Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 - 7 pm Austin, Texas

A very moving scene takes place at the grave of Sadegh Hedayat (1903-1951). An Iranian man, probably in his 30s, stands before the grave of his countryman while clutching a book of poetry. Hedayat, considered one of Iran’s foremost authors in the first half of the 20th century, came to Paris to escape persecution by his principal enemies – the Iranian monarchy and Islamic clergy – but even the relative calm and freedom of post-war Paris were insufficient to prevent the poet’s suicide. This young admirer has likewise become an expatriate, because, as he explains by quoting from Hedayat’s The Blind Owl, “I’m so tired of the people around me.” The man adds, “He wrote about things which people don’t dare to talk about.” When asked how he makes his living in Paris, he reveals that he is a cab driver, “but my passion is singing traditional Persian classical music.” He explains that through music he keeps in touch with his Persian culture. He has left his country, not his culture, which is ancient and very enriching. Honigmann encourages him to sing a bit. Taking his book of poems in hand, he selects lyrics adapted from a poem by Hafez, a 14th century Persian poet. As the man sings, the camera explores the veiled faces of grief-stricken statues throughout the cemetery. The images and the man’s voice, even without an understanding of the words, reflect desperate yearning for a lost homeland. This is one of the perfect examples of the poetic brilliance of the filmmaker – combining carved stone art, a human voice in song, an awareness of a bit of biography of living and dead, and a mood conveyed through color, light, shadow, and texture. Honigmann, born in Peru to Holocaust survivors and now a Dutch citizen, is obviously an artist who can appreciate the strivings and accomplishments of other creative people.

Oscar Wilde’s tomb is covered with lipstick kisses, an ironic gesture which the once-all-powerful king of late-Victorian British culture might consider amusing, since it was his love of a young man which sent him to prison and then into a short but final exile in Paris. Letters are still left for him by people touched by his brilliant, witty stories and plays a century after his death. Apollinaire, a lesser-known poet, who died during the great influenza epidemic after World War I, is still able to charm visitors with his “calligrams” – visual poems placing words into forms such as boats, palm trees, etc, which adorn his tomb. His is an example of the tombs which continue to reflect some aspect of the artistic creations of the deceased. Such tombstones and monuments were often added years after the death and many times paid for by admirers, rather than family members.
 

You can read more on Austin Film Society website page for FOREVER: http://austinfilm.org/film/forever

 A wondrous documentary celebrating art, literature, music, creativity, and life through visits to the famous Père-Lachaise cemetary of Paris and interviews with inspired visitors » read more

Where: Alamo Drafthouse @ the Ritz

Wednesday, December 12th - 7 pm Austin, TX

A reading and booksigning with

Zara Houshmand,

 author of   A Mirror Garden

Saturday, June 30, 3pm

BookPeople (6th and Lamar) in Austin, TX

Review that appeared in the Statesman yesterday:

http://www.statesman.com/life/content/life/stories/books/06/24/0624mirror.html

http://www.randomhouse.com/knopf/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780307266132

http://www.amazon.com/Mirror-Garden-Memoir-Monir-Farmanfarmaian/dp/0307266133/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/002-8833602-2039236?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181074019&sr=8-1

A Mirror Garden
by Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian and Zara Houshmand

An enchanting love story, a compelling portrait of the creative spirit, and a celebration of the warmth and grace of Iranian culture, A Mirror Garden is also a genuine fairy tale whose exuberant heroine has never needed rescuing—for by embracing experience, she has always charmed her own life.

REVIEWS

“Captivating . . . Sumptuously detailed.”
-Megan O’Grady, Vogue

“A Mirror Garden introduces the captivating story of a unique artist. Monir’s art is beguiling, and so is the story of how she came to be a creator and collector of beautiful things.”
–Her Majesty Queen Noor

“This thought-provoking, heartbreaking, delightful memoir spirits us across the battlefield of today’s headlines into a kaleidoscopic landscape of Iran in all its magical richness. Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian boldly follows her dream of becoming an artist in the West before following love back to a new Iran. Like a Persian Audrey Hepburn, she recounts her adventures among boorish fanatics, elegant spies, celebrities, and, best of all, her own eccentric family, with a combination of plainspoken pluck and grace under pressure that is inspiring and irresistible.”
–Tom Reiss, author of The Orientalist

نازنين افشين جم  Nazanin Afshin-Jam

Nazanin Afshin-Jam Miss World Canada  in, Texas

نازنين افشين جم ملکه زيبائی کانادا در آستین، تکزاس

شنبه 16 جون ساعت 7 بعد از ظهر

June 16^th @ 7:00PM  Austin, TX  Border’s; 4477 S. Lamar

June 22^nd @ 7:00PM   Houston, TX    The Galleria; 5061 Westheimer Road

After Nazanin's great success in becoming Miss Canada, Iranians around the world, and specially those in Canada and United States, have been following Nazanin very closely.

