There will be six short films screened for Short Films #2, part of Retrospective: Abbas Kiarostami. 

Bread and Alley (1970)

2K RESTORATION
Original Title: نان و کوچه‎ / Nan va koutcheh
Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
Runtime: 12 min
Country: Iran
Language: Persian, with English subtitles
Rating: G

ASIAN PREMIERE
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Full Synopsis

“The mother of all my films,” according to Abbas Kiarostami, starts out as a breezily observed anecdote about a boy wending his way home through Tehran alleys carrying a loaf of bread. Variations on both the boy and the old man he sees and begins to follow will factor into future Kiarostami films, as will the use of “dead time,” the journey structure, and the poetic articulation of space. The final scene, involving a dog and a door, ends things on a note of wry ambiguity.

Text by Janus Films.

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Breaktime (1972)

2K RESTORATION
Original Title: زنگ تفریح / Zangu-e tafrih
Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
Runtime: 15 min
Country: Iran
Language: Persian, with English subtitles
Rating: PG

ASIAN PREMIERE
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Full Synopsis

Disciplined at school for breaking a window, a boy joins throngs of his schoolmates as they make a cacophonous exit onto Tehran’s streets. He then briefly joins an impromptu soccer game but disrupts it by stealing the ball and running away, and ends up drifting aimlessly along a busy highway. Free of dialogue but using unsynchronized sound throughout, this moody film shows Kiarostami expanding his visual vocabulary with zooms and crane and helicopter shots.

Text by Janus Films.

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The Chorus (1982)

2K RESTORATION
Original Title: همسرایان / Hamsarayan
Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
Runtime: 18 min
Country: Iran
Language: Persian, with English subtitles
Rating: PG

ASIAN PREMIERE

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Full Synopsis

An old man strolls through the noisy streets of Rasht, and when his hearing aid is knocked out of his ear, the film’s sound goes off, too, mimicking the silence that envelops him. At home, the same thing happens when he takes the device out, and Kiarostami intercuts his silent actions with the clamor of schoolgirls who try to get his attention from outside. Another Kiarostami meditation on the contrasts of silence and sound, age and youth, solitude and solidarity.

Text by Janus Films.

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Take Me Home (2016)
Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
Runtime: 16 min
Country: Iran
Language: No Dialogue
Rating: Exempted

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Full Synopsis

An errant soccer ball, deserted back stairways dilapidated by time, and a few animal observers – these are the unusual protagonists of a breathtakingly composed visual study, an unforgettable Iranian filmmaker’s enchanting farewell to the silver screen.

Text by The Kiarostami Foundation.

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Solution (1978)

2K RESTORATION
Original Title: راه حل / Rah-e hal
Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
Runtime: 11 min
Country: Iran
Language: Persian, with English subtitles
Rating: PG

ASIAN PREMIERE

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Full Synopsis

The rare Kanoon film that doesn’t involve children, this unusual road movie was made during the revolution and afforded Kiarostami what may have been a welcome escape from the capital. Shot amid spectacular mountain scenery north of Tehran, it shows a young man on a roadside with a tire, trying to get a ride. After several minutes of failure, he simply takes the tire and rolls it down the mountain, a lyrical visual journey that’s accompanied by a triumphal score.

Text by Janus Films.

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The Roads of Kiarostami (2005)
Directed by: Abbas Kiarostami
Runtime: 32 minutes
Country: South Korea, Iran
Language: Persian, with English subtitles
Rating: PG

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Full Synopsis

Abbas Kiarostami has recently been exhibiting his black-and-white landscape photographs at venues around the world, and Roads of Kiarostami is both a companion piece to these exhibits and an extension of them. Static shots of his photos alternate with footage of Kiarostami’s car winding through mountain roads, as the Iranian filmmaker muses in voice-over on the significance of the journey and on the path of his work and Persian literature as a whole.

Text by Tribeca Film Festival.

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For the full Retrospective: Abbas Kiarostami programme, please refer here.

If you have any trouble purchasing your tickets, please contact us at ticketing@asianfilmarchive.org 

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Important Notice:

Do note that Oldham Theatre does not play ads and screenings will start promptly. Arrive early so as not to disrupt the screenings. All patrons are encouraged to purchase your tickets online to be able to secure a seat. Seats are limited due to social distancing regulations. If you choose to purchase tickets or merchandise at Oldham Theatre’s box office, cashless payment is preferred.

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