ABBAS KIAROSTAMI: STORYTELLER

Kiarostami as Scriptwriter - Programme

The programme below shows the dates and times for each screening, the screening room plus a brief description of each film. Films are listed chronologically based on the first screening time. For an alphabetical listing by title click on 'List of Films' in the left column of this page.

Crimson Gold (Talaye sorkh)

Tue 10 May 18.30; Thu 12 May 20.30.

Micro-realism on a macro-economic theme by the maker of The Circle, this is the story of pizza delivery boy Hussein, who, in the course of his work, becomes increasingly aware of the chasm between the rich and the poor in Tehran. The result of a collaboration between two outstanding filmmakers, Kiarostami as screenwriter and Panahi as director, this is a compassionate and revealing portrait of the tensions and ambiguities of life in contemporary Iran.

Iran 2003. 97 mins. Dir. Jafar Panahi.

The Deserted Station (Istgah-e-matrouk)

Wed 11 May 20.30

Based on a concept Raissian and Kiarostami developed on a photography trip together, this film follows a man and a woman who are stranded in a remote village after their car breaks down. While the photographer and the sole adult male inhabitant of the village, a schoolteacher, leave to get help, the young woman, herself childless, bonds with the village children whose parents are all mysteriously absent. A beautifully realised, sumptuously shot parable about life in Iran as a woman, The Deserted Station is a fitting addition to Iran's growing catalogue of films about gender, sex and political emancipation.

Iran 2002. 93 mins. Dir. Alireza Raissian.

The White Balloon (Badkonak-e sefid)

Thu 12 May 18.30

It's the eve of the Islamic New Year in Tehran, and seven-year-old Razieh has just 84 minutes to buy the special goldfish that will make her celebrations complete. Told in real time through the eyes of its feisty young protagonist, we are taken on a journey that is in turns strange, frightening and humane. Director Jafar Panahi, working from a screenplay by Abbas Kiarostami, has made a delightful small-scale film with colourful characters and wry observations on the interaction of children and adults.

Iran 1995. 85 mins. Dir. Jafar Panahi.