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A ‘Significant Year’ for Movies From the Middle East A ‘Significant Year’ for Films From the Middle East at Cannes
(about 13 hours later)
PARIS — The Middle East looms large at Cannes this year. The latest film by the Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, “The Salesman,” will compete for the Palme d’Or, while “Clash,” Mohamed Diab’s feature about the rise and fall of the Egyptian revolution, opens the Un Certain Regard section, which is reserved for more challenging work and also includes films from Iran and Israel.PARIS — The Middle East looms large at Cannes this year. The latest film by the Oscar-winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, “The Salesman,” will compete for the Palme d’Or, while “Clash,” Mohamed Diab’s feature about the rise and fall of the Egyptian revolution, opens the Un Certain Regard section, which is reserved for more challenging work and also includes films from Iran and Israel.
“The presence of films from the Middle Eastern and Arab world has been really weak in recent years, and this is the most significant year” in a while, said Jean-Michel Frodon, a film critic for slate.fr and a former editor of Cahiers du Cinéma.“The presence of films from the Middle Eastern and Arab world has been really weak in recent years, and this is the most significant year” in a while, said Jean-Michel Frodon, a film critic for slate.fr and a former editor of Cahiers du Cinéma.
One of the most eagerly anticipated films, “The Salesman,” tells the story of a young couple in Tehran who are amateur actors performing in a production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” As in “A Separation,” which won the Academy Award for best foreign film in 2012, Mr. Farhadi works on different levels to tell a story at once intimate and universal.One of the most eagerly anticipated films, “The Salesman,” tells the story of a young couple in Tehran who are amateur actors performing in a production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman.” As in “A Separation,” which won the Academy Award for best foreign film in 2012, Mr. Farhadi works on different levels to tell a story at once intimate and universal.
“There’s the fable, the moral level, but also the social dimension, social class, and the religious dimension,” said Alexandre Mallet-Guy, a French producer who co-produced the film with Mr. Farhadi. “He never frontally opposes the regime. It’s all between the lines. That’s what his cinema is about.”“There’s the fable, the moral level, but also the social dimension, social class, and the religious dimension,” said Alexandre Mallet-Guy, a French producer who co-produced the film with Mr. Farhadi. “He never frontally opposes the regime. It’s all between the lines. That’s what his cinema is about.”
“The Salesman” centers on Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidousti), whose lives are upended by something that happens when they have to move out of their apartment because of construction. During this, they are acting in the Miller play. Mr. Farhadi had to submit his screenplay to the Iranian government before getting permission to film in Tehran, but faced no problems, Mr. Mallet-Guy said.“The Salesman” centers on Emad (Shahab Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidousti), whose lives are upended by something that happens when they have to move out of their apartment because of construction. During this, they are acting in the Miller play. Mr. Farhadi had to submit his screenplay to the Iranian government before getting permission to film in Tehran, but faced no problems, Mr. Mallet-Guy said.
The movie was a late addition to this year’s competition because Mr. Farhadi did not finish filming until late February. He submitted it to Thierry Frémaux, the festival’s director, only after the initial lineup had been announced in mid-April, Mr. Mallet-Guy said. “The Salesman” will be shown on May 21, the very end of the festival, but has already generated interest from distributors in the United States, he added.The movie was a late addition to this year’s competition because Mr. Farhadi did not finish filming until late February. He submitted it to Thierry Frémaux, the festival’s director, only after the initial lineup had been announced in mid-April, Mr. Mallet-Guy said. “The Salesman” will be shown on May 21, the very end of the festival, but has already generated interest from distributors in the United States, he added.
