According to the cultural reporter of rahnam news agency, a significant part of successful film productions in Iranian cinema is related to history and contemporary issues. In the meantime, dealing with the subjects that have neglected and untold stories is given more attention. This attention is to the extent that sometimes even the works that were weak and lacking in the subject matter, but due to their subject matter, were in the news for a while and were able to play a small role in introducing an event or a person.
The movie “Colonel Soraya” directed by Lili Aaj, which was shown at the 40th Fajr Film Festival last year, is one of these works. This film has gone to an untold subject about the Mojahedin Khalq organization, which has not been narrated before. For this reason, we have a review of 8 movies produced in the last decade that chose the narrative of untold subjects to be shown on the cinema screen.
“Mazar Sharif” / year of production 2013
Writer and Director: Abdul Hasan Barzideh
producer: Manouchehr Shahsaviri
Actors: Hossein Yari, Mehtab Karamati, Masoud Ragan, Hossein Bashe Ahangar and Reza Azizi.
The film tells the story of the killing of Iranian diplomats on August 8, 1998, corresponding to August 17, 1377, at the Iranian consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, which occurred following the occupation of the city by Taliban forces. At first, the death of eight diplomats was reported, later the death of two diplomats and another journalist was confirmed, and finally only one of the consulate employees returned to Iran. “Mazar Sharif” was screened at the 32nd Fajr Festival, and Crystal Simorgh received the Best Soundtrack Award and the Honorary Diploma for the Best Visual Effects.
“Villaiha” / year of production 2015
the writer: Mounir Ghaidi and Arslan Amiri
Director: Munir Ghadi
producer: Saeed Malkan
Actors: Parinaz Izdiyar, Tanaz Tabatabai, Anahita Afshar, Giti Ghasemi, Ali Shadman, Sab Abar and Soraya Ghasemi.
The story of the film is about the time of the war and the town of a villa near Andimeshk, which was inhabited by a group of warrior families in 1965. In most of the films that were made with the theme of holy defense, there were women supporters of whom we had seen a short image, and if the image was effective They were still not limited beyond a few sakas; But the narration of “Villaiha” was so feminine that the physical presence of men in the film was very limited. Contrary to usual, the film narrated a female war that was followed from behind the front and at the same time shared all the fears and events of the front. “Vilaiha” was first screened at the 35th Fajr Film Festival and was nominated for 8 awards and won 3 awards for the best supporting actress, the best visual effects and the best talent award for the first film.
“Underwater” / year of production 2016
the writer: Mohammad Ali is a blacksmith and Hamed is a blacksmith
Director: Muhammad Ali is a blacksmith
producer: Seyed Hamid Hosseini
Actors: Babak Hamidian, Mina Sadati, Shahram Haqiddoost, Reza Behboodi, Homayun Ershadi, Mehtab Nasirpour, Homan Barknoord, Setera Eskandari and Farrokh Nemati.
The movie “Underwater Cedar” dealt with the topic of unknown martyrs of religious minorities. The body of the boy, who could not be identified, will be handed over to the family of his namesake martyr. In fact, the main challenge of the film is whether it is possible to give them the unknown bodies instead of their children in order to calm the hearts of the families of the missing martyrs or not? This challenge and dealing with minority martyrs was one of the new topics that Bashe Ahangar narrated. In the 36th Fajr Film Festival, “Seru Zir Ab” was nominated for an award in 9 categories and received the Crystal Simorgh for the best stage design and the best cinematography, and became the best film with a national perspective.
“Abu Qarib Strait” / year of production 2016
Writer and Director: Bahram Tavakoli
producer: Saeed Malkan
Actors: Javad Ezzati, Amir Jadidi, Hamidreza Azarang, Mehdi Pakdel, Ali Soleimani, Mehdi Ghorbani and Yadullah Shadmani.
This film is based on reality and part of the bravery of the Ammar battalion in the last days of the war, and it was able to show the neglected part of the holy defense. In the last days of the war, the Iraqis had to cross the barrier of a base that was similar to a strait, but they faced strong resistance from the Iranian forces. The film received more attention with its first showing due to the importance of the subject, along with its attractive color and form. “Tengeh Abu Ghraib” was nominated for awards in 11 categories at the 36th Fajr Festival, and Simorgh Crystal won the best film, best director, best actor, best makeup and best field special effects.
“The night when the moon was full”/ produced in 2017
the writer: Narges Abiyar and Morteza Esfahani
Director: Narges Abiyar
producer: Mohammad Hossein Ghasemi
Actors: Elnaz Shakerdoost, Hoten Shakiba, Farishte Sadrarafai, Pedram Sharifi, Amin Miri, Banipal Shomon, Shabnam Moghadami and Farid Sajjadi Hosseini.
“The Night that the Moon was Full” dealt with a subject about Abdul Malik Rigi and had a curious and attractive subject, and with the very first screening during the festival, it received attention with many positive and negative comments. The story is about a young girl from the southern areas of Tehran, who He gets involved in the love of a city youth and after marriage, for some reason, they are forced to emigrate from Iran; That young man from the city, Abdul Hamid Rigi, is the brother of Abdul Malik Rigi. This film was a close story of the Rigi family and the events surrounding them, which had a new and interesting subject. Of course, after the screening of the film, different narratives of the same story were presented, which contradicted Abiyar’s narration. Crystal won best film, best director, best actor, best actress, best supporting actress and best makeup.
“23 people” / production year 2017
Writer and Director: Mahdi Jafari
producer: Mojtabi product
Actors: Majid Pataki, Saeed Albouabadi, Reza Nouri, Abdul Halim Tafalabi and Malik Mohammadabadi.
“23 People” was adapted from the memoirs of 23 young Iranian fighters between the ages of 13 and 17 who were captured by Iraqi forces during the Iran-Iraq war in 1361. The story of these teenagers was considered to be one of the remarkable events of the holy defense, which helped to introduce and make their story more visible with the production of the film. One of the interesting points of this film was the presence of the martyr general Qassem Soleimani on the first day of its filming. Shahid Soleimani was one of the commanders of these 23 people during the war, who had a special look at the story of these teenagers.
“Walnut tree”/ production year 2018
the writer: Ebrahim Amini and Hassan Hosseini
Director: Mohammad Hossein Mahdovian
producer: Seyyed Mostafa Ahmadi
Actors: Mehran Madiri, Mina Sadati, Peyman Maadi and Mino Sharifi.
With “Walnut Tree”, Mohammad Hossein Mahdovian narrated the chemical bombing of Sardasht based on a true story, a bitter event that we had never seen on the cinema screen. He is from West Azerbaijan, named Qadir Molanpour, who lives in a border village near Sardasht. Qadir and his family are involved in the chemical bombing of Sardasht. The narration of this story is so bitter and painful that it affects even the dissatisfied audience. got the
“Colonel Soraya” / year of production 1401
Writer and Director: Lilly Aaj
producer: Jalil Shabani
Actors: Jaleh Samti, Hamidreza Mohammadi, Vahid Aghapour, Diba Zahedi, Salima Rangzan and Shahrouz Aghaei.
In her first cinematic experience, Lily Aaj approached a sensitive subject and unlike other works that were produced about hypocrites, she narrated her story from the heart of Ashraf Barracks and with the female character of the story. the movie Inspired by a true story, The story of the families who have come to Camp Ashraf to meet their children and face the obstacles of the hypocrite organization. “Colonel Soraya” is a product of the Ouj organization, a new experience on the cinema screen of the crimes and nature of the hypocrites, which deals with a neglected part of the character of this organization and moves forward by avoiding the usual slogans and stereotypes and relying on human emotions and nature. Soraya” was screened at the 40th Fajr Film Festival and was nominated in two categories and finally received the best first film award and Goharshad Crystal Simorgh.
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