Jointly sponsored by the ILEX Foundation and the Iran Endowment Fund, the festival is an annual month-long event featuring films made by Iranians in the country and in the diaspora.
The films are free with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. Seating tickets are available an hour before film time at the Meyer Auditorium in the Freer on Constitution Avenue near the Smithsonian castle.
Some of the films already screened include Mojtaba Mirtahmasb’s “This Is Not a Film” and Maryam Keshavarz’ “Circumstance.” Here is a brief look at what is ahead.…
Where Is the Friend’s Home – Friday, Jan. 27, 7 p.m.
Abbas Kiarostami tells the story of a young boy who, after bringing home a friend’s notebook, tries to return it for fear of punishment from his teacher. On his way to his friend’s village, the boy encounters adults of all stripes who variously assist, rebuke and scorn him. The film then becomes a compelling narrative of duty, friendship and the importance of breaking the rules when necessary.
And Life Goes On (aka Life and Nothing More…) – Sunday, Jan. 29, 1 p.m.
Kiarostami and his son return to the Koker region of Iran, which suffered a devastating earthquake in 1990, to trace the two boys who had starred in their 1987 film, “Where Is the Friend’s Home.” The film is a composite of fiction and reality that explores the area’s recovery and the resilience and zeal of its people to live on.
Through the Olive Trees – Sunday, Jan. 29, 3 p.m.
In this complex exploration of the interaction between real life and cinema, Kiarostami tells his story of attempting to find the actors to play in his film, “And Life Goes On.” The actor playing Kiarostami has trouble with his cast because the couple he chooses has a complex history that repeatedly creates obstacles in the way of the film.
Good Bye – Friday, Feb. 3, 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, 2 p.m.
“Good Bye” is the story of Noora, a disbarred lawyer whose husband has been exiled. The film conveys the quiet desperation of this professional woman attempting to find work as she navigates restrictive, male-dominated Tehran, where she cannot find employment because of her involvement with a human rights group.
Mourning – Friday, Feb. 10, 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 12, 2 p.m.
The debut film of Ki-arostami’s protégé, Morteza Farshbaf, this award-winning movie tells the story of two deaf people on a road trip. The viewers learn nuggets of information about their passenger – a young relative whose parents disappeared in the middle of the night – as the two argue in sign language.
Here Without Me – Friday, Feb. 17, 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 19, 2 p.m.
“Here Without Me” is Bahram Tavakkoli’s adaptation of Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass Menagerie,” which is a memory play about a woman and her two children abandoned by her husband. The film retains the main themes of the original play but introduces the cultural confines of Iranian society into the story of the two women and the men in their lives.