Author: CWB News Department

Today cast and crew of the LEILA’S BROTHERS talked about this well received Iranian film on the Cannes red carpet. LEILA’S BROTHERS is written and directed by Saeed Roustayi, known for his beautiful and powerful film, Just 6.5 In a review of LEILA’S BROTHERS published in DEADLINE, Stephanie Bunbury writes: “What an unexpectedly rich experience this film is” https://vimeo.com/713794398 At 40 years old, Leila has spent her whole life taking care of her parents and her four brothers. The family argues constantly and is crushed by debts, in a country caught in the grip of international economic sanctions. As her…

In Clarissa’s Battle, Social Justice Warrior Clarissa Doutherd leads a tenacious battle to build a coalition fighting for desperately needed child care and early education funding. Clarissa’s Battle will be screened in person at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival, New York on Saturday, May 21, 8:00pm, Film at Lincoln Center, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center and on Sunday, May 22, 5:15pm, Film at Lincoln Center, Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center. Digital screening is available any time between May 20-26, 2022 on the festival’s digital streaming platform. The following is our interview with Tamara Perkins, Director and Sara Maamouri, Producer…

Human Rights Watch Film Festival, New York opens tomorrow May 20th and runs to May 26th. Human Rights Watch Film Festival is presented by FilmLinc and IFC Center. The festival is back in person for the first time in two years and this year’s lineup includes great titles from Venice and Sundance film festivals. All 10 films participated in the festival will stream nationally in the U.S. and will also screen in-person at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center. Highlights of this year’s festival include the Venice Film Fest hit You Resemble Me, directed by Dina Amer and executive…

 The Shadow on the wall, directed by Mehregan Pezeshki and Arash Kamali Sarvestani, is a surreal journey of an Iranian American artist, who is dealing with sexual trauma in her past. She tries to deal with post trauma through her art. This is a surreal story about an artist who moved from east to west. She is dealing with her memories from the past. Her dreams, memories, conscience and unconscious are all intertwined to each other and it seems impossible to differentiate these worlds from each other. In her story, she is dealing with the multi cultural paradoxes of the…

Lily Afshar’s personal story begins in her native Iran. Born in Tehran to a family with ancient roots in the northern region of Azerbaijan, at ten years of age she first encountered the guitar while visiting a cousin who was taking lessons. She told her father she loved the guitar; the next day he presented her with her first instrument and arranged for lessons. Her prodigious skill and love of music eventually led her to The Boston Conservatory, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in music, and to The New England Conservatory, where she received her Master of Music. At…

Asghar Farhadi, Iranian film director and writer and two times Oscar winner, is one of the Cannes jury members. The Cannes Film Festival has set Vincent Lindon as its jury president for the 75th edition, which kicks off next month. The Frenchman, who won the 2015 Best Actor award at Cannes for The Measure of a Man, starred in last year’s Palme d’Or winner Titane. Joining jury this year are: actor-director-writer Rebecca Hall; Swedish star Noomi Rapace; director-screenwriter Jeff Nichols; Iranian director-writer Asghar Farhadi; India’s Deepika Padukone; Italian actor-director Jasmine Trinca; French director-writer-actor Ladj Ly; and Norwegian helmer Joachim Trier.…

At 2022 Palm Springs International Film Festival, festival programmers had nominated seven films for the MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award offered by Cinema Without Borders and sponsored by MOZAIL Philanthropy. CWB’s jury selected Asghar Farhadi’s A Hero as the winner of the MOZAIK Bridging The Borders Award for the 2022 Palm Springs International Film Festival. The Cinema Without Borders Foundation presented the award to Mr. Farhadi in a private ceremony held at the Woodland Hills Hilton, while keeping Covid protocols in mind. Three of the CWB jury members– Bijan Tehrani, Susan Morgan Cooper and Bambadjan Bamba–welcomed Mr. Farhadi. At the…

Film Movement Classics has acquired North American rights to 2K digital restorations of Asghar Farhadi’s first two features Dancing in the Dust and Beautiful City, which have been signed off on by the two-time Oscar winner himself. Both restored dramas will be released theatrically this year, with a release on all heading home entertainment and digital platforms to follow. In Farhadi’s 2003 feature directorial debut Dancing in the Dust, Nazar (Yousef Khodaparast) is pressured into divorcing his wife (Baran Kosari) because of her family’s bad reputation. This leads to money problems, and before long, he’s on the run due to…

The Dress, directed by Tadeusz Łysiak and the winner of 2020 Bridging The Borders Award at the 21th edition of Polish Film Festival, LA has been nominated by Academy Awards for the Best Live Action Short Film Oscar. The Dress is a film that bravely shines a light on the cruelty of our world towards those whose physical appearance is different. This well-crafted film tells the story of Julia, a maid at a roadside motel who has lived a lonely life, accustomed to scorn for being ‘a little person’. When she is asked on a date, the filmmakers masterfully demonstrate…

SIMA, the non-profit impact media agency that celebrates, curates and distributes documentaries and creative media projects that advance positive social change, has announced their 2022 festival winners. Chosen from 40 finalists spanning 25 countries, the SIMA 2022 winners leverage the transformative art of storytelling and the ever-evolving power of media in profound and remarkable ways… DOCUMENTARY FEATURES Best Documentary SOFTIE Director: Sam Soko Producer: Toni Kamau, Sam Soko 82 min | Kenya https://youtu.be/NBD8A8SAiTU Synopsis: Boniface Mwangi is daring and audacious, and recognized as Kenya’s most provocative photojournalist. But as a father of three young children, these qualities create tremendous turmoil…