Global film series explores Iranian cinema, ‘film future’

Film enthusiasts will be able to discover unique aspects of humanity through cinema at the annual riverrun Global Film Series taking place Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at SUNY Buffalo State.     

The series, which is free and open to the public, is presented by the UB Department of English. It consists of two segments: “Country in Focus,” which aim to bring cinema from other countries to Western New York, and “Film Future,” which presents contemporary films that are expected to have a lasting impact on cinema.

The “country in focus” this year is Iran, and films to be screened include an assortment of restored classics, documentaries, animated films and works by women filmmakers, as well as a special tribute to the late filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.

The film featured in the “film future” section is “Notes on Blindness” (2016), an innovative documentary directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney that has a virtual reality component. It will be screened at 8 p.m. Oct. 1.

Delivering the series’ public lecture will be Hamid Naficy, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Professor in Communication at Northwestern University and one of the world’s leading authorities on Iranian film.

Naficy’s talk, “Rising from the Ashes: Iranian Art House Cinema,” will take place at 7 p.m. Sept. 30.

After his lecture, Naficy will lead a post-screening discussion of the award-winning “Tales” (2014), which will be shown at 8:30 p.m. Directed by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, “Tales” is a series of seven vignettes about different people dealing with their everyday problems in modern day Iran that are loosely related to each other.

Also making an appearance at the event is renowned Iranian animator, graphic designer and book illustrator Noureddin Zarrinkelk. He will give an informal talk after a screening of animated shorts from 2-4:30 p.m. Oct. 1.

Local film experts and community leaders will introduce films during the series, including Bruce Jackson, SUNY Distinguished Professor and James Agee Chair in American Culture in the UB Department of English; Laurence Shine, a lecturer in the SUNY Buffalo State English department; Nadia Shahram, head of the NGO the Advancement of Moslem Women; and Michael Faust, film editor of the alternative weekly The Public.  

Tanya Shilina-Conte, a lecturer in the Department of English and film series curator, hopes the event encourages conversation on globalization and worldwide social and political affairs through cinema.  

“I believe it is our collective responsibility today to reflect on our existence in a globalized networked world and to stay critically attuned to the new challenges of our rapidly developing global society,” says Shilina-Conte. “The riverrun Global Film Series aims to respond to that pressing need.”  

The event schedule and more information about the series is available on the riverrun Global Film Series website and on its Facebook page.