KĀNUN-E PARVAREŠ-E FEKRI-E KUDAKĀN VA NOWJAVĀNĀN v. Film Production: 1970-77

 

KĀNUN-E PARVAREŠ-E FEKRI-E KUDAKĀN VA NOWJAVĀNĀN

v. Film Production: 1970-77

To secure the initial funds for the film production at Kanun, Širvānlu proposed a profit-making “showcase” by inviting a branch of the renowned Moscow Circus, which was on the tail-end of a tour of the Middle East, to perform in Iran. He invited F. Moezi Moghadam, then working for the Ministry of Economy as an economist, to manage the circus’s operations and its financial administration in 1969. With the modest profits generated by the circus, Kanun obtained its first film production cameras and sound recording and lighting equipment; step by step, the basement rooms of its six-floor headquarters was transformed into a film workshop with cutting, editing, dubbing, and projection rooms.

Ebrāhim Foruzeš (1939-), a young student in dramatic arts, was appointed as director of Kanun’s Film Production Department in 1971. With talent and tenacity, he worked his way up to managing producer for almost all fiction films, both live and animated (over 60 titles, short and feature length films, in seven years before the 1979 Revolution). Most of Kanun’s pre-Revolution films have been screened in movie theaters or on state-run television channels. He also organized Kanun’s own technical film sections, such as the editing, dubbing, and animation film workshops. (For his own contributions to various films, see below.)

Kanun productions were the first experience of film direction for a number of today’s best-known Iranian directors, including Abbas Kiarostami, Bahrām Beyzāʾi, Sohrab Šahid-ṯāleṯ, Moḥammad-Reżā Aṣlāni, Nāṣer Taqvāʾi, and Amir Nāderi. All internationally recognized Iranian animation film directors started their work at Kanun, and many have continued to cooperate with it, or have finished their oeuvre with it.

After the Revolution, the film department was entrusted to newcomers, and Foruzeš turned his attention to writing and directing. His post-Revolution feature films, most of which were prize winners and box office successes, were also produced by Kanun.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1970

1. “Mr. Monster” (Āqā-ye hayulā), animation, 35mm, 9 min, color; cinematographer, Maḥmud Naṣiri; screenwriter and director, Faršid Meṯqāli (his directorial debut).

2. “The quail” (Badbade), live, 35mm, 35 min, b/w; cinematographer, Mehrdād Faḵimi; director, Moḥammad-Reżā Aṣlāni (his directorial debut).

3. “Misunderstood” (Suʾ-e tafāhom), animation, 35mm, 5 min, color; cinematographer, Maḥmud Naṣiri; screenwriter and director, Faršid Meṯqāli.

4. “The uncle with a moustache” (Amu sibilu), live, 35mm, 29 min, b/w; cinematographer, Neʿmat Ḥaqiqi, based on a story by Fereydun Hedāyatpur; director, Bahrām Bayżāʾi (his directorial debut).

5. “Captive” (Gereftār), animation, 35mm, 4 min, color; cinematographer, Maḥmud Naṣiri; screenwriter and director, Arapik Baghdassarian (his directorial debut).

6. “Bread and the alley” (Nān o kučeh), live, 35mm, 12 min, b/w; cinematographer, Mehrdād Faḵimi; screenwriter, Taqi Kiārostami; director, Abbas Kiarostami (his directorial debut).

7. “Weightlifter” (Vaznebardār), animation, 35mm, 6 min, color; cinematographers, Maḥmud Naṣiri and Asad-Allāh Kafāfi; director, Arapik Baghdassarian.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1971

1. The one who daydreamed, the one who acted” (Ān ke ḵiāl bāft, ān ke ʿamal kard), animation, 35mm, 9 min, color; cinematographer, Abu’l-Qāsem Tavallā; director, Morteżā Momayyez (his directorial debut).

2. “With Permission” (Bā ejāze), 35mm, 26.30 min, color; cinematographer, Mehrdād Faḵimi; director, Moḥammad-Reżā Aṣlāni.

3. “The boy, the musical instrument, and the bird” (Pesar o sāz o parande), animation, 35mm, 12.30 min, color; cinematographer, Asad-Allāh Kafāfi; screenwriter, animator, and director, Faršid Meṯqāli (winner of the 22nd Venice Film Festival for Children Golden Plaque, 1972).

