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’The Cantankerous Men’
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A scene from the play ÔThe Cantankerous MenŐ currently
on stage at City TheaterŐs Sayeh Hall.
Written by Venetian playwright Carlo
Goldoni and directed by Hamid Pourazari, the play is centered
on followers of old
customs who oppose
contemporary trends and developments.
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Praise for IRGC Men of Letters
Minister of culture and Islamic guidance in a ceremony at the 21st Tehran International Book Fair honored the men of letters from among the personnel of the Islamic Revolution’s Guards Corps (IRGC).
Addressing the ceremony, Mohammad Hossein Saffar Harandi also said, “Those who protected our national identity during the 1980-88 Iraq-imposed war are now messengers of peace for the world.“
He added that the spirit of sacrifice and protecting national values serve as a rich support for the culture, MNA reported.
The official noted that IRGC members have taken major steps towards acculturation and the sector should benefit from their presence.
Harandi also said that per capita book reading in Iran is not low and Iranians consider books as their companions.
“Those who claim that Iranians are unfamiliar with books are liars and are seeking hostility toward the nation,“ he said.
Meanwhile, selected members of the IRGC, including Ali Shojaei Saein, managing director of Book House, were honored at the event for their literary contribution.
The book ’Noon Poem’--an analysis of poems pertaining to Ashura--written by Gholamreza Kakhi was also unveiled on the sidelines.
Ashura is the tenth day of the lunar month of Moharram which marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of the infallible household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and 72 of his loyal companions in the plains of Karbala, in present-day Iraq.
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Filmmakers Honored
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(From r-l) Parviz Shahbazi, Ebrahim Hatamikia, Nasser Taqvaei and Masoud Kimiaei
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Iranian filmmakers were honored during the program ’Night of Iranian Cinema Directors’ held on May 6.
Several prominent figures of Iran’s cinema attended the ceremony which was held at Tehran’s Enqelab Sports Complex, Fars News Agency reported.
Noted director Masoud Kimiaei was the first to be honored. Kimiaei received a plaque of honor and a cash prize of 2.5 million rials for his lifetime achievements.
Upon receiving his award, Kimiaii said, “In the early years of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, only a single style of filmmaking was common among Iranian directors. However, one can choose between a wide arrays of styles these days.“
Ebrahim Hatamikia, director of acclaimed films such as ’From Karkheh to Rein’ and ’The Glass Agency’ was the next veteran filmmaker who was honored. “We must understand ourselves and breathe in this oxygen which has brought us together. I hope there would be more such gatherings in future,“ he said.
Director of ’Deep Breath’ Parviz Shahbazi was also awarded at the ceremony. A tribute was also paid to auteur Nasser Taqvaei for his ingenious style. ’Tranquility in the Presence of Others’, ’Captain Khorshid’, and ’Blank Paper’, are amongst his works.
Veteran producer Abbas Shabaviz was the last person honored at the event.
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Imam Ali (AS)
One who practices moderation and frugality will never be threatened with poverty.
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Kalhor Plans US Concert
Noted Iranian musician and instrumentalist, Keyhan Kalhor, will perform a concert on September 27 at Hollywood Bowl, USA to commemorate Iranian poet and mystic Molana Jalaleddin Rumi.
Kalhor, who specializes in ’Kamancheh’, a traditional Iranian string musical instrument, will be accompanied by the finest Iranian musicians, including traditional string instrument ’Dotar’ player, Nour-Mohammad Dorpour as well as famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma as a special guest and the dervishes of Syria.
Kalhor has not yet announced who will recite Molana’s poems in the concert, wrote the Persian daily ’Iran’.
Born in 1963 in Tehran, Kalhor took up music when he was seven under his master Ahmad Mohajer.
By the age of thirteen, Kalhor was playing in the National Orchestra of Radio and Television.
Kalhor later worked with the Silk Road Project ensemble, where music was arranged by Stephen Prutsman and Lev Zhurbin. He later moved to Rome and Ottawa to study Western classical music.
Kalhor has composed many works for famous Iranian vocalists such as Mohammad Reza Shajarian and Shahram Nazeri.
’Night Silence Desert’, ’In the Mirror of the Sky’ and ’The Wind’ are among his albums.
Greece to Host Iranian Art Exhibit
An exhibition of artworks by Iranian artists will open in Greece from May 22 until June 22.
The one-month exhibit, titled ’Lion Under the Rainbow’, is to feature photographs, paintings and video art by 18 artists.
According to Fars News Agency, the event will be held in cooperation with the country’s Art Institute.
Noted photographers Bahman Jalali and Mehran Mohajer as well Vahid Sharifian, Ali Chitsaz, Mohammad Ali Shafahi and Shokoufeh Alidousti are among the artists whose works will be featured at the event.
4 Books Selected for IYL List
Four Iranian children’s books have been selected by the International Youth Library (IYL) in Munich, Germany for inclusion in its White Raven 2008 catalogue.
Public Relations Office of the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) said in a news release faxed to Iran Daily that the prestigious library has a collection of over 600 titles of books from around the world. The lists of books are compiled into a catalogue named ’White Raven’.
The Iranian books selected for the library’s 2008 catalogue include: ’Up, Down’, written by Fatemeh Toupchi and published by IIDCYA Publications, ’Where the Angels Come From?’ written by Mostafa Kharaman and published by Ofoq publications, ’September Stories’ written by Mostafa Rahmandoust and published by Ketab-e Mahtab Publishing House as well as ’Heart and the Sea’ written by Jamaleddin Akrami and published by Shabaviz Publications.
Saddam’s Jail Diaries Published
An Arab newspaper has published what it says are excerpts from diaries written by the ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein while in captivity.
The extracts printed in the Arab daily ’Al-Hayat’ portray a man who never seems to have stopped believing in himself as a historic leader, BBC reported.
Al-Hayat said it had obtained extracts from the handwritten memoirs, which the paper said ran to five big volumes.
Saddam Hussein was ousted in 2003 and executed three years later.
Some of the entries were signed “Saddam Hussein, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces“.
The language he uses often suggests a leader addressing the nation, and frequently he urges the Iraqis--as he did during his trial--to unite and resist the US-led occupation.
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