Culture

Radiofarda – An award-winning Iranian novelist, Roqiyeh (Roghieh) Kabiri has declined a prize to protest deadly suppression of protesters in Iran in November that left hundreds dead. In an open letter to the Iranian Youth Cinema Society, (IYCS) and the Foundation of Iranian Literature and Story, Ms. Kabiri has noted, “Following the events that made many people of my country …

Radiofarda – A rap song by dissident Iranian rapper Hichkas (Nobody) released on the Internet on December 10 in commemoration of November protests in Iran has become so popular that lines from its lyrics are now widely quoted by social media users. Soroush Lashkari a pioneer in Iranian rap is known as Hichkas. File photo In three days more than …

Interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour: Iranian Art in the Shadow of a Crackdown CHRI – Violent state repression of protests in Iran is not unique, yet the lethal means government forces used to repress recent protests that broke out across dozens of cities reached new heights this year, resulting in at least 208 deaths between November 15, 2019, and December 2, according …

Al-Monitor – Located in Iran’s Kurdistan province, 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Iraqi border, Hawraman is an ancient village with an unfathomable uniqueness. Houses have been built on rugged mountains, where a family’s rooftop serves as the upper neighbor’s yard, making the entire village resemble a gigantic stairway from afar. Sitting right across from the village is a massive garden that has …

PayvandNews – Iranian actress Behdokht Valian was named best actress for her role in director Farhad Delaram’s drama “Tattoo” at the 37th Sulmona International Film Festival in Italy, the organizers announced on Saturday.  The film is about a young girl who wants to renew her driver’s license but she is sent to the traffic police center for her tattoos. Behdokht …

CHRI – More than 200 members of Iran’s film industry signed an open letter dated November 2, 2019, condemning state censorship and demanding  “freedom of expression and thought” in the Islamic Republic. Most of the signatories are based in Iran including Jafar Panahi (director), Nasser Taghvaie (director), Mohammad Rasoulof (director), Rakhshan Banietemad (director), Niki Karimi (actress) and Hamid Farrokhnejad (actor). Those based abroad include …

RFL/RE – Omar Khayyam is considered a giant of Persian poetry. His poems have been part of Iran’s school curriculum for years. Yet students will reportedly no longer be able to read his rubaiyat in textbooks under a new plan. Omar Khayyam, the Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (left), may be replaced in Iranian textbooks by Mohsen Hojaji, a 25-year-old …

Radiofarda – Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran has finally come up with the money needed to pay the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to free a historic castle, which is a national heritage site. The Falak ol-Aflak Castle or fort was built during the Sassanid period (224–651) on a hill, surrounded on two sides by a river, in Khorramabad in …

PayvandNews – The Persian prophet Mani created a new religion in the 3rd century AD. He believed the world is a struggle between the forces of dark and light which ultimately causes the release of the light-soul from the material body. The Persian Emperor, Shapur I, allowed Mani to freely promote his ideas through the empire but later, following the …

PayvandNews – Persian poet Mazaher Mosaffa, mostly famous for his odes, died of natural causes at his home in Tehran on Thursday October 31, 2019. He was 87. Persian poet Mazaher Mosaffa He was buried in his hometown of Tafresh on Friday, his daughter Golzar told the Persian service of ISNA.He received his primary school education at the Hakim Nezami School …