TEHRAN, April 9--A noted film director has said that cinema for young adults needs an in-depth analysis and essential revision.
Speaking to IRNA Wednesday, Pouran Derakhshandeh added that the Iranian cinema industry has focused less on issues pertaining to young adults, particularly those concerning boys.
She further noted that although an independent identity cannot be conceived for young adults’ cinema, some analytical films have been produced in recent years which can mark the beginning of such cinema.
“Inattention to the sensitive world of young adults and confusion over problems concerning the development of character in this generation are the major challenges facing young adults’ cinema,“ Derakhshandeh said.
She clarified that identifying the issues pertaining to the youth call for the removal of the taboos and easy access of filmmakers to the norms and abnormalities prevalent in this age group.
Pointing to the lack of understanding by parents of the young adults, the director said that given the contrast between this generation and the changing conditions of today’s world and their immediate needs, traditional views of the parents to identify their problems will not solve anything.
Derakhshandeh called on the filmmakers to seriously focus on young adults’ issues, identify the problems and social maladies facing this generation and offer solutions to immunize them against indecent and superficial attitudes.
The artist, who is now working on the film ’Wet Dream’, further said that she intends to analyze the problems facing young adults in this film.

TEHRAN, April 9--Minister of Culture and the Islamic Guidance Ahmad Masjed-Jamei has announced that the ministry will contribute to compiling an encyclopedia of satire.
Masjed-Jamei pledged to assist the Gol Agha Press Institute in compiling an encyclopedia of satire, ILNA reported.
Speaking during a visit to Gol Agha Press Institute, the minister praised the services rendered by the late Kiumars Saberi Foumani in the past 25 years to the press in the field of satire.
He proposed holding an international biennial of Gol Agha at Tehran Contemporary Arts Museum which has a world wide reputation in the field of art.
He called for publishing a special supplement on Saberi Foumani in Literature and Philosophy Monthly to mark his death anniversary.
Masjed-Jamei urged Iran Cultural and Press Institute (ICPI) to continue with the satire page in the Persian daily in memory of the late satirist.
The minister studied the requirements for registering the House of Satire and Gol Agha Foundation and termed January 14 as the national day for satire. January 14 is the day on which the column of ’Let’s Speak Frankly’ was first published by Saberi Foumani.
At the end of his visit to Gol Agha Press Institute, Masjed-Jamei viewed the caricatures and an animation film produced by the Institute.

TEHRAN, April 9--Archeological excavations in the mountainous area of Farash Sardouyeh, north of Jiroft, Kerman province have led to the discovery of 400 pieces of stone inscriptions dating back to the Ashkanid and Sassanid eras.
According to CHN, the archeological site of Farash Sardouyeh has been identified in a series of excavations conducted in the past three years in the northern part of Jiroft along with several other historical areas.
Head of the archeological team at Farash Sardouyeh, Nader Alidad Soleymani, said that excavations on the mountains of Farash Sardouyeh led to the discovery of about 400 pieces of stone inscriptions. They depict designs of human beings engaged in hunting with archer, wild goats, cats, tigers, and the struggle between man and animals as well as animals hunting other animals.
Most of the inscriptions, he noted, belonged to the Ashkanid era and they provide an insight into the social, economic and cultural conditions of people living during the periods and their beliefs.
Soleymani said that so far excavations have been carried out in five areas of Kerman province during which archeologists identified Tangeh Mourdan in Kerman province which has a prehistoric cultural heritage.
He said that Kerman province’s Cultural Heritage Department planned to carry out extensive excavations across the province to identify the historical sites.
He said that several inscriptions have also been unearthed from Tangeh Mourdan which are embossed with designs. The inscriptions which contain human and animal forms, are both on small and large slates of mountainous stones.

TEHRAN, April 9--The panel of jury at the 27th Belgium International Photo Contest ’Knokke Hiest’ has accepted four photos by Iranian photographers which were submitted to the competition’s secretariat by Iran’s Photo Agency affiliated to the Association of Iran Youth Cinema.
The association said in a press release that 181 selected works for the competition have been on display in Belgium’s Sharpord Cultural House since March 19.
Photos by Ahmad Khatiri (Gorgan), Mohammad Hadi Fallah-Pisheh (Karaj), Ali Sardroudian (Mashhad) and Seyyed Majid Hosseini are among those on display.

