When the Berlin Independent Film-Festival AROUND THE WORLD IN 14 FILMS is going to present again 14 extraordinary movies by young film-makers, the Iranian art of cinematografie will be represented by film-director Mohammad Rasoulof. Rasoulof, whos movie “Bé omid é didar“already received an award at this years Cannes Film-Festival, will be present at the Babylon movie-theater on November 30th himself. Feo Aladag, director of “The Stranger” featuring Sibel Kekili, will act as the director god-father of Mr Rasoulofs. Festival director Bernhard Karl said at a press conference: “We invited Rasoulof already some month ago to Berlin, but were not sure if the Iranian authorities would let him go. The more we are happy now to wellcome him here”.
His movie, clearly a highlight of this years festival is shot in the tradition of french film-noir. It tells the story of a young lawyer in Tehran, who is struggling to get a visa to leave the country, where her husband has already decided to publish his political writings in the underground press. Realizing that she is pregnant, an almost existential conflict arises. Leyla Zareh, who is playing the main character, gave an interview earlier this year.
Together with his peer Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof, born in 1973, has been sentenced in Iran to 6 years in prison and for another 20 years faces a ban to work as a film-director. According to Iranian sources, the prison sentence has recently been reduced to one year.
