Iranian New Wave

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Iranian New Wave
Years active1960s–2010s
LocationIran
Influenced
Italian Neorealism, French New Wave

Iranian New Wave (

Nasser Taqvai's Tranquility in the Presence of Others (banned in 1969 and re-released in 1972), and immediately followed by Bahram Beyzai's Downpour, the New Wave became well established as a prominent cultural, dynamic and intellectual trend. The Iranian viewer became discriminating, encouraging the new trend to prosper and develop.[2]

History

Early Iranian cinema

Cinema in Iran began to develop in 1900, when

The Night of the Hunchback (1964), Ebrahim Golestan's Brick and Mirror
(1965), and Fereydoun Rahnema's Siavush in Persepolis are all considered to be precursors as well.

First Wave

The first wave of Iranian new wave cinema came about as a reaction to the popular cinema at the time that did not reflect the norms of life for Iranians or the artistic taste of the society. It began in 1969 and then ended with the beginning of the Iranian revolution in 1979. The films produced were original, artistic and political. The first films considered to be part of this movement are Davoud Mollapour's Shohare Ahoo Khanoom (1968),

Dariush Mehrjui's The Cow (1969). Other films considered to be part of this movement are Nasser Taghvai's Tranquility in the Presence of Others (1969/1972) which was banned and then heavily censored upon its release, Bahram Beyzai's Downpour, and Sohrab Shahid Saless's A Simple Event (1973) and Still Life
(1974).

Second and Third Wave

The factors leading to the rise of the New Wave in Iran were, in part, due to the intellectual and political movements of the time. A romantic climate was developing after the 19 August 1953 coup in the sphere of arts. Alongside this, a socially committed literature took shape in the 1950s and reached a peak in the 1960s, which many consider the golden era of contemporary Persian literature.[5]

Iranian New Wave films shared some characteristics with the European art films of the period, in particular

Italian Neorealism. However, in her article 'Real Fictions', Rose Issa argues that Iranian films have a distinctively Iranian cinematic language "that champions the poetry in everyday life and the ordinary person by blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality, feature film with documentary." She also argues that this unique approach has inspired European cinema directors to emulate this style, citing Michael Winterbottom's award-winning In This World (2002) as an homage to contemporary Iranian cinema. Issa claims that "This new, humanistic aesthetic language, determined by the film-makers' individual and national identity, rather than the forces of globalism, has a strong creative dialogue not only on homeground but with audiences around the world."[6]

Moreover, Iranian new wave films are rich in poetry and painterly images. There is a line back from modern Iranian cinema to the ancient oral

poets, via the poems of Omar Khayyam.[7]

Features of New Wave Iranian film, in particular the works of legendary

postmodern.[8]

In Close Up: Iranian Cinema, Past, Present, Future (2001), Hamid Dabashi describes modern Iranian cinema and the phenomenon of [Iranian] national cinema as a form of cultural modernity. According to Dabashi, "the visual possibility of seeing the historical person (as opposed to the eternal Qur'anic man) on screen is arguably the single most important event allowing Iranians access to modernity."

Characteristics

  • Realistic, documentary style
  • Poetic & allegorical storytelling
  • Use of 'child trope' (in response to regulations on adult material within films)
  • Self-aware, reflexive tone
  • Focus on rural lower-class
  • Lack of 'male gaze'

[9]

Precursors

First Wave

Second Wave

Third Wave

[10][11][12][13]

Major figures

[14][15]

See also

  • Cinema of the world
  • Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
  • The Salesman - the second Iranian film to win the same award

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 0851707750
    .
  2. ^ Al-Ahram Weekly | People | Limelight Archived 2006-10-09 at the Wayback Machine
  3. user-generated source
    ]
  4. ^ Mirbakhtyar, Shahla (2006). Iranian Cinema And The Islamic Revolution. McFarland & Company Incorporated.
  5. ^ The New Wave in Iranian Cinema - From Past to Present
  6. ^ Real Fictions
  7. ^ Steve Nottingham: Iranian Cinema
  8. ^ Abbas Kiarostami? The Truth Behind Reality
  9. ^ 10 essential films from the Iranian New Wave|Far Out Magazine
  10. ^ The best Iranian New Wave Movies of All Time - Flickchart
  11. ^ Taste of Cherry: Saty Near the Tree|Current|The Criterion Collection
  12. ^ Abbas Kiarostami: Th master of the Iranian New Wave|Far Out Magazine
  13. ^ The Best Iranian New Wave Movies of All Time|Page 2 - Flickchart
  14. ^ Iranian Cinema Before and After the Revolution: Three Documentaries by Jamsheed Akrami (DVD) - Kino Lorber
  15. ^ Crossland, Anthony (2015-04-06). "18 Important Film Movements Every Movie Buff Should Know".

External links

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