Abbas Kiarostami Films at Pacific Film Archive

Pacific Film Archive Presents:

Abbas Kiarostami: Image Maker

July 7 – August 30, 2007



“We are living in the age of Kiarostami, but don’t know it yet.”—Werner Herzog



One of the most critically acclaimed and influential filmmakers of the past twenty-five years, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami has captivated Western audiences with works of deceptive simplicity and indefinable poetry. We are proud to present this retrospective of his films, from early documentaries through his celebrated “Koker trilogy” and recent masterworks.





SATURDAY JULY 21

4:30 The Wedding Suit

(Iran, 1976)

An O. Henry–like story of a wedding suit “borrowed” from the tailor’s for a night explores the world of working youths in the shops and streets of Tehran. “Great suspense is built by purely visual means, recalling the apparent simplicity of neorealism.”—MoMA, N.Y. Repeated on Saturday, July 21. Preceded by shorts: Colors (Iran, 1976) and Solution No. 1 (Iran, 1978).



6:30 Close-Up

(Iran, 1990)

“Kiarostami, in semi-documentary mode, re-creates the true story of an unemployed dreamer—an ardent cinephile—who passes himself off as the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, a fraudulent act that becomes both an homage and a fresh work of art.”—New Yorker. Repeated on Saturday, August 18. Followed by: Film School of Hossein Sabzian (Azadeh Akhlaghi, Iran, 2005)





The Pacific Film Archive Theater is located at 2575 Bancroft Way (at Bowditch) in Berkeley, CA. Advance tickets are available by calling (510) 642-5249. For more information, visit http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries



From: Jason Alley <jalley@berkeley.edu>

Reviewed/approved by 7rooz