(Photo by Meisam Mohseni)

Paragliding in Mazandaran province

Zolfonoun Award Planned

Arts & Culture Desk

Zolfonoun Award, named after the late Iranian setar virtuoso Jalal Zolfonoun, will be presented in the next Iranian year (starting March 21).
Announcing this, Arash Avesta, supervisor of the music ensemble ‘Avesta’, said that as per negotiations with the Institute for Veteran Artists the award will be presented next year.
The award will be granted as part of a festival which aims to help familiarize the youth with Persian culture and traditional Iranian music.
There are plenty of Zolfonoun’s compositions which have not been released yet, Avesta added.
Born in 1937, he began playing the setar at the age of eight. At the age of 13, he enrolled in the National School for Iranian Music to study musical theory, composition and technique.
Zolfonun was admitted into the Faculty of the Fine Arts department of Tehran University in 1967, where he continued his setar studies.
He then began combining the techniques of the older masters of setar with his own ingenuity and mystic sensitivity.
He was also a professional player of the Tar and the violin and performed in different international events and venues such as New York’s Lincoln Center, London’s Royal Albert Hall and the Persian Art Festival in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Persian Film Heading To Montreal

Iranian drama ‘The Rooster Trademark Paper’ is competing at the 16th Montreal International Children’s Film Festival.
Directed by Maryam Milani, the film is competing at the festival, which started on March 2 and runs until March 10 in Canada.
‘The Rooster Trademark Paper’ is about the efforts that three children from underprivileged families make to achieve their dreams, Mehr News Agency said.
Well rooted in Montrealers’ hearts and known as a major festival on the Quebec cultural scene, the Montreal International Children’s Film Festival is also well known abroad.

What’s Wrong With the Oscars?

By John Farr

I recognize these musings about this year’s Oscar ceremony may be coming in a little late, but I like to take a few days to absorb all the coverage, let the breathless hubbub die down and reach a few conclusions in the quiet, cold light of day.
This year I went so far as to poll my Facebook fans for their reactions to the ceremony itself. Result: comments were sharply divided, but over half were negative--not a figure that would make me happy as an organizer, even if my ratings for the night were up 11 percent.
The Oscars are a ship without a sail. Year after year, they keep trying new hosts, new approaches, but it’s been a long time since they hit it out of the park. In fact I can’t remember when... the ‘90s?
Unfortunately, Seth MacFarlane’s deliberate desire to offend as well as amuse only made this year’s show seem that much more desperate to please, to somehow break through.
Too often the tone was mean-spirited, and left a sour taste. It seemed to reinforce the view that Tinseltown is all about money and surface beauty--an industry that discards you when you no longer offer either.
When a ceremony offers only fitful rewards for its viewers, it also exposes the “Hollywood Bubble” effect--the sense we are watching a show where all these rich, beautiful people are congratulating themselves for their amazing cultural contributions.
Just perhaps they think those contributions are more significant than they really are. And the whole thing is for and about them, more than about the movies and the movie public that pays for it all. Displays of grace and humility seem all too rare these days.
The Oscars used to be a fairly classy, prestigious event. Certainly an Oscar still spells big money for any film or player that lands one. But in recent years the awards night itself hasn’t lived up to the power and prestige of the prize itself. There’s still lots of glitz, but to my eyes, precious little glamor.
As to the results themselves, no one picture took a clear lead in Oscar trophies, which tends to boost momentum and excitement. This year different films were represented across Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Supporting Actor/Actress wins, which gave the evening a somewhat patchwork feeling.
Of course, we knew ‘Argo’ was the odds-on favorite for Best Picture. I thought it was good--but Best Picture? I applaud Ben Affleck’s comeback. The problem is he’s not a very interesting actor, and he starred in this film. “Actor, direct thyself!”
Prediction: in ten years, we’ll look back at the ‘Argo’ win and shake our collective heads in wonderment, just as many of us do when we ponder 2005’s ‘Crash’ today.
In all, I’d rate it an average year for the movies, considerably worse than average for the ceremony itself. But I hope they focus on how to do a better show next year, a program that’s actually worthy of the Oscar tradition.

