cinema.indiana.edu
11
Abbas Kiarostami 11
The Traveler
(1974) Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
January 18 - Saturday - 3:00 p.m.
Abbas Kiarostami's first full-length feature (and last film shot in
B&W) tells the story of a troublesome boy in a small Iranian town.
He is a devout soccer fan and with the help of a friend and a cam-
era, they hustle enough money to get him to a game in Tehran. Like
many of Kiarostami's early films, it was made for an educational
institution named Kanoon and accordingly has moral suggestions.
The director however, offers a film that is observed like Truffuat's
400 Blows, with an uncompromising look at class, rural Iran, the
vicious nature of some school children, and parents who are not
very present in their children's lives. Like many of Kiarostami's
films, The Traveler, as the title implies, involves a journey to dis-
covery. 35mm film print is being provided courtesy of LACMA and
the Academy Film Archive. In Farsi language with English subtitles.
(35mm. 83 min. Not Rated.)
Abbas Kiarostami: A Report
(2013)
Directed by Bahman Maghsoudlou
January 21 - Tuesday - 7:00 p.m.
An analysis of the style and vision of Abbas Kiarostami, the world's
most iconic Iranian filmmaker, through the lens of his films, particu-
larly his first feature, The Report. This early example of Kiarostami's
work gives insight into his poetic, humanistic tendencies, combin-
ing allegorical storytelling with a documentary, neo-realist sensibili-
ty. Kiarostami has explored the very nature of film as fiction in such
recent international sensations as A Taste of Cherry and Certified
Copy. Exclusive interviews with film critics, historians, and scholars
provide a look at how the career of this master independent auteur
began and was shaped. In Farsi and English languages with English
subtitles. (2K DCP. 83 min. Not Rated.)
Close-up
(1990)
Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
January 23 - Thursday - 9:30 p.m.
On a crowded Tehran bus, a man introduces
himself to a fellow passenger as Mohsen
Makhmalbaf (the celebrated Iranian film
director), and intimately enters into the life of a family on the pretext of a false film project. Finally growing suspi-
cious of the stranger, the family investigates which leads to the man's arrest. At this moment, Kiarostami's actual
film crew enters the story to film the trial, and recreate previous events. Considered his most radical film, Close-up
is an insightful and sometimes unsettling exploration of the nature of truth in the world of movie dreams. In Persian
language with English subtitles. (35mm. 98 min. Not Rated.)
cinema.indiana.edu
Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecture with
Abbas Kiarostami and Richard Peņa
April 7 - Monday - 2:00 p.m.