About Elly (Iran) - KarazwLaimoon
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About Elly (Iran)
Cinema Talks > 2016 Winter (Season 10)
Cine Club 9 November 2016
Title: About Elly (2009)
Director: Asghar Farhady (Iran)
Language: Persian (English S/T)
Duration: 1 hr 59 min
Key Actors: Golshifteh Farahani, Shahab Hosseini, Taraneh Alidoosti
Link to IMDB: Click Here
YouTube Trailer: Click Here
To download the presentation given during the event, Click Here
Synopsis: (from LA Times)
"About Elly" is not a new film from Farhadi. In fact, it's been five years since it won him the Silver Bear for best director at the Berlin International Film Festival. Rights issues have kept it from U.S. release until now, but this terrific ensemble piece has lost none of its power, its impressive ability to put viewers in an emotional vise and keep them there.
Like "A Separation," "About Elly" is a picture of life in a sector of Iranian society we don't often see. We are in the realm of the educated middle class, where women wear fashionable jeans along with their hijabs and screaming imprecations against imperialists has given way to renting vacation villas on the Caspian Sea.
"About Elly" involves its players, young professionals who have been friends since university, in a compelling interpersonal story that manages to be specifically Iranian and broadly universal. It examines the way the small evasions of truth that are the well-intentioned currency of everyday life play out in devastating ways when situations get unexpectedly extreme.
New York Times (Click Here)
LA Times (Click Here)
The Guardian (Click Here)
Asghar Farhady (Adapted from IMDB)
Wikipedia (Click Here)
Asghar Farhadi was born in 1972 in Iran. He became interested in cinema in his teenage years and started his filmmaking education by joining the Youth Cinema Society of Esfahan in 1986 where he made 8mm and 16mm short films. He received his Bachelors in Theater from University of Tehran's School of Dramatic Arts in 1998 and his Masters in Stage Direction from Tarbiat Modarres University a few years later. During these formative years, Farhadi made six shorts and two TV series for Iran's National Broadcasting Corporation (IRIB) of which "A Tale of a City" is most noteworthy.
In 2001, he debuted in professional cinema by co-writing the script for Low Heights (2002) (Ertefae Past), a post-911 political farce chronicle of Southwest Iran, with famed war film director, Ebrahim Hatamikia. The film was met with both critical and public success. The following year, Farhadi made his directorial debut, Dancing in the Dust (2003) (Raghs dar Ghobar), about a man forced to divorce his wife and go hunting snakes in the desert in order to repay his debts to his in-laws. The film earned recognition at Fajr and Moscow International Film Festivals and a year later, Beautiful City (2004) (Shahr-e-Ziba), a grave work about a young man condemned to death at the age of sixteen, received awards from Fajr and Warsaw International Film Festivals. His third film, Fireworks Wednesday (2006) (Chaharshambe Soori), won the Gold Hugo at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival. His fourth film, About Elly (2009) (Darbareye Elly) was called "a masterpiece" by film critic David Bordwell and won the Silver Bear for Best Director at 59th Berlin International Film Festival as well as Best Picture at Tribeca Film Festival. It was also Iran's official submission for the Foreign Language Film competition of Academy Awards in 2009. His most recent film, A Separation (2011) (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin), became a sensation. It got critical acclaim inside and outside of Iran; Roger Ebert called it "the best picture of the year," and it was awarded the Crystal Simorgh from Fajr Film Festival, Golden Bear and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury from Berlin International Film Festival, and also won Best Foreign Language Film from The Boston Society of Film Critics, Chicago and Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review, Golden Globes, César Award, Independent Spirit Award, and ultimately the Academy Award in the 'Best Foreign Language Film of the Year,' making him the first Iranian filmmaker ever to win an Oscar. His Oscar acceptance speech at the 84th Academy Awards, a message of peace in tens political times in his country, made him an instant hero amongst Iranians. His film also received nomination for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award in the best 'Film Not in the English Language' category and for an Academy Award in the 'Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen' category. A few days after receiving an Oscar, Farhadi signed with the United Talent Agency (UTA).
In 2001, he debuted in professional cinema by co-writing the script for Low Heights (2002) (Ertefae Past), a post-911 political farce chronicle of Southwest Iran, with famed war film director, Ebrahim Hatamikia. The film was met with both critical and public success. The following year, Farhadi made his directorial debut, Dancing in the Dust (2003) (Raghs dar Ghobar), about a man forced to divorce his wife and go hunting snakes in the desert in order to repay his debts to his in-laws. The film earned recognition at Fajr and Moscow International Film Festivals and a year later, Beautiful City (2004) (Shahr-e-Ziba), a grave work about a young man condemned to death at the age of sixteen, received awards from Fajr and Warsaw International Film Festivals. His third film, Fireworks Wednesday (2006) (Chaharshambe Soori), won the Gold Hugo at the 2006 Chicago International Film Festival. His fourth film, About Elly (2009) (Darbareye Elly) was called "a masterpiece" by film critic David Bordwell and won the Silver Bear for Best Director at 59th Berlin International Film Festival as well as Best Picture at Tribeca Film Festival. It was also Iran's official submission for the Foreign Language Film competition of Academy Awards in 2009. His most recent film, A Separation (2011) (Jodaeiye Nader az Simin), became a sensation. It got critical acclaim inside and outside of Iran; Roger Ebert called it "the best picture of the year," and it was awarded the Crystal Simorgh from Fajr Film Festival, Golden Bear and Prize of the Ecumenical Jury from Berlin International Film Festival, and also won Best Foreign Language Film from The Boston Society of Film Critics, Chicago and Los Angeles Film Critics Association, New York Film Critics Circle, National Board of Review, Golden Globes, César Award, Independent Spirit Award, and ultimately the Academy Award in the 'Best Foreign Language Film of the Year,' making him the first Iranian filmmaker ever to win an Oscar. His Oscar acceptance speech at the 84th Academy Awards, a message of peace in tens political times in his country, made him an instant hero amongst Iranians. His film also received nomination for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award in the best 'Film Not in the English Language' category and for an Academy Award in the 'Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen' category. A few days after receiving an Oscar, Farhadi signed with the United Talent Agency (UTA).
