Pilgrimage: a Film by Abbas Kiarostami

Kamancheh and Pilgrimage, two documentary films directed by Bahman Kiarostami
>and produced by Marjaneh Moghimi/Butimar Productions will be screening at
>the 48th San Francisco International Film Festival on the following dates:
>
>Monday, May 2, 2005 at 7:00 p.m. PFA (Pacific Film Archive) in Berkeley
>
>Wednesday, May 4, 2005 at 6:30 p.m. AMC Kabuki Theatres in San Francisco
>
>Kamancheh: 46 minutes
>
>Kamancheh (from the Persian words kaman, meaning
>bow or arc, and cheh, meaning little) is one of
>the oldest and most influential bowed
>instruments in Eastern culture. Kamancheh, the
>movie, explores the lives, work, and aspirations
>of Iranian musicians who have devoted themselves
>to this distinctive and challenging instrument.
>The film transports viewers to the provinces of
>Lorestan, Khorasan, Mazandaran, and Golestan to
>meet master players in the context of the
>communities in which they live in.
>
>Featured Musicians: Vali Rahimi, Bahram
>Berdikor, Taghi Katuli, Ahmad Mohsenpour,
>Ghodrat Sohrabi and the internationally
>acclaimed Kayhan Kalhor.
>
>
>Pilgrimage: 52 minutes
>
>Despite the threat of mines, assassination, and
>death by dehydration and starvation, determined
>Shiite Muslims—as many as 3,000 a day—have been
>pouring across the Iran-Iraq border since the
>fall of the Iraqi government. They risk their
>lives for only one reason: to visit the holy
>shrine of Imam Hussein, in the city of Karbala,
>fifty miles south of Bagdad. The intense
>devotion of these pilgrims to Imam Hussein and
>Karbala astounds outside observers at the same
>time that it puts the Iranian government in a
>major predicament. Torn between bureaucracy and
>allegiance to Islam, Tehran is continually
>revising its emigration policies, periodically
>opening and then closing its border.
>
>In this highly detailed, beautifully filmed
>documentary, the camera does not take sides.
>Viewers see many facets of this issue and
>experience a range of emotions while learning
>about this historic event and about Iranian
>culture and politics.
>
>For information on how to purchase tickets
>please go to the festival’s website at
>www.sffs.org.
>
>
>For more information about the films please
>visit our website at www.butimarproductions.org.
>
>* * *
>About Butimar Productions
>Butimar Productions is a nonprofit organization
>dedicated to the preservation of the artistic
>and cultural traditions of the East. Through the
>production of documentary films and musical
>recordings, translations of literary works and
>the organization of intercultural activities, we
>bring this rich heritage to Western audiences,
>enriching the lives of current and future
>generations. Website: www.butirmarpoductions.org.



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