The Houston Iranian Film Festival, a 28-year-old tradition that usually takes place at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and other locations, has undergone a few changes for this year’s edition. For starters, there’s the festival’s name; it’s now known as the Houston Festival of Films from Iran.
The suggestion to change the name came from a former film programmer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, which also partners with MFAH to put on the fest. Tom Vick, a film curator at the Freer and Sackler Galleries (the Smithsonian Institution’s museum of Asian art, and also another partner) who also helps curate the festival’s lineup, says the change, minor as it seems, makes a huge difference.
“It’s maybe a small distinction,” says Vick, “but it’s basically just to point out these are films from Iran as opposed to films that are sort of sponsored by the Iranian government— just to make sure that people know we’re operating independently of what they might approve of. Because a couple of the films— they certainly wouldn’t.”
Occasionally, the festival can also suffer from being ill-timed. Last year, it unfortunately occurred after president Trump ordered the assassination of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force. That led to Iranian protests and retaliatory attacks on Iraqi bases where Americans are stationed. Needless to say, audience turnout wasn’t massive.
When: Jan. 22-Feb. 7
Details: $10 ($55 full festival pass; $75 full festival pass and poster); iranfesthouston.eventive.org
Nevertheless, the festival continues to serve as a window to another part of the world, even as many of us are stuck at home due to — oh, you know. “I mean, I think that’s always been the purpose of the festival because, obviously, our country’s relationship with Iran has been, since 1980, quite tumultuous — if that can be the word for it,” says Vick, chuckling. “And, so, one of the intentions of this festival has always been to show people, you know, the side of Iran that you’re not going to see on the news.”
The festival has returned for its 28th year in a smaller, more virtual fashion. Starting Jan. 22, the films will be shown via the MFAH’s Virtual Cinema. The curators went far and wide (well, far and wide in attending virtual film fests around the globe) in finding films, checking out movies at Cannes and the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea.
Seven films were chosen for this year’s lineup, and it’s a very eclectic bunch. “Careless Crime,” the latest film from Shahram Mokri, is the Silver Hugo winner at the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival. It’s a time-bouncing drama that captures a modern-day plot to burn down a movie theater, as well as a similar tragedy that happened 40 years before. On Feb. 4 at 6 p.m., Mokri will take part in a free virtual conversation moderated by Vick.
“I think he’s really one of the most interesting talents on the international, contemporary world-cinema scene, not just limited to filmmakers you have in Iran,” says MFAH film curator Marian Luntz.
Among the other selections: “There is No Evil” (aka the Golden Bear winner for best film at last year’s Berlin International Film Festival), which tells four short stories about capital punishment; “Gracefully,” last year’s John Steven Kellett Freedom of Vision Award winner at the Houston-based QFest, which chronicles the life of an 80-year-old, former drag artist, banned from performing since the end of the Iranian Revolution; “African Violet,” about what goes down when a woman and her husband take in her elderly ex-husband; and “Dance with Me,” some lighthearted fare about the secrets that pop up when friends gather in the country to celebrate a birthday.
“People will find that cinema by filmmakers from Iran remains strong, challenging and deals with social issues and political issues that are and oftentimes specific to the characters living in Iran, but are also resonating — no matter where you live — with people’s moral dilemmas and in direction with political events, current or historical,” says Luntz. “And I think people can find something really fascinating in each of the films.”
Craig Lindsey is a Houston-based writer.
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