozens of people were killed and many more injured in the 2006 bomb attack on the holy shrine of two of Shia Islam’s Imams in Samarra, 100 kilometers north of Baghdad in 2006.

MRD/JG/DT

Achaemenid structure found in Iran

Iranian archeologists have found an unknown form of Achaemenid architecture at the country’s southwestern Gachsaran historical site.

“The initial documentation of the site’s stone structures showed that the method used for pedestal installation was never seen before,” said director of Gachsaran archeology team, Ehsan Yaqmayi.

The first phase of Gachsaran excavations also yielded numerous human shelters dating back to the Stone Age along with a number of Paleolithic and Islamic sites.

Archeologists also found the ruins of an Achaemenid house, numerous Sassanid castles and sites, large stone pedestals adorned with lotus designs and the ruins of some Islamic cities including Molqan.

TE/HGH

‘The Wall’ to be screened in Taormina

Italy’s prestigious Taormina Film Festival is scheduled to screen The Wall by renowned Iranian director Mohammad Ali Talebi.

The Wall is an intimate portrait of a stunt motorcyclist and his family. When the man is injured during a performance, his son and daughter try to take his place by performing the dangerous stunts themselves.

Organizers of the Taormina Film Festival say the event will try to ‘remain true’ to the view of the artists whose works are featured at the festival and will present films across various categories, including a focus on the Mediterranean region.

Iran buries Apadana Palace pedestals

Iranian archeologists have buried the pedestals of Apadana Palace’s eastern gateway in order to protect them from further damage.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization conducted the project to protect the ancient pedestals from further environmental damage and vandalism.

The project was carried out following requests by a number of cultural heritage associations including the Susa Cultural Heritage Foundation.

Apadana Palace, located in Iran’s ancient city of Susa was built by the Achaemenid king, Darius the Great.

The palace previously had four pedestals, two of which still stand, bearing cuneiform inscriptions on three sides in ancient Persian, Elamite and Akkadian.

TE/HGH

Iran to laser scan Khark petroglyph

Iranian experts are slated to laser scan the vandalized Khark inscription to determine the exact amount of the damage inflicted on it.

“Khark petroglyph has 20 signs or letters and only three of them have been damaged,” said Nasrollah Ebrahimi, an archeologist with Bushehr’s cultural office.

“The 20 signs are inscribed as five lines, which can be translated into 5 or 6 Persian words. The third line has suffered the most damage,” he added.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization is slated to open an office on Khark Island and establish a security guard center near the petroglyph.

The 2,400-year-old vandalized Achaemenid inscription was found during a road construction operation on Khark Island. Archeologists believe the petroglyph proves Iran’s sovereignty over the Persian Gulf throughout history.

The ancient Persian inscription reads, “This region was barren. I brought happiness and comfort and provided the king with water wells.”

TE/HGH

Iran creates novel Shahnameh images

Iranian artists have created novel Islamic images of Shahnameh, the country’s epic masterpiece by the prominent Persian poet Ferdowsi.

“The images portray the spiritual themes of Shahnameh and its humanitarian and divine concepts,” said head of Khorasan Razavi’s cultural office, Abolfazl Mokarramifar.

“Shahnameh illustrations have always been narrative and this is the first time that a thematic image of the work is presented,” he added.

Ferdowsi’s magnum opus, Shahnameh (The Book of Kings), is among the classics of Persian epic poetry, which recounts Iran’s mythical and historical past.

The book is unique as it was written when Arabic was the main scientific and literary language of Iran.

TE/HGH

Iran commemorates Hadi Shafaieh

Iran’s Art Bureau has held a ceremony to commemorate the father of modern Iranian photography, Hadi Shafaieh at the Mehr Gallery.

The event was attended by a number of distinguished artists, including Asqar Bichareh, Keramat Manzouri, Mohammad Mehdi Rahimian and Mohammad Sattari.

The organizers had a telephone conversation with Hadi Shafaieh, who currently lives in the US. He expressed regret over not being able to attend the ceremony.

Shafaieh has worked in numerous fields, including commercial and industrial photography, but he is better known for his portraits of renowned Iranian artists, writers and poets.

Hadi Shafaieh taught photography at several major universities in Iran and published numerous articles and two books called Photography and The Art and Science of Photography.

TE/HGH

Lute’s 5,000-year history to be studied

Iranian artists are to study 5,000 years of history of the lute, a pear-shaped, stringed instrument commonly used in Middle Eastern music.

The stringed instrument with a neck and a round back is considered to be one of the oldest musical instruments of oriental civilizations.

Made of wood and with six double strings, the lute is a highly ornate instrument. Records on the instrument date back more than 5,000 years.

Iranian film to be screened in Spain

Spain’s 23rd Cinema Jove Film Festival will serve as the venue for a screening of Unfinished Stories by Iran’s Pourya Azarbaijani.

The film is the only representative of the Iranian cinema to be included in the Spanish festival’s international program.

The film chronicles the stories of three young women. Abandoned by their men, they wander in the streets of Tehran because they have nowhere else to go. The grouping of a young girl, a pregnant woman and a new mother of different social classes offers a unique depiction of life in Tehran.

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