Iranian documentary series with PELAN

Join us as we screen monthly Iranian documentaries with PELAN. These screenings feature works about Iranians, made by independent Iranian and non-Iranian documentarians, to gain a better understanding of Iran and its people. This season, we focus on portraits of interesting people, from famous artists to unknown individuals. 

This month, we are screening Mouth Harp in Minor Key by Maryam Sepehri (Iran. 2017, 62 minutes). This film is in Farsi with English subtitles. 

About the film:

Exile as a radically transformative experience is the theme of this documentary, tracing the journey of Hamid Naficy from his boyhood growing up in Iran under the Shah to the 1979 Revolution, when he was studying in the U.S., to his present as the foremost historian of Iranian cinema and renowned authority on Iranian diaspora culture. Filmmaker Maryam Sepehri explores the impact of history before and after the Islamic Revolution on the generation of those whose lives are divided between early life in the homeland and adulthood in permanent exile in the West. The film portrays Naficy’s unique role as an interpreter of the experience in all of its complexity.

About the filmmaker:

Maryam Sepehri was born in Gorgan, Iran, and her family moved to Tehran when she was 17. She began her university career by studying medicine and then worked for a few years in a medical lab. After that, she returned to school to get a B.A. in filmmaking (2010) and an M.A. in photography (2012). For many years, she has made short films and taken photographs, as well as written and published short stories and translations from English to Farsi (Persian).
 

About PELAN:

PELAN is a non-profit, non-partisan project founded in 2013 and organized by a group of students and graduates of different universities in Vancouver. Since its inception, the primary purpose of PELAN has been to screen documentary films about Iranians, made by independent Iranians and non-Iranians. Although some of these movies have been banned in Iran, they have been shown at international film festivals around the world. In addition to the screenings, we have also been organizing online Q&A sessions with the directors/producers to foster stronger connections between Iranian artists and Iranians in the diaspora. PELAN had to cancel all its events during the pandemic; however, partnering with Blackout Art Society, PELAN resumed its work by screening documentaries at the North Vancouver City Library since the beginning of 2023. 

Questions? Contact info@nvcl.ca or 604-998-3450.

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