TEHRAN-Two feature films and five short flicks will be screened in the selected cinemas supervised by the Art and Experience Cinema Group across the country for Nowruz, the Iranian New Year.

“The Writer Is Dead” directed and produced by Shahab Hosseini and “The Doll” by Asghar Yousefinejad are the two feature films, the screening of which will start on Wednesday, a week before the beginning of the Persian New Year, ILNA reported.

The short film package includes “Morse” written and directed by Ronak Jafari, “Don’t Breathe” by Milad Nasimsobhan, “Fading Dream” by Armin Etemadi, “Spasm” by Sahra Asadollahi, and “Meatophile” by Farid Haji. 

Art and Experience Cinema Group started its activity in October 2014, to be an opportunity for theatrical distribution of worthwhile arthouse movies chosen from non-commercial ones, to demonstrate the brilliance of their creators in the cinema community. Its nationwide screenings, cultural events, and workshops also make a profound impact on improving Iranian filmgoers’ knowledge regarding movies as well as the flourishing artistic aspects of Iranian cinema.

“The Writer Is Dead” is about a famous‌ actress who plans to direct her first movie after many years of acting. The script of the movie was written by a young writer who didn’t have much experience in the industry. Now, after a year of working, the script is ready and should become a movie, but right at this time, the author has a proposal that will completely change the work path of both.

Made in the U.S., the film has Gia Mora and James Wagner in the cast. A production of 2022, it has so far won some awards at international festivals.

Hosseini, 50, is best known for his collaborations with Iranian Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi in “About Elly” (2009), “A Separation” (2011), and “The Salesman” (2016). His accolades include a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor, a Silver Bear for Best Actor, and a Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor among many others. He made his first feature film in 2014. Since then, he has directed four more films. 

“The Doll” revolves around Ayoub, a rather old man, who decides to re-marry, after 40 years of married life with Shamsi, who is lost suspiciously. However, not a single member of the family can accept such a marriage. The bride is Roya, the young nurse who was taking care of Ayoub's disabled son and then fired by Shamsi, now the lost wife.

Parastoo Fanid, Firouz Agheli, Soyel Shirgir, Nasser Hashemi, Fatemeh Esmaili, Reza Bagheri, Hassan Babazadeh, Vahid Shirzad, Roqayeh Zareiun, Amin Haji Akbari, and Reza Abpak are in the cast of Yousefinejad’s second and last feature film as he passed away after the completion of the film.

The 25-minute drama “Morse” is about three ex-political prisoners, all of them once sentenced to death, who gather to summon the ghost of Khosrow, one of their old comrades. It’s said that Khosrow had committed suicide in prison, but now would they find a way to the truth in their reunion?

A 2022 production, the movie has Hadi Hejazifar, Saman Saffari, Salman Farkhondeh, Sahra Asadollahi, and Hooman Rahnamoon in the cast.

Ronak Jafari, 34, made her first work, a one-minute film, at age 19. The film entered local festivals and brought her awards and recognition. Since then, she has made eight documentaries and two short films. 

“Morse” premiered at the 38th Tehran International Short Film Festival in 2021, where it won the best film and best director awards. In the past two years, it has been screened in several other local and international film festivals as well. 

In the short fantasy “Don’t Breathe,” the ruling power, to exert tyranny and increase oppression, has done something to its dissenters so that when they breathe they exhale smoke, and the agents must take such people into custody wherever they find them. Unaware of the law, a man meets one of the dissidents and it changes the course of his life, so he decides to immigrate with the dissident to a better land for a better life.

The 20-minute short “Fading Dream” shows a talented woman, Sima, who was punished by her father for drawing a suggestive painting in the art class as a teenager; as a result, she gives up painting forever. Now at 35, she imagines herself as a successful painter at her boring workplace. She goes back to that particular day in her past and tries to forgive her father.

The film portrays the life of a woman who is involved in a serious crisis with her father. Throughout the movie, the woman tries to forgive her father and get over this memory by rehabilitating that unpleasant day and also by dreaming about her unfulfilled life again and again. Nurturing this dream inside is the woman’s unconscious act to heal the dark side of her childhood; which ultimately leads to a heroic forgiveness.

Elaheh Bakhshi plays the role of Sima and Elina Sattari performs as the Teenage Sima in the movie that was made in 2023.

Etemadi, 34, got his M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in 2015. Afterward, he embarked on cinema studies and completed a full course on filmmaking at the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS) and got his master of filmmaking degree. There he directed some experimental and student short films. His first professional short film “The Woman Who Laughs” (2021) won three international awards and was officially selected for up to 12 international film festivals. He is also into writing about cinema and women's studies. He collaborated with Zanan-e Emrooz (Modern Women), the only professional magazine in Iran exclusively for Iranian women’s issues.

“Spasm,” running for 25 minutes, depicts a girl who has dreamed of acting since childhood, like a horse that wants to be the first in all competition. Director Asadollahi also plays in the movie along with Tino Salehi

“Meatophile” narrates the story of an old overweight cook, who works at a college kitchen, and steals lamb meat.

SS/SAB