With the lapse of only three days from the premiere of ’Catch Me If You Can’, pirated copies of the film are found in abundance on the sidewalks.
According to a report in the Persian daily
’Tehran-e Emrouz’, investigations show that CD versions of the film was available in the market even before its public screening began.
Film producer Hassan Tavakkol-Nia told the newspaper that illegal sales of pirated copies will lead to a decline of at least 80 percent in the film’s box office sales.
Referring to the history of film piracy, he further said, “We have been witnessing the serious threats posed by illegal copying and marketing of films for at least a year but nothing serious has so far been done to tackle this.“
Criticizing a delay in Majlis approval of the plan to punish offenders, he said that the issue of handing out stiffer punishment for them has been debated in the Majlis for several months but it has not yet been given the assent.
Describing the delay as an indication of the Majlis’ inattention to the issue, Tavakkol-Nia noted that they should approve the bill sooner given the losses inflicted on cineastes.
Meanwhile, ILNA reported that some 440,000 pirated copies of films were seized by the Headquarters to Counter Piracy of Films and handed over to Ershad (guidance) Judicial Complex.
Spokesman of Iran’s Film Producers and Distributors Union Gholamreza Mousavi said that what is important now is not the losses of billions of rials inflicted on the cinema industry; rather what matters is its survival or destruction. This, he said, has made expediting the campaign a priority for cultural officials.

The unique rug called 'Aqiq' donated to the Carpet Museum of Astan-e Qods Razavi Foundation.

A carpet weaver from Isfahan donated a valuable and unique rug called ’Aqiq’ to the Carpet Museum of Astan-e Qods Razavi Foundation in a ceremony attended by officials of the entity and a number of the city’s veteran carpet weavers.
According to a press release faxed to Iran Daily by the Public Relations Department of the Libraries and Museums Organization and Documents Center of Astan-e Qods Razavi Foundation, head of the organization Ali Mohammad Baradaran Rafiei said at the gathering that the collection of carpets maintained in Carpet Museum expose the subtleties of Iranian arts and the devotion of the Shiites to the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Imam of the infallible household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
He further pointed out that in past years, various artworks including carpets and carpet tableaux featuring the mausoleum of Imam Reza (AS), Medina, seven cities of devotion and Chehel-Sotoun Palace have been presented to the museum, each of which is a masterpiece in Iranian and Islamic art.
Referring to the project to construct a new building for the museum, which is currently underway, he said that the extra display area will enable public display of most of the artistic and historical hand woven carpets which are currently maintained in depositories.
Commenting the carpet which has been donated, he said that 240 natural dyes have been used in the rug while its warp and woof are made of silk and wool respectively.
The carpet, which is made up of 4,676,000 knots, measures 256 cm by 165 cm.

Issuance of construction permits by Tehran’s 11th Municipal District without coordination with Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization has once again led to the destruction of a number of historical structures on Vahdat-e Eslami Street which were registered on the national heritage list.
According to CHN, following the move by the municipality, Tehran province’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Department’s Legal Office prepared a complaint which it will soon submit to the judicial authorities.
Head of the office, Kiyanoush Takallo said that the process of initiating a case against the mayor of 11th Municipal District who issued permits for destroying and rebuilding national heritage sites bearing registering numbers from 1328 to 1334 on Vahdat-e Eslami Avenue, corner of Motamedi Cul-de Sac is currently underway.
The move by the mayor has took place at a time when, based on Article 588 of the Islamic Penal Code, everybody who causes damage to the entire or sections of monuments, cultural and historical complexes which have been registered on national heritage list, or deface them will be liable to ten years imprisonment, in addition to paying compensation.
Takallo further said that the Legal office has already warned the 11th Municipal District about the illegal actions on several occasions.
According to the experts, 489 monuments, 1,500 historical houses and 2,500 hectares of fencers from the Qajar era (1792-1925) are administered without any documented and comprehensive strategic planning, which has brought about a lot of damage to many historical structures.

