Iranian Film Weekend Nov. 12-14

MILWAUKEE—The World Cinema series at the UWM Union Theatre, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd

 

During the last two decades, Iran has produced a generation of filmmakers creating artistically ambitious films that also serve as instruments of powerful social reflection and critique. Affected by the influence of internationally acclaimed filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, each film in this series focuses on what may be one of the most important human rights issue challenging modern-day Islamic society: women’s equal rights and empowerment.

A description of the films, dates and times of screenings, and admission charges follows.

Deserted Station (Milwaukee premiere)
(Ali Reza Raisian, Iran, 88 min., Farsi w/Eng. St., 35mm, 2002)
Friday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 13, 9 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 14, 5 p.m.

Based on a concept the director and Kiarostami developed on a photography trip together, a man and a young woman (Leila Hatami of LEILA) are stranded in a remote village after their car breaks down. The photographer and the sole adult male inhabitant, a schoolteacher, leave to get help while the young woman, herself childless, bonds with the children whose parents are nowhere to be found. $4/student, $5/general. “[U]ninformally excellent.” VARIETY

 

Leila
(Dariush Mehrjui, Iran, 129 min., Farsi w/Eng. St., 35mm, 1999)
Friday, Nov. 12, 9 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m.

Reza and Leila, an attractive and affluent young couple deeply in love and recently married, discover that Leila is unable to conceive. Invoking tradition, Reza’s mother convinces her daughter-in-law that Reza must, out of necessity, take a second wife to produce an heir. $4/student, $5/general public.“Beautifully shot, expertly acted and directed by an astute social critic and an ingeniously distinctive stylist.” NEW YORK PRESS

 
Ten
(Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 94 min., Farsi w/Eng. St., 35mm, 2002)
Saturday, Nov. 13, 5 p.m. One show only.
Kiarostami casts his masterful cinematic gaze upon the modern sociopolitical landscape of his homeland, this time as seen through the eyes of one woman as she drives through the streets of Tehran over a period of several days. Her journey is comprised of ten conversations with various female passengers—including her sister, a hitchhiking prostitute and a jilted bride—as well as her imperious young son. $4/student, $5/general public.

10 on Ten, Milwaukee premiere
(Abbas Kiarostami, Iran/France, 73 min., Farsi w/Eng. St., DVD, 2004)
Saturday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 14, 9 p.m.
On the trail of his most daring cinematic creation, “Ten,” Kiarostami went back to Tehran and began his contemplation on the creative process of his films. In ten chapters (introduction, camera, topic, screenplay, locations, music, the actor, the accessories, the film director, the last lesson ), Kiarostami shares his complete body of work and presents an incisive reflection on the art of cinema. Free and open to the public