TEHRAN, April 9--A noted literary figure Ezzatollah Fouladvand said that philosophy has become a popular subject of study after the 1979 Islamic Revolution compared to the pre-revolution era.
He told ISNA that the number of students studying philosophy in universities has increased and the number of the books and essays being published by researchers in the field has risen several times compared to the figures for the pre-revolution era.
Comparing the number of philosophy books currently published in Iran with that in foreign countries, Fouladvand said that Iran possibly ranks first in this field but it is definitely on top in terms of publishing philosophy books. This is quite promising for the advancement of philosophy, he added.
Elaborating on philosophy education in Iran, he said that there are genuine philosophy and an approach which follows a certain trait irrespective of whether it is philosophy or, for example, the lifestyle people prefer to follow.
“In philosophy, as in other aspects of life, one also comes across both the good and bad points. This is evident in the works of Iranian intellectuals when they write or translate philosophy subjects too.“
He said that he is confident about the quality of philosophical works in Iran adding that quality depends on quantity. “When some 3,000 titles of philosophy books or essays are published annually in Iran, you can definitely find at least 100 good books, but, such a thing is impossible when only 50 titles of books are published,“ he concluded.

TEHRAN, April 9--Repair works on the old clock of Tehran’s Sepahsalar School have almost been completed and its chimes will be heard once again after a long silence, CHN reported.
The clock, which is one of the oldest in Tehran, will start ticking away in two weeks and its chimes will once more fill the airs of Tehran’s Baharestan Square.
The clock has been out of order for an unknown period, but despite the fact that the spare parts were not available even on the world market, it has been repaired by two veteran Tehrani clockmakers, explained the head of the repair team, Fereidoun Boroumandi.
Sa’atchi brothers have been working in the clock’s upper room since winter, and finally the clock’s gear began to move. However, the clock is still 10 minutes fast.
The clock of Sepahsalar School and Mosque is one of the souvenirs which was received by Qajar kings of Iran during their trips to Europe. It is considered one of the four first European clocks brought to Iran during the Qajar rule. The other clocks are those of the British Embassy, Shams ol-Emareh Mosque, and the Moshir od-Doleh Mosque in Tehran.
Sepahsalar clock was bought by Naser ed-din Shah of Qajar in 1880 from Paris. The clock room is 5 meters high, 2.5 meters wide and 1.5 meters long. It is decorated with tiles and wood works, and has a gazebo which was restored in 2003.
When the chimes of Sepahsalar clock sound out at the end of the current Iranian month of Farvardin (April 20), the old school and mosque of Sepahsalar dating to over one century ago, will be revived, thus enlivening Baharestan Square which occupies a prominent position in Iran’s Constitutional Movement and freedom.

TEHRAN, April 9--The second edition of ’Farkhar’, a Persian literary and arts quarterly is currently available in newsstands.
’Farkhar’ is a publication of the Afghan House of Literature. The first edition of the quarterly was published last year at the behest of Tehran-based Council for Development of Persian Language and Literature.
A member of Afghan House of Literature, Zia Qassemi, told ISNA that unfortunately the quarterly is being published once a year due to financial constraints. He said that the board of the Persian quarterly has appealed to the Afghan government for provide funds for running the affairs of the publication, but, due to US influence, this has not yet been approved.
He said that in the third edition of the quarterly, Tajik literature will be dealt with in depth in order to develop interaction between the literature of Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan.
He said that cooperation among the three states will be effective in the progress of Persian language.
Qassemi, who is a poet, said that the three countries should cooperate in the advancement of Persian language adding that by working independently, none of the three countries can attain success in promoting the language.
He said that the Persian language has been exposed to threats in Afghanistan. Just like in India and Pakistan, they want to promote English language, he noted.
He pointed out that there is an unhealthy competition between Persian language and Pashtu because the government is dominated by Pashtu-speaking people. Of course, Pashtu is a branch of Persian language, he added. He urged Iran and Tajikistan to contribute to promoting Persian language in Afghanistan.