Author: Bijan Tehrani

My Marlon and Brando is the true-life, border-crossing romance between a Turkish actress and her Kurdish lover. In this semi-fictional work-up, the real actress earns kudos for taking on her own role in a moving statement on war, human rights and the confining artificiality of borders. Huseyin Karabey, director of My Marlon and Brando, is regarded as one of Turkey’s new directing talents at a time when the independent film scene in Turkey is gaining recognition and Turkish films are receiving a wider distribution worldwide. Despite the challenging subject matter of many of his previous documentaries and short films, Karabey’s…

HUNGER is the stunningly assured debut feature from Turner Prize-winning visual artist Steve McQueen. Winner of the 2008 Cannes Camera d’Or among other top international prizes, the film is a work of astonishing precision co-written by acclaimed Irish playwright Enda Walsh and starring Michael Fassbender (300, Tarantino’s upcoming INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS) in an unflinchingly passionate turn. HUNGER was an official selection of the Toronto, Telluride and New York film festivals. In 1981, a deadly serious battle takes place in the infamous H-block of Belfast’s Maze Prison. Republican inmates, led by Bobby Sands (Fassbender), refuse to eat until the British government acknowledges…

Based on a true story, EVERLASTING MOMENTS explores the complexities of the marriage between Maria (Maria Heiskanen) and Sigfrid Larsson (Mikael Persbrandt), who wed in 1907 and soon had a houseful of children. Sigfrid, a dockworker, alcoholic and womanizer, leaves the worries of family responsibilities to Maria, who one day goes to hock an old camera that she won in a lottery but has never used. Encouraged by the obviously smitten camera shop owner (Jesper Christensen), Maria begins taking and developing photographs, a process that is forever miraculous to her. While she possesses an obvious “gift for seeing,” accumulated family…

Hollywood, California – February 22, 2009 – Tonight Man ON Wire won the Best Documentary Feature Award at Academy Award Ceremony. On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York’s twin towers, then the world’s tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a…

Revanche starts in a late summer. A small lake in the woods. No people. Silence. Not far away, a newly built house inhabited by a couple: Robert (Andreas Lust) and Susanne (Ursula Strauss). They live an ordinary life like so many other people. Meanwhile in Vienna. Nightlife, red light district, the world of prostitution. Here money rules. Most people have jobs that barely let them scrape by. Like Alex and Tamara (Johannes Krisch and Irina Potapenko). She is a prostitute from Ukraine; he, the boss’ errand boy. They are lovers, but they have to keep it a secret. Employees aren’t…

The Baader Meinhof Complex happens in Germany in the 1970s: Murderous bomb attacks, the threat of terrorism and the fear of the enemy inside are rocking the very foundations of the yet fragile German democracy. The radicalised children of the Nazi generation lead by Andreas Baader, Ulrike Meinhof and Gudrun Ensslin are fighting a violent war against what they perceive as the new face of fascism: American imperialism supported by the German establishment, many of whom have a Nazi past. Their aim is to create a more human society but by employing inhuman means they not only spread terror and…

The Class is the story of François and his fellow teachers prepare for a new year at a high school in a tough neighborhood. Armed with the best intentions, they brace themselves to not let discouragement stop them from trying to give the best education to their students.Cultures and attitudes often clash in the classroom, a microcosm of contemporary France. As amusing and inspiring as the teenaged students can be, their difficult behavior can still jeapordize any teacher’s enthusiasm for the low-paying job. François insists on an atmosphere of respect and diligence. Neither stuffy nor severe, his extravagant frankness often…

The fourteen-acre community garden at 41st and Alameda in South Central Los Angeles is the largest of its kind in the United States. Started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992, the South Central Farmers have since created a miracle in one of the country’s most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food, feeding their families and creating a community. But now, bulldozers are poised to level their 14-acre oasis.The Garden follows the plight of the farmers, from the tilled soil of this urban farm to the polished marble of City Hall. Mostly immigrants from Latin…

Power, money and blood: these are the values that the residents of the province of Naples and Caserta confront every day. They have practically no choice, and are forced to obey the rules of the “System,” the Camorra. Only a lucky few can even think of leading a normal life. In Gomorrah five stories are woven together in a violent scenario, set in a cruel and ostensibly invented world, but one that is deeply rooted in reality. Matteo Garrone, director of Gomorrah was born in Rome in 1968. He graduated from art school in 1986 and worked as an assistant…

One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember anything else about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves…