Contemporary Iranian is proud to screen an Iranian feature and a short film ias part of Cinema Farang.

“Ashkan, The Charmed Ring and Other Stories” directed by Shahram Mokri one of the best contemporary Iranian directors. This film has just finished and we are very lucky to watch it in London before any other festivals and cities.

FILM SYNOPSIS: Two blind men decide to rob a jewellery shop. A policeman falls in love with a supermarket saleswoman and his subordinate colleague loves a movie star. Two killers are transformed into nice guys. A young man who wants to commit suicide causes problems. A disappointed sculptor wishes to immigrate. However, everyone’s destiny changes when a strange fish is free and a charmed ring exchanges hands.

This intriguing tale turns troubled stereotypes on their heads and exposes the complexity behind characters we tend to socially judge and stereotype. Inspired by the paintings of Escher, the narrative takes you on a journey through the lives of this unlikely group of Tehran residents with surprising plot twists around every corner!

Director and Scriptwriter: Shahram Mokri
Director of Photography: Payam Azizi
Editor: Arash Rasafi
Sound Recordist: Ali Alai
Sound Engineer: Mehrshad Malekuti
Music: Abuzar Saffarian
Set and Costume Design: Ladan Kan’ani
Makeup: Abbas Abbasi
Producer: Mehdi Karimi
Production Company: Vara Honar

Cast: Saieed Ebrahimifar, Sina Razani, Reza Behboudi, Siamak Safari, Ali Sarabi, Pegah Tabasinejad

Iran, 2009, 92 minutes, Black and White, HDV transferred into 35mm

Cinema Farang will also screen a short film by Roxana Pope called “Tehran Backyard”. Roxana is a British Iranian director, writer and musician. She studied film at Edinburgh College of Art, graduating with an MFA in film directing in 2008. Tehran Backyard (Iran, 2007) was nominated for a Royal Television Award and won best documentary at the Next Frame Film Festival, USA. It was also premiered at the London Documentary FIlm festival in 2008, and was shown in film festivals around the world. Tehran Backyard was sold to BBC TV in 2009.