Culture

PayvandNews – The 2018 Cannes Film Festival will open with the world premiere of Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s Spanish-language drama ‘Everybody Knows’ on May 8.

PayvandNews – Iran’s central city of Yazd is home to one of the fire temples most sacred to Zoroastrians worldwide with a flame that has been burning for nearly 1,550 years.  The Yazd temple is one of the world’s nine Zoroastrian fire temples which hold the sacred Atash Behram, meaning Fire of Victory.

PayvandNews – People across Iran are celebrating Sizdah Bedar, the ancient festival of nature, on the last day of  Norooz holidays, with many leaving their houses and spending time outdoors in the fresh spring air before getting back to work and their regular routine after the holidays.

Al-Monitor – Iranians have long been fond of cinema, and the country’s politicians are no exception. But in recent decades, politicians have been increasingly influencing the film industry to achieve political objectives. Iranian cinema and politics have always had a relationship with each other, but the role of cinema in politics surged in the late 1990s. Indeed, Iranian presidential candidates …

PayvandNews – The flower buds of yellow, violet, red and white crocuses of saffron bulbs, intermingled with the blossoming daffodils, hyacinths, tulips and the Persian violets, herald the arrival of Nowruz (Norooz). The Persian New Year, signaling the rebirth, rejuvenation and reconciliations, appropriately arrives on the spring vernal equinox. Spring in Iran and the wider region is the harbinger of jubilation with the …

PayvandNews – To mark the beginning of the Persian New Year, also known as Norooz, visual artists have decorated Tehran with large colored eggs. The new year starts on Tuesday, March 20 this year. Norooz (literally “New Day”) is the name of the , also known as the New Year, which is celebrated worldwide by the and , along with …

Al-Monitor – “I am a dependent filmmaker. I am a man of the system. … I thank Owj [Arts and Media] Organization. They work hard and deserve the title of ‘The unknown soldiers of Imam Mahdi.’ I am honored to have made a film for ‘the defenders of the shrine’ [Iranian-led soldiers in Syria]. I am proud to have received …

PayvandNews – When I was a teenager in the 1960s growing up in Tehran, Hollywood had not yet monopolized stardom. We had a number of European stars to swoon and argue over.

Radiofarda – Charharshanbe Suri is an Iranian festival that is celebrated on the last Wednesday before Nowruz the Persian New Year. The festival has its roots in the ancient Iranian traditions when the last ten days of the year were dedicated to the feast of all souls called Hamaspathmaedaya.

PayvandNews 0 Popular demonstrations in Iran at the end of 2017 reflected economic and other grievances along with a growing frustration and impatience with the Islamic system’s shortcomings. However, the demonstrations also revealed deep cultural cleavages in Iranian society. By Shireen T. Hunter (source: LobeLog) Iranian woman on cell phone with friends (photo by Amir Farshad Ebrahimi via Flickr) Some …