Parviz Varjavand

Renowned professor and researcher in archeology and sociology, Parviz Varjavand passed away in Tehran on Saturday.
Varjavand, who was 73 years old, was the Iran’s first culture minister after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in the interim government of late Mehdi Bazargan.
Varjavand died of heart failure and his family said that he was in good health the night before his death, reported CHN.
He received his bachelor and master degrees from Tehran University.
Late Varjavand went to Paris to study at Sorbonne University from where he obtained his PhD in archeology.
His PhD dissertation was titled ’Restoration of Iran’s Historical Monuments and Iran’s Ancient Architecture’.
Varjavand published Iran’s first student newspaper in the 1950s when he was only 16 years old. He conducted specialized courses in the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting for training the staff of the program ’People and Culture’ in the early years of the revolution.
He also worked to prepare cases for the registration of Iran’s historical monuments, including Persepolis, Naqsh-e Jahan Square and Choghazanbil at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Concurrent with the on-going exhibition ’Parallel Nippon--Contemporary Japanese Architecture 1996-2006’, a seminar on contemporary Japanese architecture titled ’Fluid Direction’ will be held at Shahid Avini Hall located at Fine Arts Campus of the University of Tehran from 5:00 p.m. on
June 13.
According to a press release by Japan Information and Culture Center of the Japanese Embassy, Kazuhiro Kojima (48) and Kazuko Akamatsu (39), two renowned Japanese architects, will be dispatched by The Japan Foundation to give lectures on the said occasion.
Mr. Kojima is a professor at the Tokyo University of Science and a partner of C+A Tokyo while Ms. Akamatsu is one of the lecturers of Kanto Gakuin University, Nippon Institute of Technology and Kobe Design University, and a partner of C+A Tokyo.
The exhibition is now being held at the Tehran Gallery on Qods St., East of Tehran University, (Phone: 6641-0959) through Thursday, June 14, 2007. Visiting hours: Saturday through Wednesday at 14:00-20:00, Thursday and Friday at 16:00-20:00.

Second exhibition of Iranian Visual Artists is currently underway at Tehran’s Niavaran Cultural Complex sponsored by Behnam Deheshpour Charity Foundation, which raises funds for cancer patients.
Taha Behbahani, director of the exhibition said that some 150 works by 130 artists, including painters, sculptors and calligraphers are on display at the event, Fars quoted Public Relations Office of the Foundation for Arts Creation of Niavaran Complex as saying.
Noting that proceed from the sale of the works will be donated for treating cancer patients, he said, “The items on display are being sold at 50 percent discount to expedite their sale as well as to show sympathy with the patients. Thus, the event provides both financial and spiritual opportunities to collectors.“
He appreciated the cooperation of Niavaran Cultural House, Visual Arts Center, Museum of Contemporary Arts and Tehran Municipality’s Artistic and Cultural Organization.
Works by Iran Doroudi, Seyyed Mohammad Ahsaei, Habibollah Sadeqi, Ali Taraqqi-Jah, Bahram Dabiri, Nasser Araasteh, Farideh Shahsavarani, Shahla Homayouni, Reza Derakhshani and Golnaz Qadiri, are featured at the event.
The exhibition is open to the public every day from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and will run until June 16 at Niavaran’s main gallery.

Well-known Danish philosopher, Per Jespersen, arrived in Tehran on Friday at the official invitation of Tehran Philosophy House, Fars said.
Jespersen, an expert in teaching philosophy to children, has written more than 100 books and articles in the field of philosophy. He will deliver a lecture in Tehran Philosophy House on Tuesday and will hold a training workshop titled ’Teaching Method in Philosophy of Children’ on Wednesday.
His programs will include a meeting with deputy education minister and directors of the Education Ministry, visiting Children Cultural House and attending the year-end ceremony of a kindergarten in Tehran.
Tehran Philosophy House is located in 46, Mehraban Cul-de-Sac, Shahid Mozaffar Street (North Saba), between Palestine and Vali-e Asr streets.