Nazanin was born in Tehran Iran  Now 24, during the turmoil of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Nazanin's family was forced to leave all their worldly possessions behind and flea to freedom, when her father had been jailed and tortured by the Revolutionary Guard under the new regime. Awaiting execution, it was the family's escape to Europe that saved them from political persecution. Faced with adversity so early in life, the revolution impacted her core. she is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a degree in Political Science and International Relations, and has studied in France and England. She currently studies Broadcast Journalism while balancing a successful career as a model, actress and Global Youth Facilitator.

Nazanin says her favourite job was working with youth in raising awareness of global issues and humanitarian crises, such as landmines, the poverty-disease cycle and children affected by war.

Nazanin has received dozens of awards throughout her education, and has appeared in several television shows, movies and music videos. She loves flying, sailing, kayaking and go-kart racing, and has special training in voice, drama, public speaking, dance - and bush survival skills! and was Squadron Commander and Warrant Officer First Class in the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. She is fluent in English, French and Farsi, and speaks conversational Spanish.

FAVOURITES:
Junk food: Chocolate Lava Cake
Soul food: Too many choices!
Colour: Fuchsia
Smell: Vanilla
Magazine: National Geographic
Book: Mahatma Gandhi by Mahatma Gandhi
Music/Singer: Spanish-Arab fusion

نازنين افشين جم بعد از احراز عنوان ملکه زيبائی کانادا، شهرتش فراگير شد.

ايرانی الاصل بودن نازنين افشين جم ذهن او را نسبت به مسائل ايران مشغول کرد و از نوجوانی به فعاليت های بشر دوستانه علاقه مند شد.

درباره موزيک ويديوی "يک روزی" که با دکلمه پايانی که اين انقلاب، انقلابی است "پيشرو" میگوید بالاخره در ايران انقلاب می شود و اوضاع موجود در ايران نميتواند پايدار باشد.

هر چند عمق مشکلات جوانان و زنان ايران گاه می تواند انسان را نسبت به ثمربخشی تلاشهايش نا اميد کند اما او آنچه را در حد توانش بوده برای نجات جان انسان در ایران انجام داده است .

Video: I Dance For You ویدئو موزیک: (نازنین) برای تو میرقصم

ویدیو موزیک: یک روز (نازنین)Video: Someday-Nazanin

 مصاحبه(انگلیسی) با نازنین  6  5   4   3  2   1  English_Nazanin Afshin Jam

گفتگو (فارسی) با نازنين Farsi: -Interviewed by BBC

French: NAZANIN AFSHIN-JAM EN DIRECT SUR RDI مصاحبه (فرانسوی) با نازنین

Nazanin talks about the inspiration behind her music

Nazanin speaks about the campaign

Nazanin Afshin-Jam Stop Child Executions Campaign

http://www.bodog.tv/awareness/two-nazanins?play=two-nazanins-trailer

http://www.bodog.tv/awareness/two-nazanins?play=naz-makingfatehi

'مرد ايده آل من قلبی مهربان و بزرگ دارد'

The Making of Someday video

Nazanin official site

Nazanin's My space

Nazanin;s Bodog music page

BodogTv

Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar

• Written and directed by Mohammad Rasoulof

• Cinematography by Reza Jalali

• Distributed by Kino International

• Cast: Ali Nassirian, Hossein Farzi-Zadeh, Neda Pakdaman

• Iran, 2005, 35mm, color, unrated in US, 90 min.

• Farsi with English subtitles

A group of Sunni Arab Bandaris from Shia-majority Iran live on an abandoned oil tanker anchored in the Persian Gulf. Their commander, surrogate father, stern but loving patriarch, and religious counselor is Captain Nemat, an Islamic combination of two obsessive captains in literature—Ahab of Moby Dick and Nemo of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Giving his tenants free living quarters in exchange for their labor (including the children) in dismantling the ship for scrap metal, he may be an exploiter or a founding father. Ever vigilant against corrupting influences, Nemat punishes those who attempt to escape his rule, watch TV, or indulge in some youthful infatuations. As the boat continues to take on water slowly but surely, Nemat must decide where to lead his followers next. His choice for their “promised land” makes life on the rusty metal tanker seem blissful in contrast.

-- Chale Nafus, Director of Programming, Austin Film Society

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