Archive of films Respectable Family / Yek khanevadeh-e mohtaram
Iran / France
2012, 90 min
Section:
Another View
Year: 2012
After 22 years in Paris, Arash returns home to Iran. Soon enough, however, he realizes that he has become estranged from his native country, and that his own family is part of a dark and violent cycle of revenge, corruption, and greed. This Iranian variation on a film noir is a modern-day Cain and Abel story influenced by debut director Massoud Bakhshi’s own childhood experiences in the shadow of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war.
Synopsis
Arash is an academic from Iran who has put down roots in France. After 22 years he is returning home to accept a teaching job in Shiraz, the town where his elderly mother lives. The family was torn apart years ago by tragic events, but now his step-brother’s son convinces Arash to make things better with his dying father. Soon enough, however, Arash realizes that he has become estranged from his native country, and that his own family is part of a dark and violent cycle of revenge, corruption, and greed. This Iranian variation on a film noir is a modern-day Cain and Abel story influenced by debut director Massoud Bakhshi’s own childhood experiences in the shadow of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war. The film, presenting a convincing portrait of contemporary Iranian society, world premiered in the Director’s Fortnight section at this year’s Cannes IFF.
About the director
Massoud Bakhshi (b. 1972, Tehran) is a member of the new generation of Iranian filmmakers. He studied film direction in Italy and arts funding in France. In 1990-98 he worked as a film critic, screenwriter, and producer. He has been awarded numerous international prizes for his documentaries and short movies: Identification of a Woman (Shenasaeiye yek zan, 1999), Praying for the Rain (Namaze baran, 2003), Lost Windows (Panjerehay-e-gomshodeh, 2004), Tehran Has No More Pomegranates! (Tehran anar nadarad, 2007), Bagh dad bar ber (2008), and Our Persian Rug (2010). The drama A Respectable Family, his feature debut, came about as a French coproduction.
Contacts
Pyramide International
32 rue de l’Echiquier, 750 10, Paris
France
Tel: +33 142 960 220
Fax: +33 140 200 551
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.pyramidefilms.com
About the film
Color, DCP
Section: | Another View |
---|---|
Director: | Massoud Bakhshi |
Screenplay: | Massoud Bakhshi |
Dir. of Photography: | Mahdi Jafari |
Editor: | Jacques Comets |
Producer: | Mohammad Afarideh, Jacques Bidou, Marianne Dumoulin |
Production: | Firoozei Films, JBA Production |
Cast: | Babak Hamidian, Mehrdad Sedighian, Ahoo Kheradmand |
Contact: | Pyramide International |
Guests
Massoud Bakhshi
Film Director