|
|
Abbas Kiarostami ____________________
Iran (1940- )
One of the true masters of contemporary cinema, Kiarostami has won the admiration of audiences and critics worldwide. Akira Kurosawa has said of Kiarostami's films: "Words cannot describe my feelings about them and I simply advise you to see his films... When Satyajit Ray passed on, I was very depressed. But after seeing Kiarostami's films, I thanked God for giving us just the right person to take his place."
Born on June 22nd 1940 in Tehran, Kiarostami was interested in the arts from an early age. He won a painting competition at the age of eighteen, and left home to study at Tehran University's Faculty of Fine Arts. As a designer and illustrator, Kiarostami worked throughout the '60s in advertising, making commercials, designing posters, creating credit titles for films, and illustrating children's books.
Though Kiarostami's films have been compared at various times to those of Satyajit Ray, Vittorio de Sica, Eric Rohmer, or Jacques Tati, they remain uniquely Kiarostamian. Effortlessly simple and conceptually complex in equal measure; poetic, lyrical, meditative, self-reflexive and increasingly sophisticated, they mix fiction and documentary in unique ways, often presenting fact as fiction and fiction as fact. (Kiarostami has said "We can never get close to the truth except through lying.")
Kiarostami has made more than 20 films, including fiction features, educational shorts, feature-length documentaries, and a series of films for television. (Zeitgeist Films)
Film Comment’s poll of the ‘90s (Vol. 36, No.1, Jan/Feb 2000) showed that Kiarostami is the most respected and popular filmmaker in the world’s film community.
Where is the Friend's Home (1987)
Saeed-Vafa, Mehrnaz. "Abbas Kiarostami." Senses of Cinema. May 2002. Brief overview of his life and work. Includes bibliography. 11 December 2010 (http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/kiarostami/)
NOTE: At the end of the above article there are links to numerous articles and Web resources about Kiarostami.
Caputo, Rolando. "Five to Ten: Five Reflections on
Abbas Kiarostami's 10." Senses of Cinema. November 2003. 28 August 2006 (http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/29/ten.html)
"Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian Director." Film International 2.4 (Autumn 1994): 48-51. Another useful overview. 11 June 2004 (http://www.netiran.com/Htdocs/Clippings/Art/940915XXAR05.html)
Rosenbaum, Jonathan. "Fill In The Blanks: Taste of Cherry." Chicago Reader: On Film. 1997. In-depth and insightful discussion of the film. 11 June 2004 (http://www.chireader.com/movies/archives/1998/0598/05298.html)
Price, Michael. "Imagining Life: The Ending of Taste of Cherry." Senses of Cinema. October 2001. 11 June 2004 (http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/01/17/cherry.html)
|
