Pelan #48: Radiography of a Family
- Director: Firouzeh Khosrovani
- Screening: Nov. 26, 2022, 11 a.m.
- /
- North Vancouver City Library
- Run time: 82
Synopsis:
"Mother married a photo of Father," says director Firouzeh Khosrovani in the opening of this deeply personal documentary. She's not speaking metaphorically though. Her mother Tayi literally married a portrait of Hossein in Teheran -he was in Switzerland studying radiology and was unable to travel back to his homeland for the wedding. The event illustrates the abyss that still exists in their marriage: Hossein is a secular progressive and Tayi a devout, traditional Muslim. But this family history is also a sort of x-ray, laying bare the conflicts of Iranian society in the run-up to, and aftermath of the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Besides Khosrovani's commentary, we hear letters being read aloud and recollections of conversations between her parents. At the same time, we see photographs and videos from the family archive. These fragments of intimacy are interspersed with stylized shots of the filmmaker's parental home, its decor and furnishings subtly reflecting each new phase in her parents' marriage-and in Iranian society. Credit: IDFA 2020.
Director:
Born in Tehran, Firouzeh Khosrovani settled in Italy to pursue her artistic studies at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera. After graduating in 2002 she returned to Iran and acquired her Master’s degree in Journalism. Since then, she has contributed to and collaborated with numerous Italian newspapers and magazines. She made her debut as a filmmaker in 2004 with Life Train, a documentary on the ‘play’ therapy provided for the traumatized children of Bam in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake. In 2007, she directed Rough Cut, a film about mutilated plastic mannequins in the shop windows of Tehran, which won thirteen international documentary film festival awards, followed in 2008 by Cutting Off, an installation and video art piece for the Triennale di Milano. Her 1001 Irans (2010), was a documentary about the image of Iran, outside of Iran. In 2011, she collaborated with three directors from three different continents on a Spanish production about the concept of beauty and women’s physical appearance, called Espelho Meu, which won the Best National Documentary award in Documenta Madrid. The next year, she directed Iran, Unveiled and Veiled Again, produced by Istituto Luce, Cinecittà, in Rome. In 2014, she participated in a collective project, Profession: Documentarist, a film in seven episodes, made by seven Iranian women directors. Her work, Fest of Duty, is about a religious ceremony in Iran designed to instill Islamic beliefs and values into girls when they reach the age of nine. The documentary follows two adolescent girls as they transition into adulthood, eight years after their official Fest of Duty. Radiograph of a Family is her last documentary screened publicly so far.
Trailer:
https://vimeo.com/475794232
NOTE:
Seats are limited. Please register in advance via the following link:
https://www.nvcl.ca/events/iranian-documentary-series-pelan-0