All the Vermeers in New York
Vermeer's paintings open up a path to love in the capitalist rat race of New York. But its course does not run smoothly.
90'
USA
IFFR 2020
On 19 August 1978, hundreds of Rex cinema patrons in Abadan, Iran were killed by arson. The drama marked a key moment in the Iranian Revolution and the end of a flourishing film industry which since then has virtually been erased from collective memory.
The often slapdash but super popular films, jokingly termed 'filmfarsi' by a critic, with their stereotypical characters, melodramatic plots, seductive women and campy song and dance routines, provided a sensual alternative to the official image of Iran disseminated by the Shah's regime on state TV. This commercial cinema also bred filmmakers such as Samuel Khachikian and the later New Wave directors Masoud Kimiai and Abbas Kiarostami.
Most of the films only survived the 1978-1979 revolutionary iconoclasm thanks to illegal VHS copies, from which filmmaker Ehsan Khoshbakht has compiled a fascinating history of Iran between 1953 and 1979: a country confused about its identity, caught between optimism and disillusion.
IFFR 2020
Programme IFFR 2020
Drawing upon cinematic memories: restored classics, films about film(makers), experimental works and installations.
Read more about this programmeVermeer's paintings open up a path to love in the capitalist rat race of New York. But its course does not run smoothly.
90'
USA
IFFR 2020
A journey through the life and work of Jan Švankmajer, last remaining hero of surrealism, who occupies a unique place in the history of cinema.
117'
Czech Republic
IFFR 2020
James Ballard's near-fatal car accident gives rise to extreme desires. Cult film by Cronenberg in which car fetishists go to extremes to satisfy their passion.
100'
Canada
IFFR 2020