Warner Bros. historically inaccurate film ’300’ is to be reviewed by Iranian critics at Tehran’s Kanun Cinema on Tuesday.
According to MNA, the program is being organized by the Foundation for the Preservation and Publication of Sacred Defense Works and Values.
Members of the Iranian parliament’s Cultural Committee and a number of the foundation’s officials plan to attend the session.
’300’ is a 2007 film adaptation of the graphic novel ’300’ by Frank Miller, itself a loose adaptation about the battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.
In this movie, the Spartan King Leonidas and 300 Spartans allegedly fought against more than one-million strong army of Xerxes, the Persian Achaemenid king. The movie presents an ugly image of Persians which has upset millions of Iranians all over the world and has raised the objection of historians and experts of cultural heritage.
’300’ was released on March 9 in the United States and has broken box office records, although many critics have slammed its authenticity.
The movie was condemned by Iranians worldwide.
Also, Parse Pasargadae Research Center in Fars province has produced a short documentary film to present the correct historical version of ancient Iranian history in response to the Hollywood movie ’300’ which is aimed at distorting historical facts.

Attar Neishabouri Mausoleum in Neishabour, Khorasan Razavi province

Ceremonies will be held to commemorate the world-renowned Iranian mystic poet Attar Neishabouri concurrently in Iran and 20 other countries.
Announcing this, head of Culture and Islamic Guidance Department in Neishabour, Khorasan Razavi province, Mohammad Mehdi Mojdi told IRNA that the ceremony will begin on April 14 in Neishabour with a message from Culture and Islamic Guidance Minister Mohammad Hossein Saffar-Harandi which will also be communicated to the cultural sections of Iranian missions across the world.
Mojdi, who is the executive secretary of the ceremony, further said that a research and scientific conference called ’From Attar to Molana’ is also planned since Molana Jalaleddin Rumi was a student of Attar.
He noted that many cultural programs will be held in Khorasan Razavi on April 14 and a number of conferences will be organized in cultural centers across the province.
“Attar Tomb will be showered with flowers and a book fair will be held,“ he said.
Mojdi said that another ceremony will be held for the first time in Kadkan, the village where Attar was born.
United Nations cultural body, UNESCO has designated 2007 as the Year of Molana Jalaleddin Rumi.

Based on an agreement signed between Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of Isfahan province, Isfahan Municipality and governor’s office as well as authorities of Isfahan City Council, modification of Jahan Nama Tower will be completed before the 31st session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee which will be held from June 23 to July 2, in Christchurch, New Zealand.
According to CHN, Saeed Baktash, director of Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of Isfahan province said, “Under the agreement, we will do our best to lower the elevation of Jahan Nama Tower before the 31st session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee, in an attempt to prevent Naqsh-e Jahan world heritage site from being excluded from list of UNESCO’s list of global heritage sites.“
Recent UNESCO resolution commits the Iranian government to complete the reduction of Jahan Nama Tower’s height to prevent Naqsh-e Jahan World Heritage site from being placed on list of UNESCO’s Endangered World Heritage Sites by February 1. However, since Iran could not complete the project by that time, the deadline was extended till the 31st session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee to give Iran another opportunity to save Naqsh-e Jahan world heritage site. With less than three months remaining to the latest deadline, two more stories still have to be demolished.
“A plan for modifying Jahan Nama Tower has been drawn up and the government of Iran has shown a positive attitude to meet UNESCO’s demand. We hope that UNESCO will take this into account,“ added Baktash.
Noting that Cultural Heritage and Tourism Department of Isfahan province has nominated 120 historical sites in the city for inclusion in UNESCO’s Global Heritage List, he stated, “The cases of these sites were submitted to UNESCO’s world heritage office two months ago.“
In 2005, UNESCO specified that the height of the Tower be reduced by 12 meters on its eastern side and 24.48 meters on the western side. To meet UNESCO’s requirement, two more stories of Jahan Nama Tower still have to be removed.

A joint workshop by Rolina and young Iranian artists is one of the programs of the event.

Seventh Pardis Environmental Art Festival will be held in Tehran with the participation of two European artists, according to ISNA.
Dutch artists Paul and Rolina Nell arrived in the capital on Friday to take part in the event. Their paintings will be motivated by social environment and the two artists will meet their young Iranian counterparts during their one-month stay in the country.
A joint workshop by Rolina and young Iranian artists is one of the programs on the agenda of the festival.
Pardis, one of the international artistic centers, has so far hosted artists from Germany, Holland, Britain, Lebanon, America, Australia, Switzerland, Ireland, Greece and Japan.

An Iranian writer and researcher plans to publish a book titled ’Hafez for Young Adults’ which features a simplified version of poetry by the well-known Iranian mystic and poet, ISNA reported.
Masoud Khayyam, who had earlier published works by renowned Iranian poets such as Sadi, Khayyam and Ferdowsi, said that until now he has not found more pleasure than writing ’Hafez for Young Adults’ and described this as the happiest event in his life.
Referring to creating ambience, embellishing words, music and painting, he further said that he used nine copies of Hafez anthology, which are the best in his opinion.
Khayyam is also awaiting a permit to publish a translation of ’The Night of the Iguana’ by Tennessee Williams, a prominent 20th century American playwright.
He has the novel ’East of Solomon’s Lyrics’ to his credit but currently he does not intend to publish it. The novel is inspired by Homer, Goethe, Dante as well as religious texts such the Qur’an and Torah and Bible, he said.

The cast of an Irano-Dutch theatrical production which will take part in the Tenth International University Theater Festival has been selected, reported ISNA.
About 11 actors and five actresses were selected from among interested university students by Nasrin Qasemzadeh, the director of the play.
Selected students will soon begin rehearsal in interactive theater which is gaining popularity in Europe. Given the peculiarity of this branch of drama, the names of the selected students were not disclosed.
Qasemzadeh and Farhad Foroutanian, an interactive theater actor, who have participated in many plays in the Netherlands, will hold a workshop on interactive theater on the sidelines of the international event.

Behrouz Gharibpour

Noted Iranian stage director Behrouz Gharibpour has been selected to head the panel of jury at the 11th Puppet Festival in Prague, Czech Republic.
According to ISNA, this is the third time he has been chosen to serve on the acclaimed puppet festival’s panel of jury. Some 40 groups from different countries are participating in the ten-day event which will open on May 26.
Puppet opera ’Rostam and Sohrab’ directed by Gharibpour will be performed in the inaugural ceremony of the festival.
So far, nine Iranian groups have expressed willingness to take part in the event, which is sponsored by World Association of Puppeteers (WAP) and International Institute of Marionette Art.
The same source further said that before the start of the festival, a congress on puppet theater will be organized by WAP with the aim of outlining the objectives of the newly-established puppet theater entity.
During negotiations in Prague attended by Gharibpour, a proposal was made to organize a festival in Dubai. This proposal has not yet been finalized.
Gharibpour is currently preparing to perform the puppet opera ’Macbeth’ in Tehran’s Ferdowsi Hall in May.