Also from Iran this year is “Inversion,” directed by Behnam Behzadi, in the Certain Regard section. Set amid the smog of contemporary Tehran, it tells the story of Niloofar (Sahar Dowlatshahi), an unmarried 30-something who stands up for herself rather than move with her ailing mother, who, her doctors say, should leave the city for her respiratory health.Also from Iran this year is “Inversion,” directed by Behnam Behzadi, in the Certain Regard section. Set amid the smog of contemporary Tehran, it tells the story of Niloofar (Sahar Dowlatshahi), an unmarried 30-something who stands up for herself rather than move with her ailing mother, who, her doctors say, should leave the city for her respiratory health.
“Tehran is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the pollution reaches its peak on the days when there is thermal inversion,” Mr. Behzadi wrote in the film’s press notes. Niloofar “has never had the right or the chance to choose, and she has got used to not having them,” he added. “Now she needs the inversion to remind herself and the others to respect her pleasant right to choose.”“Tehran is one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the pollution reaches its peak on the days when there is thermal inversion,” Mr. Behzadi wrote in the film’s press notes. Niloofar “has never had the right or the chance to choose, and she has got used to not having them,” he added. “Now she needs the inversion to remind herself and the others to respect her pleasant right to choose.”
Cannes has sometimes been the setting for tensions between Iran and Europe. In 2014, the Iranian actress Leila Hatami, who co-starred in “A Separation” and was a Cannes juror that year, had to apologize to the Iranian government after the president of the festival greeted her on the red carpet with a kiss on each cheek — a routine greeting in France but scandalous in Iran.Cannes has sometimes been the setting for tensions between Iran and Europe. In 2014, the Iranian actress Leila Hatami, who co-starred in “A Separation” and was a Cannes juror that year, had to apologize to the Iranian government after the president of the festival greeted her on the red carpet with a kiss on each cheek — a routine greeting in France but scandalous in Iran.
Mr. Mallet-Guy, meanwhile, said he hoped the easing of trade relations between Iran and the West would make it easier for Iranian filmmakers to secure financing from European sources.Mr. Mallet-Guy, meanwhile, said he hoped the easing of trade relations between Iran and the West would make it easier for Iranian filmmakers to secure financing from European sources.
There are two Israeli films showing in the Un Certain Regard section this year. “Beyond the Mountains and Hills,” the latest feature by Eran Kolirin, is about a man who struggles to return to civilian life after being discharged from the army after 27 years. Mr. Kolirin is best known for his award-winning 2007 comedy “The Band’s Visit,” about an Egyptian band coming to perform at an Arab cultural center in Israel. (It co-starred the acclaimed Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz, who died last month of cancer.)There are two Israeli films showing in the Un Certain Regard section this year. “Beyond the Mountains and Hills,” the latest feature by Eran Kolirin, is about a man who struggles to return to civilian life after being discharged from the army after 27 years. Mr. Kolirin is best known for his award-winning 2007 comedy “The Band’s Visit,” about an Egyptian band coming to perform at an Arab cultural center in Israel. (It co-starred the acclaimed Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz, who died last month of cancer.)
In “Personal Affairs,” the Israeli-Arab director Maha Haj tells the story of an Israeli Arab couple in Nazareth worried about their bachelor son who lives across the border in the West Bank city of Ramallah. And this year’s Critics’ Week, which showcases first and second films by emerging directors, will include ”One Week and a Day,” a tragicomedy by the Israeli director Asaph Polonsky about a couple who respond to their son’s death in different ways, as well as “Tramontane, by the Lebanese director Vatche Boulghourjian, about a young man in a small Lebanese village who discovers that his identity card is a forgery.In “Personal Affairs,” the Israeli-Arab director Maha Haj tells the story of an Israeli Arab couple in Nazareth worried about their bachelor son who lives across the border in the West Bank city of Ramallah. And this year’s Critics’ Week, which showcases first and second films by emerging directors, will include ”One Week and a Day,” a tragicomedy by the Israeli director Asaph Polonsky about a couple who respond to their son’s death in different ways, as well as “Tramontane, by the Lebanese director Vatche Boulghourjian, about a young man in a small Lebanese village who discovers that his identity card is a forgery.
