Culture

PayvandNews – Iranian actress Golab Adineh won Best Actress Award for ‘Abji‘ (The Sis) directed by Marjan Ashrafizadeh at the 7th Beijing International Film Festival in China. The seventh Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF 2017) wrapped up on Sunday as the Tiantan Award went to ‘Luka’, a Georgian movie by Giorgi Barabadze. There were 15 outstanding films shortlisted for the award from …

Al-monitor – An interview given by Asghar Farhadi to an Israeli journalist has become the subject of new controversy in Iran. On March 20, the Israeli daily Haaretz published a May 2016 interview with the Oscar-winning director on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival in which he said that his “only hope” for solving the problems between Iran and Israel is the people, arguing that …

PayvandNews – A two-millennia-old subterranean city has been unearthed in Samen, Hamedan Province, after more than a decade of excavations. see map of Samen The city, located 400 km west of Tehran, provisionally dubbed the Underground City of Samen, is “under the modern city of Samen,” said Ali Khaksar, the head of the provincial office of Iran’s Culturally Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism …

BBC – Talk of ‘us’ and ‘them’ has long dominated Iran-related politics in the West. At the same time, Christianity has frequently been used to define the identity and values of the US and Europe, as well as to contrast those values with those of a Middle Eastern ‘other’. Yet, a brief glance at an ancient religion – still being …

PayvandNews -The 35th edition of Fajr International Film Festival will take place from 21 to 28 April in Tehran, screening 140 film titles from 58 countries. 35th Fajr Internatioanl Film Festival (FIFF) Well over 350 guests from 66 countries will attend the 35th Fajr Internatioanl Film Festival (FIFF) in Tehran.  Speaking to reporters, the festival spokesperson Alireza Shojanouri said there will be …

PayvandNews – Iranian people are celebrating Sizdah Bedar, the traditional Persian festival of nature, by spending time outdoors with family and friends. The ancient Iranian festival was held on Sunday, which this year marks the 13th day of Farvardin the first month on the Persian calendar. People celebrating Sizdah Bedar in Isfahan by Zayandehroud river The festivities include picnicking outdoors …

PayvandNews – Norooz (Nowruz) World Festivity was held in UNESCO headquarters in Paris with Iran’s permanent representative to UNESCO sponsoring the festivity and 12 member countries of Norooz world registration dossier participating in the event. During the ceremony where many member-states’ ambassadors and representatives were present, the Iranian ambassador, responsible for coordination for Norooz registration in the World List of …

PayvandNews – Iran regards tourism a fertile source of generating wealth, seeking to make the best use of positive atmosphere created in the wake of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA. Based on official figures compiled by the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization, foreign tourist arrivals in Iran has been more than double that of the …

PayvandNews – Painter Shohreh Ghanbari’s new collection “Haji Firuz” shows the venerable harbinger of Norooz in a gloomy mood despite the philosophy of the occasion. Clad in a bright red costume, Haji Firuz with his face covered with soot is seen playing his tambourine on the streets to tell people that the New Year is coming and the springtime celebration is near. …

PayvandNews – Iran says it has exported $80 million worth of carpets to the United States over a period of 11 months starting March 21, 2016. Hamid Karegar, the president of Iran National Carpet Center, told local media that the exports had been mainly carried out directly from Iran to the US. The boost, he emphasized, came after a multi-year …