Screening of "Derakhte Golabi (The Pear Tree)" followed by Q&A with director, Dariush Mehrjui

Sunday, November 9, 2008
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Dodd Hall 147
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Dariush Mehrjui is an Iranian director, screenwriter, producer, and film editor.  As an Iranian New Wave cinema icon, Mehrjui is regarded to be one of the intellectual directors of Iranian cinema. Most of his films are inspired by literature and adopted based on Iranian and foreign novels and plays. He studied in Cinema and Philosophy at UCLA and graduated in 1964.

Mehrjui’s prize-wining The Cow in 1969 generally considered to mark the birth of Iranian art cinema, the New Wave. His third feature, Mr. Naive (Agha-ye Haloo) was a box-office hit. His next film, The Postman (Postchi) was a political metaphor based on Karl Buchner's Woyzeck. The Cycle (Dayereh Mina), kept in the shelves for 4 years, turned to be one of Mehrjui s most successful films abroad. His Lodgers (Ejareh Neshinha), one of the best comedies of the Iranian cinema, and Hamoon, the most controversial film of 1990 marked Mehrjui's shift from social issues to a more personal cinema. From 1992, Mehrjui started his female-character films such as Banoo (banned for 7 years) and Sara (an award-winning international hit), Pari, and Leila are among the very well received films at home and abroad. Mehrjui's films have by far received 49 national and international awards.

Derakhte Golabi (The Pear Tree)
Iran, 1998

In this bittersweet Iranian drama, middle-aged author Mahmoud (Homayoun Ershadi) reflects on his youth, and the story flashes back to post-WW II Iran and awkward 11-year-old Mahmoud (Mohammad Reza Shaban-Noori) at a country estate north of Tehran where the youth falls under the spell of his 14-year-old female cousin known only as M (Golshifte Farahani). As Mahmoud's infatuation increases, his adolescent dreams soar to creative, religious, and erotic heights. Decades later, a barren pear tree leads his memories back to M.

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This event is part of the Center's Bilingual Lecture Series on Iran.

Film has English subtitles. Discussion will be presented in Persian. Parking will be available in Parking Lot 2 ($9 per car-cash only). Pay-by-space parking stations located in Lot 2 accept $1 and $5 dollar bills, as well as VISA and MasterCard credit cards.

Cost : Free

www.international.ucla.edu/cnes