In his film, “Clash,” Mr. Diab, who lives in Cairo, takes on recent Egyptian history. The film grew out of his involvement in the Tahrir Square uprising that helped topple President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. A year later, the revolutionary promise fizzled when the country elected Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood party. The day of Mr. Morsi’s election, Mr. Diab said, “I actually cried.’’In his film, “Clash,” Mr. Diab, who lives in Cairo, takes on recent Egyptian history. The film grew out of his involvement in the Tahrir Square uprising that helped topple President Hosni Mubarak in 2011. A year later, the revolutionary promise fizzled when the country elected Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood party. The day of Mr. Morsi’s election, Mr. Diab said, “I actually cried.’’
“Clash” is set in a chaotic moment in 2013 after popular protests deposed Mr. Morsi. (He was replaced by a military regime that governs to this day.) The film tells a story of 25 Egyptians, from democratic revolutionaries to Islamists, who were rounded up and detained by the police after those protests.“Clash” is set in a chaotic moment in 2013 after popular protests deposed Mr. Morsi. (He was replaced by a military regime that governs to this day.) The film tells a story of 25 Egyptians, from democratic revolutionaries to Islamists, who were rounded up and detained by the police after those protests.
“I wanted to make a film about the revolution, but every time I got an idea, things got obsolete,” Mr. Diab, 38, said in a telephone interview. In 2013, his brother, Khaled, came up with the idea of centering the film on a group of detainees, and they wrote the film together.“I wanted to make a film about the revolution, but every time I got an idea, things got obsolete,” Mr. Diab, 38, said in a telephone interview. In 2013, his brother, Khaled, came up with the idea of centering the film on a group of detainees, and they wrote the film together.
“We started trying to make a film about the rise of the revolution, but we ended up making a film about the fall of the revolution,” Mr. Diab said.“We started trying to make a film about the rise of the revolution, but we ended up making a film about the fall of the revolution,” Mr. Diab said.
He said he tried to humanize everyone in the film, even the police. “Everyone in my circle, everyone I know in my life, advised me not to do this film because it will upset everyone,” Mr. Diab said.He said he tried to humanize everyone in the film, even the police. “Everyone in my circle, everyone I know in my life, advised me not to do this film because it will upset everyone,” Mr. Diab said.
Mr. Diab’s first feature as a director, “Cairo 678,” about three women in Cairo who faced sexual harassment, appeared in early 2011, just as the Tahrir Square uprising started, and was seen as prescient. The film’s success in Egypt helped Mr. Diab become a television personality during the revolution, and its success abroad helped him finance “Clash.”Mr. Diab’s first feature as a director, “Cairo 678,” about three women in Cairo who faced sexual harassment, appeared in early 2011, just as the Tahrir Square uprising started, and was seen as prescient. The film’s success in Egypt helped Mr. Diab become a television personality during the revolution, and its success abroad helped him finance “Clash.”
The film is an Egyptian-French co-production with other funding from Germany and the United Arab Emirates, whose growing connections to the festival network are helping to raise the profile of films from the Arab world. Mr. Diab still does not know whether the movie will be released in Egypt, where he and other critics say the current government is even harsher on freedom of expression than Mr. Mubarak’s ever was, and that many Egyptians have become weary and fearful of protesting.The film is an Egyptian-French co-production with other funding from Germany and the United Arab Emirates, whose growing connections to the festival network are helping to raise the profile of films from the Arab world. Mr. Diab still does not know whether the movie will be released in Egypt, where he and other critics say the current government is even harsher on freedom of expression than Mr. Mubarak’s ever was, and that many Egyptians have become weary and fearful of protesting.
“Everyone’s so scared to become another Syria or Yemen, so no one’s doing anything about it,” Mr. Diab said.“Everyone’s so scared to become another Syria or Yemen, so no one’s doing anything about it,” Mr. Diab said.