TEHRAN – The Omani capital city of Muscat will be playing host to an Iranian film festival from March 7 to 9.

A lineup of five films, including “The Maritime Silk Road” directed by Mohammad Bozorgnia and “Copper and Gold” by Homayun As’adian, will be screened during the festival, which will be held at the Oman Film Society.

“The Maritime Silk Road” is about Soleiman Siraf, a man who, according to historical documents, was the first sailor to cross the Indian Ocean to China. His route was later called the Maritime Silk Road and many merchants took that route to ship their merchandise to China. 

“Copper and Gold” follows Seyyed Reza, a mullah in training struggling to take care of his ailing wife Zahra and their children. 

The film puts a human face on an Iranian Muslim cleric with its unusual tale of a man forced to become a better husband and father. Seyyed Reza has just moved with his family to Tehran to study and he relies on his wife to look after everything else. Their lives change dramatically when his wife, Zahra, is diagnosed with a progressive disease that results in paralysis.

“A Five Star” by Mahshid Afshar, “So Close, So Far” by Reza Mirkarimi and “A Cradle for the Mother” by Panahbarkhoda Rezai will also be screened during the festival, which will be held with contributions from the Embassy of Iran in Muscat.

“A Five Star” tells the story of Maryam, a shy, reserved young woman who takes a position as a cleaner at an upscale hotel in order to provide financial aid to her mother. As she begins her employment in this new environment, she soon comes to realize that every aspect of her work is rife with politics and hidden agendas. The other cleaners are desperate to keep their own jobs and the management is unforgiving of even the smallest errors. With no other option, Maryam must learn to adapt to this environment, but will her naivety lead her into trouble?

In “So Close, So Far”, Dr. Alam, a high-profile specialist in neurology and a successful surgeon, is drowning in his professional and social work to the extent that he has totally forgotten about his son Saman. Samantha, the beautiful nights of the desert with its star-filled sky, attracts Saman to itself and the young boy falls in love with the night sky and observation of the stars. Due to an event the doctor leaves his profession and work behind, and goes throughout the desert to find his son.

“A Cradle for the Mother” is about Narges, a young woman who has studied literature in Moscow and now is back in Iran. But once again she decides to go back to Russia for teaching the new Muslim students there.

Photo: “A Cradle for the Mother” directed by Panahbarkhoda Rezai.

MMS/YAW