‘Love Poems of the World’ in Persian

Anthology of love poems by four poets from different part of the world has recently been published in Persian in Tehran.
‘Love Poems of the World’, which consists of four volumes, was unveiled during a ceremony, which was held by publisher Sarzamin Ahourai Press at Tehran’s Resaneh Cultural Center.
The collection comprises selections from American poet Richard Brautigan’s ‘It’s Raining in Love’, which have been translated into Persian by Alireza Behnam.
Reza Ameri has also translated poems from ‘My Love (Do Not Ask Me)’ by Syrian writer Nizar Qabbani for the anthology, Mehr News Agency said.
In addition, poems from ‘I Only Love You’ by Erich Fried and ‘Love With Wooden Legs’ by Gunter Grass both from German literature have been selected for the collection. Ali Abdollahi has translated the poems.
Ahourai Press Managing Director Majid Zarghami assigned the translators to render the works into Persian, Behnam said during the ceremony.
One of the main missions of the publisher in the translation project is to acquaint people with poetry, he added.
Ameri also recited a poem by Qabbani and also talked about the popularity of poet in the Arab world.
Abdollahi said that Grass is widely known as a poet in Iran.
Abdollahi has written notes about Grass’s criticism in his poems and his political outlook on the modern world.
The ceremony came to an end with a Q&A session in which the translators answered questions posed by the audience.

Warhol Print Set for Auction

The Potomack Company has identified a rare lettered and signed color screenprint of Marilyn Monroe by artist Andy Warhol and will sell the iconic print of the legendary blond actress on March 16 at its Spring Catalogue Auction.
The ‘Marilyn Monroe’ print portrays the movie star with a red face on hot pink background and remains in its original steel Kulicke frame. It is lettered ‘A’, from an edition of 250 and 26 AP signed and lettered prints (FS II.22). Anne Craner, fine arts specialist at The Potomack Company, says the artwork’s provenance is a private Chevy Chase, MD, estate and estimates it to sell for $50,000-100,000, ArtDaily reported.
Potomack’s Spring Catalogue Sale also features another numbered Warhol color silkscreen entitled “Flowers 1970”, with a sale estimate of $20,000-30,000 for the pink, blue and yellow floral work numbered (FS II.73).
Warhol’s Marilyn was discovered by Potomack Company’s fine art director, Anne Craner, amidst a group of fine screen prints purchased over the years by a Washington , DC private collector. The same collector also had a book by Andy Warhol, “Exposures,” dedicated to her by Andy Warhol, which is also in Potomack’s March 16th auction. The Marilyn has never changed hands and has remained in its Kulick frame from the date of purchase in the late 1960s. In 1967, Andy Warhol made a portfolio of 10 prints of Marilyn Monroe. We know from the book devoted to Warhol screen prints written by Feldman and Schellmann that there are 250 stamped versions which appear on the market from time to time, and an AP set lettered A-Z that rarely come on the market. A Marilyn Monroe from the stamped edition of 250 sold February 27th, 2013 at Phillips, London for $174,000.

Bulgaria Violin ‘May Be Stradivarius Stolen in London’

A violin recovered following a police operation in Bulgaria could be a Stradivarius made in 1696 which was stolen from a central London station.
The £1.2m Stradivarius and two bows were stolen from classical musician Min-Jin Kym while she was in a cafe at Euston station in November 2010.
John Maughan, 30, admitted theft in 2011 but the violin was never found.
British Transport Police said it was trying to verify if the instrument recovered was the stolen Stradivarius, BBC wrote.
The Korean-born musician, who has played with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, was due to board a train to Manchester and was buying a sandwich at Euston station when the case containing the instrument was taken from her.
Maughan, of no fixed address, who was jailed for four years, and two boys, then aged 15 and 16, admitted the theft in March 2011. Now officers investigating claims the violin has been found in the possession of a suspected criminal in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia. A BTP spokesman said: “British Transport Police detectives are aware of the recovery of a violin in Bulgaria and will investigate with insurers, underwriters and international colleagues, whether it is the 1696 Antonio Stradivarius antique violin stolen from a cafe at Euston rail station in November 2010.”

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):

The people who will be in Hell are surely those who disregard the verses of God.