TEHRAN, April 27--A cinema critic and instructor has urged that more attention be paid to life and joy as a theme for short films.
Speaking to IRNA on the fourth day of the recently- concluded Third International Festival of Short Films in Isfahan, Jamshid Arjmand regretted that the main theme young filmmakers choose for their works related to death while they refuse to deal with life and way of living.
The instructor further stated, “Last year, I was on the panel of jury at a festival of short films in which 75 percent of the entries had focused on death and suicide. This has a detrimental impact on filmmakers.“
Young filmmakers should focus on the joys of life in their films, he noted, adding that their foreign counterparts have been more successful in this respect.
Arjmand also described the production of documentary films as the best field for filmmakers to make an artistic impression.
“Although the scope of creating artistic impression is limited in short films compared to that of feature films, the production of such movies can pave the way for making feature films,“ he concluded.

TEHRAN, April 27--To mark the first death anniversary of Kioumars Saberi-Foumani, also known as Gol Aqa, a special memorial edition of the weekly by the same name will return on the newsstands on May 1.
According to ISNA, the magazine, the publication of which was suspended upon Saberi’s decision in 2002, will once again reappear and be distributed nationwide.
Saberi had said that one day he would disclose the reasons for his decision to stop the publication of the weekly, but death denied him that opportunity.

TEHRAN, April 27--Islam and Persian language symbolize national identity, declared Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ahmad Masjed-Jamei, ISNA reported.
Speaking in a meeting with members of cultural institutes, journalists, artists and editors in Semnan province, he said that there are bright prospects on the horizon for Iranian culture and progress has been made in arts and culture thanks to the hard work of those involved in the field.
Masjed-Jamei, who is also the head of the State Cultural Council, pointed to Iran’s cultural diversity as a result of its vast territory, and said that national culture is the sum of the different cultures in the provinces.
He pointed out that the diverse cultures of different provinces have been integrated into the national culture.
The minister, who was addressing the gathering on the occasion of National Sadi Day to commemorate the great Iranian poet Moshrefoddin Moslehe Shirazi known as Sadi, said that the poet is one of the respectable symbols of Iranian culture.
He offered felicitations on the occasion of ’Unity Week’ which marks birth anniversary of Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) and recalled Sadi’s faith in Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) which has been crystallized in his poetry.
Elaborating on the Unity Week and national solidarity, Masjed-Jamei said that honoring cultural symbols serves to foster national solidarity and helps every individual--particularly the youth to have a sense of accountability.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has designated the current Iranian year as the ’Year of National Solidarity’.
Elsewhere in his speech, Masjed-Jamei cited the history of Semnan and its native culture and pointed out that Tahmoures, king of Iran, founded Semnan, which occupies a high status in national culture, and the province’s cultural identity has left its mark on Iranian folklore.

Mosques should have study rooms and a sports center so that the youth can spend time there.

TEHRAN, April 27--Head of the Center for Mosques Affairs said that given the rapid cultural and social developments, the past construction models for mosques can in no way meet the current needs of the society.
Ayatollah Hossein Ebrahimi told IRNA on Tuesday that today’s mosques should be built after taking into account the needs of the society so as to cater to the wishes of the people from all walks of life.
He pointed out that currently mosques play a crucial role in times of calamities such as earthquakes, when mosques serve as the bases for collecting relief for the victims as well as providing temporary shelter.
He further said that the mosques should have study rooms and a sports center, in addition to ’Shabestan’ (a section of the mosque designed for sleeping and nocturnal prayers), so that the youth can spend time there.
“Mosques which are built after the victory of the Islamic Revolution should be different from those constructed in the past,“ Ebrahimi noted.
According to him, changes in the use of mosques will help transform them into public participation centers. “If modern mosques can play their due role, most of the corruption and social maladies will decline,“ Ebrahimi concluded.

TEHRAN, April 27--Pottery from Kalpurgan is famous internationally given the 7,000-year history of handicraft in Iran’s southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, reported IRNA.
A handicraft workshop has been established in the village of Kalpurgan which includes kilns for baking the pottery.
Baluch women have been involved in producing the handicraft, the art of which has been passed on from one generation to another during the past seven thousand years. Despite the passage of time, the beauty of the designs has been preserved.
History of pottery in Sistan-Baluchestan province dates back to the pre-historic Stone Age.
The quality of Kalpurgan pottery is similar to those unearthed from Kerman, and Gilan provinces dating back to the third millennium BC.
Currently, pottery is being manufactured traditionally based on ancient designs.
Craftswomen are manufacturing pottery in Kalpurgan by hand and they put geometric designs on the surface of the handicraft.
Sometimes the designs are abstract conveying what the craftswomen have learned by heart and sometimes they depict religious symbols.

TEHRAN, April 27--Iranian experts and American academics from Chicago University will conduct joint studies on the ancient town of Estakhr, which is famous for hosting the coronation ceremonies of Sassanid kings, CHN said.
Announcing this, the head of the Parse Pasargad Foundation Mohammad Hossein Talebian said that excavations will be conducted under an agreement concluded by the two parties. He said that the date for starting the excavations has not yet been fixed and the American group is preparing a team for the venture.
Estakhr, is located seven kilometers from Takht-e Jamshid (Persepolis).
The town possesses valuable architectural designs ranging from the Achaemenid period to the Islamic era. In the early period of the Sassanid reign, Estakhr was among the major cities of Iran.
Ali Asadi, head of the center for archeological studies of Estakhr, said that taking into account the fact that Estakhr is one of the major historical sites where several periods of inhabitance have been recorded, the excavations will help answer many questions about the Achaemenid, Sassanid and Islamic civilizations.
Asadi said that complete archeological studies have not been carried out at Estakhr and the last round of excavation took place about 70 years ago.
American archeologist Herzfeld and Smith conducted excavations in 1932, 1933, 1934 and 1937. The two American archeologists also unearthed several sections of Takht-e Jamshid (Persepolis).
The Chicago University team will be led by Professor Whitcomb. The university has assigned Whitcomb to compile the documents and data Smith had unearthed from Estakhr.
In the past three years, Chicago University’s Institute for Oriental Studies has been studying Iranian archeology and repatriated about 300 clay inscriptions it had taken out of Iran 70 years ago to conduct additional studies.
Gil Stein, who accompanied the clay inscriptions back to Iran said that he hoped to sign an agreement with Iran on archeology studies and training Iranian students.
Meanwhile, another team of Chicago University archeologists are currently working on a historical compound in Khuzestan province.

TEHRAN, April 27--Munich-based International Library has listed four Iranian books in the category of its selected books.
The leading 50-year old library which holds more than 500,000 books publishes a collection called ’Ravens White’ each year in which experts on children’s books introduce several top books published in the preceding year.
The books include simplified version of Ferdowsi’s Rostam and Sohrab by Marjan Fouladvand with coffee-shop painting by Mansour Vafaei and ’Family of Mr. Rotating’ rewritten by Tahereh Ibad and illustrated by Ali Namvar. The two books were published by Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.
’I’m Not My Daddy’d Servant’ written by Ahmad Akbarpour published by Ofoq Publishing House and ’The Love Lyrics’ by Mostafa Rahmandoust and published by Shabaviz Publishing House are the third and fourth books that have been introduced by the international library.
Ravens White usually introduces 250 titles of books from among the publications that are presented at Bologna International Book Fair every year or the books that publishers across the world forward to Munich International Library.
A German lady founded the Munich International Library at the end of World War II after launching a book exhibit for children. She then established in two sections: one on literature and the other for children and young adults in 1949.
The library has moved to the current location which is an old 15th century building. It holds books in more than 130 languages.