Culture

Al-monitor – The Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMoCA) is showcasing a collection of works by Iranian and Arab modern artists in an exhibition titled “The Sea Suspended.” The exhibition, curated by the UAE-based Barjeel Art Foundation, opened Nov. 8 and will continue through Dec. 23. The show spans 50 years of works from the 1940s to the 1990s and features artists from around the …

PayvandNews – “Life+1 Day” by Iranian director Saeid Rustai has won the best film award at the 22nd Geneva International Film Festival Tous Ecrans, which was held in the Swiss city from November 4 to 12. “Life+1 Day” Director: Saeed Roustayi Writer: Saeed Roustayi Stars: Peyman Moaadi, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Parinaz Izadyar Watch the trailer The movie is about a young …

PayvandNews – Iranian film ‘Inversion’ directed and written by Behnam Behzadi won the Best Film Award at 21st edition of MedFilm Festival. The Italian event held on November 4-12 is home to different feature movies and documentaries made in the Mediterranean and the new Europe areas. Inversion is Behnam Behzadi’s fourth directed feature film that has previously participated in Un …

VOA – It is home to beautiful mountains, breathtaking historical buildings and priceless artwork, but it’s also the subject of strongly worded U.S. State Department warnings. For Americans, Iran may not be the first place that comes to mind when planning a vacation, even decades after the 1979 U.S. Embassy takeover following the country’s Islamic Revolution. “Death to America!” can …

Al-monitor – Cyrus the Great is probably one of the most well-known historical figures to Iranians: an ancient king who has been praised for his wise and fair rule (559-530 B.C.). His achievements — as shown in the ancient Cyrus Cylinder, which Iranians refer to as the first human rights charter — are a great source of pride for the people …

Iranhumanrights.org – Imprisoned music distributors Mehdi Rajabian and Hossein Rajabian resumed their hunger strike in Evin Prison in Tehran on October 28, 2016 to protest the authorities’ continued refusal to provide them proper medical treatment, and the decision to move them to separate wards. The men have also been denied their right to meet with their lawyer. In an open …

PayvandNews – Young calligrapher Amir Jalilvand, who is also a prominent photographer, talks about a sense of responsibility that leads him in a way to promote contemporary Persian literature in Iran today. Calligrapher/photographer Amir Jalilvand By Seyyed Mostafa Mousavi Sabet, Tehran Times He believes that Iranians, many of whom nowadays have an academic education, are suffering from a dearth of …

Al-monitor – Ever since taking office, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has come under increasing pressure from hard-liners who have been trying to tie his administration to the “infiltration project of the enemy.” The code word “infiltration” has especially been used in relation to the arrests of dual nationals. Author Rohollah Faghihi In what some have deemed as pushback against this …

PayvandNews – Thousands of years before Persepolis – the magnificent Achaemenid ceremonial capital – was made in southern Iran in the fifth and fourth centuries BC, residents of its eastward village named Maymand carved out rocky hillsides to take refuge from harsh climate of the Iranian Plateau. (see map) The cultural landscape of Maymand has been inscribed on the UNESCO …

Radiozamaneh – On 24 October 2016, Iranian intelligence authorities broke the apartment door of writer and human rights activist Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee, raided her apartment and took her by force to serve a 6 year prison sentence for writing a story on stoning women in Islam, that was never published. Golrokh Ebrahimi Iraee 35 years old, is the wife of …