The Rock (Bard) a short documentary film from Iran directed by Hamid Jafari is up for a chance for an Oscar nomination. The Rock happens in the South of Iran, where a woman goes to the mountain every day with her sledgehammer and crowbar, breaks rocks, and sells them to support her family. The Rock is a beautifully made film about survival and the powerful image it portrays from the main character of the film will remain with you for a very long time. Being an independent film and with the effects of US sanctions against Iran, The Rock did not…
Author: Bijan Tehrani
Bijan Tehrani
Bijan (Hassan) Tehrani Founder and Editor in Chief of Cinema Without Borders, is a film director, writer, and a film critic, his first article appeared in a weekly film publication in Iran 45 years ago. Bijan founded Cinema Without Borders, an online publication dedicated to promotion of international cinema in the US and around the globe, eighteen years ago and still works as its editor in chief. Bijan is has also been a columnist and film critic for the Iranian monthly film related medias for 45 years and during the past 5 years he has been a permanent columnist and film reviewer for Film Emrooz (Film Today), a popular Iranian monthly print film magazine. Bijan has won several awards in international film festivals and book fairs for his short films and children's books as well as for his services to the international cinema. Bijan is a member of Iranian Film Writers Critics Society and International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI). He is also an 82nd Golden Globe Awards voter.
To learn more about the process of selecting the nominees for the Best Foreign Language Film Award, we had an interview with Larry Karaszewski—Governor for the Writers branch of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences—and Diane Weyermann, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and a member of the European Film Academy Larry Karaszewski, with his writing/directing/producing partner Scott Alexander, are best known for writing unusual true stories. They created the hit television miniseries “The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story” for which they won the Golden Globe, the Emmy, the PGA and…
Carlos Amador is CIPC’s Organizing Director, based in Los Angeles. He brings a wide-range of organizing and campaign skills from his years as a national immigrant youth leader. He was previously the Project Manager of the Dream Resource Center at the UCLA Labor Center, where he worked on issues impacting immigrant youth nationally. He is a former Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the United We Dream Network, and a founding Steering Committee member of the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance. Carlos was also a key member of the successful national campaign that won the Deferred Action for Childhood…
“No Date, No Signature”, directed by Vahid Jalilvand is Iranian entry for Best Foreign language Film Award. “No Date, No Signature” has been quite successful in film festival circuits by winning numerous awards. Driving home at night forensic doctor Kaveh Nariman accidentally knocks a family off their motorcycle. The father, Musa, insists on taking his eight-year-old son who has a slight pain in the back of his neck to a clinic himself but does not follow up. Two days later, the child is dead. Autopsy results show he died of botulism from tainted chicken that his father had bought on the cheap…
The opening/award ceremony of 2018 Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles was held on October 18th. Reception was at Safir Restaurant and award ceremony at Laemmle’s Royal Theater. Bijan Tehrani and Susan Morgan cooper, jury members, both praised Bela and Bonnie Bunyik for their amazing effort to bring the best of Hungarian cinema to Los Angeles. Bijan Tehrani and Susan Morgan cooper then announced the winner of the GoE Bridging The Borders Award for the Best Film and read the jury statement: “When forced to take care of her aged mother, a daughter sets out to uncover the cause of the…
Cinema Without Borders announced Me and My Dad, directed by Alek Pietrzak as the winner of GoE Bridging The Borders Award for the Best Polish Short Film at the Polish Film Festival, Los Angeles. The opening Gala and award ceremony of the 19th Polish Film Festival, LA was held on October 17th at the Egyptian Theater, Hollywood. The video below is a brief look at the award ceremony and announcement of the GoE Bridging The Borders Award winners: https://vimeo.com/296297741 Bijan Tehrani, Editor in Chief of Cinema Without Borders and Susan Morgan Cooper, filmmaker, Activist, announced the GoE Bridging The Borders Award…
The Apology depicts the personal journey of three women whose lives were upended when they were forced into sexual slavery during World War II. United Nations researchers report that between 1931 and 1945, the Japanese military forced an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 women and girls into institutionalized sexual slavery. Euphemistically referred to as “comfort women,” they typically ranged in age from 11 to 33 and were taken from Japanese colonies from Korea to Indonesia. Mobilized through forced recruitment, kidnapping, false employment offers or sale by family members and employers, they served in brothels supervised by the Japanese military. Seventy years…
The Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles, opens on October 18 and runs through November 1st. Here is the complete program of the festival: 18th Hungarian Film Festival of Los Angeles, First Week at Laemmle’s Royal Theater 11523 Santa Monica Blvd. West L.A., CA 90025 310-478-3836 Thursday, October18. 8:00pm Valami Amerika 3 SPECIAL EVENT – OPENING NIGHT Friday, October 19. 12:00pm Boxi,Budapest Bar 60min *FREE SCREENING 1:30pm Cube Man, Meghalni Ukrajnaert, Menjek- Maradjak 118min *FREE SCREENING 4:00pm Hegeduorszag, A Vituoz 105min *FREE SCREENING 6:30pm A Belso oldal, Szabo Magda vilagsikere, A modern cirkusz atyja 117min *FREE SCREENING 9:00pm Budapest Bar, Pesti…
Polish Film Festival, LA opens on October 17th and concludes on October 25th. The following is the complete program of the festival: Laemmle’s Monica Film Center, 1332 2ND Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401 (310/394-9744) Parking:City Parking Structure #4, directly across the street from the theatre. – First 90 minutes free; $1.00 for the next hour; $2.00 each additional 30 minutes; $20.00 maximum on weekdays, $25.00 maximum on weekends Thursday, October 18, 2018 (in person: Ida Nowakowska, John Castagna, Stefan Wenta, Jesse Orrall) 7:00 p.m. Shorts – 1: DREGS (Fusy) by Kordian Kadziela (2017, 28 min.) MODUS OPERANDI by Remigiusz Biernacki…
Social-justice filmmakers are in constant search for important and crucial sources for subjects for their films. The new book by Medea Benjamin, Inside Iran: The Real History and Politics of the Islamic Republic of Iran, opens new horizons for those in search of captivating and pertinent issues. Inside Iran is a very honest and precise look into the relationship between Iran and the USA. The current U.S. administration’s policy of imposing unfair sanctions and beating the war drum by leaving the Iran Nuclear deal puts the lives of millions of Iranians at risk. Iran is among the nations listed in…