Mohsen Makhmalbaf

TEHRAN, March µ--Noted Iranian film director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf has finally received the authorization to shoot a film in the rural areas of India--an undertaking which he plans to embark on later this month.
According to ISNA, this is his third attempt to make a film in India. Makhmalbaf described India as the land of Mahatma Gandhi, land of colors, enthusiasm and a marvelous democratic country.
He has been attempting to produce a film in India for a decade and only recently he managed to obtain a permit for his next film ’Colder Than Fire’--a social drama which will be shot in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi and the desert state of Rajasthan.
The ·´-old director considers himself an advocate of Gandhi’s non-violent movement.
In an interview with newkerala website, Makhmalbaf said, “Although the film is my ·±th, it will be the first to be shot in India.“
He further stated that he has been interested in undertaking the job in India for ten years but the diversity of cultures, special type of democracy as well as language problems had prevented him from going ahead with the project. “I am deeply interested in the spirituality of Gandhi’s movement, in his soul as well as this leader’s non-violence nature,“ he concluded.

TEHRAN, March 5--A 600-year old water mill in Yazd will be re-commissioned after the removal of 900 cubic meters of soil, reported CHN.
Ashkzar water mill, located 20 km from Yazd, is registered as a tourist site by Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO).
The water mill was built in the eighth century AH, or 732 of the lunar Hejira calendar, during the reign of Seyed Rokneddin.
Head of the Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department in Yazd province Mohammad Reza Seyed Hosseini said that the water mill was built seven meters underground. It has a sloping corridor which is 56 meters long and 4.10 meters wide.
The reconstruction of the water mill will be completed later this month. Some 83 million rials has been earmarked for the reconstruction of the water mill along with reinforcement of its foundation.
The water mill was housed in an octagonal building which has one pavilion on each side.

TEHRAN, March 5--Some 118 antiques, which were smuggled from Jiroft, Kerman province to London, will be returned to Iran on Monday.
Announcing this, director general of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization’s Legal and Real Estate Office, Younes Samadi said that following legal actions by the organization and the submission of documents proving the ownership of the objects by Iran, an expert team, which was dispatched to London on March 1, took delivery of the artifacts at the Iranian Embassy.
The experts will carefully examine the objects and submit a report on the details of the artifacts, he said, adding that they will also pack them properly to avoid possible damages.
According to Samadi, an exhibition of the repatriated antiques titled ’Recovered Objects’ will be organized soon.
In the last decade, Iran has launched extensive efforts to recover the historical artifacts, which were smuggled to other countries, he noted, adding that due to the illegal excavations by profiteers in the historical site of Jiroft in recent years, most of the objects seized abroad belong to Jiroft site.
However, the Iranian government sent copies of pictures and information about the objects belonging to Jiroft site to major auction centers and museums worldwide and called on the international circles to extend full cooperation to have them returned in accordance with the 1970 Convention.
In the past two decades, Iran was most actively involved in materializing the contents of the convention and adoption of necessary measures to prevent the illegal entry and exit of historical and cultural objects.

ItÕs better to present books in festivals and award ceremonies along with other prizes.

TEHRAN, March 5--The custom of giving books as gifts, which was common two decades ago, is fast going into oblivion due to the promotion of consumerism and modern technologies.
According to the Persian daily Jam-e Jam, experts on books maintain that in the 1970s and 1980s, Iranians used to do their best not to give any other present except books, but now books seem very strange as gifts.
A university professor, Ahmad Samiei said, “The practice of giving gifts has become a dilemma in our society because instructors and those involved in cultural activities anxiously look forward to receiving books as gifts.“
According to him, public libraries can serve as the most important driving force for promoting book reading but they adopt a selective approach in their choice of books, which are neither updated nor appealing.
A practical way of overcoming the present state of affairs in the book sector is to pay attention to books and reduce the publicity campaigns for pseudo hobbies, Samiei said, calling for extensive field studies on book reading and the practice of giving books as gifts.
Meanwhile, Jamshid Kianfar, an editor of manuscripts as well as an author blamed the invention of audio-visual devices, price hikes and promotion of consumer goods for turning public attention away from books.
Mohammad Kianfar, a writer for children and young adults’ literature contended that the media and the negligence of officials towards the sector are responsible for the current situation.
“In order to include books in the families’ expenditure basket, it’s better to present books in festivals and award ceremonies along with other prizes,“ he noted.
However, Kianfar called for investments in creating public interest in books, particularly among the youth, as a means of overcoming the current situation facing the book sector.
Libraries with updated books will also help make book reading a popular habit in the society, he said, adding that inclusion of book reading in the curricula of schools and universities is yet another way to have books included in the list of family expenses.

TEHRAN, March 5--An international seminar on reconstruction of historical monuments in Bam, Kerman province, will be held in the Italian capital this spring.
Representatives from 20 countries and 60 national and international organizations will discuss the approaches to the renovating cultural heritage of Bam city, which was devastated in an earthquake in December 2003.
The three-day seminar which is to get underway on May 11 will be held in cooperation with the two countries’ foreign ministries, Italy Cultural Heritage Organization and UNESCO.
According to the preliminary estimates, repair works on Bam’s historical monuments will cost at least $80 million.
The participants, who are mainly from Arab countries, will reaffirm their financial commitments for the Bam reconstruction campaign.
Arg-e Bam, which dates back to 2,000 years ago, is the largest adobe structure, which was completely destroyed last year.
The large and unique monument, which houses a complete city, dates back to Sassanid era.

TEHRAN, March 5--Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Mehdi Heidarian said that Iranian cinema enjoys a special status in the world, but, it suffers from financial problems despite its highly artistic standard.
Speaking at an international conference in Hashtgerd Cinema Township, he said that those involved in the cinema industry should focus on globalization, standardization and making film production more economical.
He said that cinema and electronic industries are interrelated and the production of films which meet the latest standards is somewhat difficult. “Filmmakers can hardly expect to attract global audience without using modern techniques.“
Heidarian said that Iran has a high status among Middle East and Asian countries in terms of filmmaking and called for establishment of a national and international center for the film industry in Iran. “The center would provide filmmakers with services to help boost investment, launch joint production as well as make optimum use of manpower,“ he said.
“Through successful production of standardized films, Iran will gain a major part of the international market in the film industry.“
He said that the government has given importance to research in the film industry and allocated four billion rials for the purpose.
He added that the government’s decision to build cinema township at Hashtgerd indicated that the officials are determined to boost the status of Iranian films at the international level.

TEHRAN, March 5--Two albums of songs by maestro Mohammad Reza Shajarian will be released soon, according to CHN.
The music for the songs was composed by Fereydoun Shahbazian some 30 years ago. The first album titled ’Empty Cup’ will be released by Ava-ye Khorshid Company in April. This album includes four pieces of music from Shahbazian, including two melodies and two songs by Shajarian.
The lyrics of the two albums are by Hooshang Ebtehaj and Fereydoun Moshiri. The melodies are titled ’Tar (a traditional Iranian string musical instrument) and ’Orchestra’ and ’Santur and Orchestra’ which were performed by Hossein Alizadeh and Faramarz Payvar.