TEHRAN – The 6th Iranian Film Week is scheduled to be held in the Japanese capital of Tokyo in coming days. 

According to the cultural attaché of the Iranian Embassy in Japan, the event will be held from August 10 to 14 in Tokyo during which eight Iranian films will be screened. 

‘Leaf of Life’ by Ebrahim Mokhtari, ‘Gholamreza Takhti’ by Bahram Tavakoli, ‘The Situation of Mehdi’ by Hadi Hejazifar, and ‘The Miracle of Bonasan' by Habib Ahmadzadeh are among the movies which will go on screen at the event.

The lineup also includes ‘The Warden’ by Nima Javidi, ‘Yadu’ by Mehdi Jafari, ‘Walnut Tree’ by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian and ‘Bodyguard’ by Ebrahim Hatamikia.
 
In ‘Leaf of Life’, a director enthusiastically shoots a documentary film about the cultivation and harvest of saffron in a small town of north-east Iran. He agreed to do this work to earn enough money for buying a house in Tehran. However, prices of the real estate business are rising, and he gets worried. Instead of focusing on the direction of his film, he spends time with his producer, who is supposed to find him the house of his dreams, until the day he is told that in fact he has already bought a flat. The conditions of shooting are not easy either because of the director's demands. The farmers, particularly one old man, are reluctant. 

The movie has received the Inalco Jury Award at Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema award in France.

‘Gholamreza Takhti’ is a 2019 Iranian biographical drama film about Iranian freestyle wrestler Gholamreza Takhti from his childhood till adulthood, his matches and finally his death. The film screened for the first time at the 37th Fajr Film Festival and was released on March 16, 2019 in Iran theatrically.

‘The Situation of Mehdi’ is a 2022 Iranian biographical war drama film about Mehdi Bakeri, an Iranian war hero in the Iran-Iraq war. The film screened for the first time at the 40th Fajr Film Festival where it won five awards and earned nine nominations.

 ‘The Miracle of Bonasan' is the story of a genie that has to compose a melody with help from four humans. The idea is to create a human miracle and symphony, or he would be expelled from the Solar System for eternity.

‘The Warden’ is a 2019 Iranian mystery drama. It stars Navid Mohammadzadeh and Parinaz Izadyar. Set in 1967 in Iran, Mohammadzadeh plays Major Nemat Jahed, the warden of a prison, who is being evacuated for expansion whilst one of the prisoners is missing. This film was screened for the first time in the 37th Fajr Film Festival, and by being nominated in eight categories of this festival.

‘Yadu’ is about the first months of the Iraqi imposed war on Iran. At a time when families in different cities of Khuzestan were forced to leave their homes and all their attachments and took refuge in other cities to save their lives. 

‘Walnut Tree’ is a 2020 Iranian biographical war drama film. It revolves around the Chemical bombing of Sardasht in 1987. The film screened for the first time at the 38th Fajr Film Festival and received 11 nominations. Mahdavian won a Crystal Simorgh for Best Director and Maadi won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actor for his performance.

‘Bodyguard’ is a 2016 Iranian film about a middle-aged man who protects high-ranking political figures in Iran. However, he gets into trouble when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest approaches the vice president. The film was first shown in the 34th Fajr International Film Festival.

Photo: A scene from ‘The Warden’ by Nima Javidi

ZM/