Pelan #40: My City Pizza
- Director: Ala Mohseni
- Screening: April 10, 2020, 7:30 p.m.
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- Cloud video Screening via Zoom
- Run time: 26
They still prefer sheep's head, a group of elderly men say. But the struggle seems lost: it would seem as if pizza is here to stay. These days, young people are meeting up in pizzerias rather than kebab joints or traditional Iranian restaurants. For lack of clubs, the pizzeria is also the preeminent place to get a whiff of the much-desired Western freedom and looseness.
This light-hearted, amusing, fast-paced documentary about eating habits in modern Tehran offers a kaleidoscopic view of Iranian society. We see young people, old people, progressive and conservative Iranians who all reveal their identity by telling us what they think of Italian fast food in the capital. A young man claims that eating pizza is bad, a sign of a decadent lifestyle. For relaxation, he goes to the cemetery to pray for the martyrs, and every other year, he gets an injection to suppress his urges and desires. His favourite dish: sheep's head. The film introduces another young man, a fan of the American actor Marlon Brando, who opened a pizzeria and called it Godfather. Meanwhile, the authorities have changed the name to Aladdin.
AWARDS
● Best Short film /Oxdox Int’l Documentary Film Festival/Oxford/UK/2009
● Best Documentary /3rd Intl Urban Film Festival/Iran/2009
● Best Short film /4th Int’l Farhang Film Festival/USA/2012
● Best Short film /Noor Int’l Film Festival/USA/2013
OFFICIAL SELECTION
● Silver Cub Competition Idfa/Netherlands/2008
● Tehran International Short Film festival/Iran/2008
● A night in Tehran (Screening)/ Bristol, Manchester, London/UK/2009
● BigPond Adelaide Film Festival/Australia/2009
● The Chelsea Art Museum/USA/2009
● Starz Denver Film Festival/USA/2009
● Iran's Film Festival/Zaandam/Netherlands/2009
● The Boston Festival of Films from Iran/Boston/USA/ 2010
● The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston/USA/2010
● 22nd Int'l short Film Festival Dresden/ Germany/2010
● Syracuse Int'l Film Festival/USA/2010
● Das Iranische Wien /Austria/ 2011
● Stanford University(Screening)/Stanford/USA/2013
● 16th UNAFF (United Nations Association Film Festival)/Palo Alto/USA/2013