Culture

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 …

Radiofarda – In one of the most explicit attacks on film censorship in Iran, more than 200 Iranian film industry activists have protested obstacles in their profession, including tight censorship, and the government’s inability to stand by its licensing rules in the face of intervention by non-government authorities. “We deplore the policy of inquisition into the form and content of …

PayvandNews – A newly-discovered rock-carving in western Iran could have a link to Mithraism, a prehistorical religion inspired by Iranian worship of the Zoroastrian god Mithra. Some Iranian archaeologists suggest that the carving was created by a follower of Mithraism as it depicts a simple portrayal of a human with his right hand raised and an object in his hand. But, …

Al-Monitor – Since its completion nearly a decade ago, “The Paternal House” has been surrounded by controversy. The film was directed by acclaimed Iranian filmmaker Kianoush Ayyari, who is known for his explicit realism. Set in a traditional house in Tehran, Ayyari’s drama chronicles 70 years in the life of a family ruled by strict patriarchy, and how the curse of an honor killing …

wamc.org – This could be called a tale of two birthdays. While celebrating my wife’s birthday at a restaurant, she got an email in response to her request that the writer handle some things at an upcoming national conference. Early American presidents ended their letters by declaring themselves “Your most humble and obedient servant.” They believed in humility and public …

PayvandNews – Internationally-acclaimed Iranian virtuoso Kayhan Kalhor has won the WOMEX 19 Artist Award for “bringing the Persian classical music tradition to the ears of people all over the world.” Kalhor received the prestigious award on Sunday at the 25th jubilee edition of the World Music Expo (WOMEX) in Tampere, Finland. Kayhan Kalhor(photo by Azadeh Besharaty) “For the mastery and virtuosity of …

Payvendnews – Behind the “veil of daily newspapers,” there are real faces of women—as revealed in the exhibition “My Iran: Six Women Photographers” at the Sackler Gallery. The photographs of their persistence in facing personal and political realities offer a female perspective over 40 years from the beginning of the Iranian Revolution to the present. In Newsha Tavakolian’s  life-sized looped projection, “Somayeh,” a teacher …

PayvandNews – Veteran Iranian director Kianush Ayyari finally received the approval of cultural authorities to screen his movie “The Paternal House”, which was banned in the country for about ten years due to some allegedly violent scenes. The film is about a young woman who is killed by her own father, with the aid of her younger brother nearly a …