Iranian Literary Arts Festival

Festival registration is easy: Just buy a ticket for one of 3 ICARUS/RISE evenings to be automatically registered for all festival events.

Theater Artaud, 450 Florida, San Francisco

Tuesday November 13

Film Screenings (co-curated by the Translation Project and Beyond Persia):

6-7 PM – The Green Cold, from Nasser Saffarian’s trilogy on Forough Farrokhzad (60 min)

Director Nasser Saffarian deftly combines interviews with family members and peers with footage of Farrokhzad shot by Bernardo Bertolucci. Saffarian digs deep into her personal and professional life to uncover new information about this outspoken artist. A revealing look at her private world.

7:10-7:30 PM – “The House is Black” by Forough Farrokhzad (22 min)

A landmark in Iranian cinema, and spliced with Farrokhzad’s narration of quotes from the Old Testament, the Koran and her own poetry, it is a look at life and suffering in a leper colony and focuses on the human condition and the beauty of life.

7:40-9:10 PM – Seeds by Marjan Safinia (90 min)

“…a spectacular film…truly impressive” —Judy Woodruff, CNN
Feature Documentary of Middle Eastern teenagers who spend 3 weeks at camp with their “enemy”.

9:20-10:20 PM – Ahmad Mahmoud, A Noble Novelist, by Bahman Maghsoudlou (60 min)

An acclaimed story-writer and novelist, Ahmad Mahmoud was born on December 25, 1931 in Ahwaz. In his youth he worked as a day laborer, driver, construction worker and suffered imprisonment for his political views.

Wednesday November 14

Film Screenings (co-curated by the Translation Project and Beyond Persia):

6-6:30 PM – Young Republic by Nooshin Navidi (30 min)

“An authentic glimpse into the Under 30 generation that makes up 65% of Iran’s current population.”

6:40-7:40 PM – “The Mirror of the Soul”, from Nasser Saffarian’s trilogy on Forough Farrokhzad (60 min)

7:50-8:30 PM – Beyond Words by Jahanshah Ardalan (40 min)

“Sometimes the further you go away, the deeper you go within.”
A Never before seen documentary of the secret rituals of the Kurdish Sufis.

8:40-9:40 PM – Ahmad Shamlou, Master Poet of Liberty” by Bahman Maghsoudlou (60 min)

A documentary about one of the most important Iranian poet and intellectual icon.

9:50 PM – Aref Squared by Nader Davoodi

“A funny documentary that chronicles the fantasy of a Cab driver in Tehran that he will someday sing on stage with the famous singer, Aref”

Thursday November 15

Art Exhibit by Beyond | Persia, Hors d’œuvres (7pm)

World Premier of ICARUS/RISE (8-9)

A multimedia theatrical piece based on new Iranian poetry. Connects the myth of Icarus with the migration of Iranians, and the solitary journey of the artist/migrant in the quest for freedom. ICARUS/RISE begins after the fall and is the journey to self-possession, featuring the emerging voices of Iranian poetry, including Ziba Karbassi, Granaz Moussavi, Abbas Saffari, Maryam Huleh and Shahrouz Rashid, the poet of “Icarus”.

ICARUS/RISE

Created by Niloufar Talebi
Original Score by Bobak Salehi
Choreography and video by Alex Ketley
Percussion, Ian Ding
Cello, Kristina Forester
Lighting Design, Allen Willner
Dramaturg, Zack Rogow

Post-Show cast meet & greet, dance party

Friday November 16

Art Exhibit by Beyond | Persia, Hors d’œuvres (7pm)

ICARUS/RISE (8-9)

Post-Show cast meet & greet, dance party

Saturday November 17

Bookstore (11 am-4 pm)
Panel 1: “Literature and Performance” (11-12:15)
With Ram Devineni, Zack Rogow, Niloufar Talebi
Panel 2: “Iranian literature as World Literature” (12:30-1:45)
With Martin Riker, Fatemeh Keshavarz, Richard Jeffrey Newman
Keynote Talk (2-3:15)
Moniru Ravanipur: “Why is Iranian Literature not World Literature (yet)”
Book Signing (3:20-4)
Moniru Ravanipur, Fatemeh Keshavarz, Richard Jeffrey Newman, Ram Devineni, Shahrouz Rashid…Reception and Art Auction (6-7)
ICARUS/RISE (7-8)
Gala Dinner and Live Entertainment (8-11:30)