4. “Release” (Rahāyi), 35mm, 23 min, color; cinematographer, Neʿmat Ḥaqiqi; screenwriter, Nāṣer Taqvāʾi and Moḥsen Taqvāʾi; director, Nāṣer Taqvāʾi (winner of the Golden Plaque, 6th International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults, Tehran; Grand Prix of the International Jury, 22nd Venice Film Festival for Children; Golden Gate prize, 16th San Francisco Film Festival, October 1972).

5. “A playground for Baboush” (Zamin-e bāzi-e Bābuš), animation, 35mm, 7 min, color; screenwriter, animator, cinematographer, and director, Nur-al-Din Zarrinkelk.

6. “Story of the peach tree” (Qeṣṣe-ye deraḵt-e holu), live, 35mm, 22 min, b/w; cinematographer, Abu’l-Qāsem Nāsuti; music, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh; screenwriter and director, Ḥasan Tehrāni.

7. “The seven cities” (Haft šahr), animation, 35mm, 18 min, color; screenwriter, Firuz Shirvanlu; animator and director, ʿAli-Akbar Ṣādeqi.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1972

1. “Pari” (Pari), live, 35mm, 36 min, color; music, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh; cinematographer, Mehrdād Faḵimi; screenwriter and director, Zakariā Hāšemi.

2. “Break time” (Zang-e tafriḥ), live, 35mm, 17 min (11 min. when shown internationally), b/w; cinematographers, ʿAli-Reżā Zarrindast and Morteżā Rastegār; screenwriter and director, Abbas Kiarostami.

3. “The journey” (Safar), live, 35mm, 34 min, b/w; cinematographer, Mehrdād Faḵimi and Firuz Malekzādeh; screenwriter and director, Bahrām Bayżāʾi (winner of Golden Statue, Special prize of the International Jury, 7th International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults, Tehran).

4. “Black and white” (Siāh o sefid), live [with special effects], 35mm, 4 min; cinematographer, Mehrdād Faḵimi; screenwriter and director, Sohrāb Šahid-Ṯāleṯ (winner of the Golden Plaque, International Jury, 7th International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults, Tehran).

5. “The gloomy city” (Šahr-e ḵākestari), animation, 35mm, 8 min, color; based on a story by Paul Tripp; cinematographer, writer, and director, Faršid Meṯqāli.

6. “The flower storm” (Golbārān), animation, 35mm, 9 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; music, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh; screenwriters, Ḥosayn Samākār and Ebrāhim Foruzeš; animator and director, ʿAli-Akbar Ṣādeqi (Golden Plaque, International Jury, 7th International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults, Tehran; Special Diploma award, Tampere International Festival, Finland, 1973).

7. “What do I know?” (Man čeqadr midānam?), animation, 35mm, 7 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; music, Sheida Gharachedaghi; screenwriter, Ḥasan Tehrāni; director, Nafiseh Riāḥi.

8. “A green dot” (Yek noqṭe-ye sabz), animation, 35mm, 5 min; music, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; director, Morteżā Momayyez.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1973

1. “The rainbow” (Rangin kamān), animation, 35mm, 6 min, color; director, Nafiseh Riāḥi.

2. “The trap” (Dām), live, 35mm, 15 min, color; director, Reżā Allāmezādeh.

3. “Independence” (Esteqlāl), animation, 35mm, 4 min, color; director, Parviz Nāderi.

4. “The bird of doom” (Siāh parandeh), animation, 35mm, 8 min, color; screenwriter, Ebrāhim Foruzeš; animator and director, Morteżā Momayyez.

5. “A very good worm” (Kerm-e ḵayli ḵayli ḵub), animation, 35mm, 3.30 min, color; director, Faršid Meṯqāli.

6. “Harmonica” (Sāz dahani), live, 35mm, 75 min, color; cinematographer, ʿAli-Reżā Zarrindast; screenwriter and director, Amir Nāderi (Kanun’s first feature length film and Nāderi’s first color feature).

7. “Never” (Hargez), live, 35mm, 4 min, color; director, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh.

8. “Boasting” (Man ānam keh), animation, 35mm, 9 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; screenwriters, Ebrāhim Foruzeš, and ʿAli-Akbar Ṣādeqi; music, Sheida Gharchedaghi; sound, Herair Atashkar; director, ʿAli-Akbar Ṣādeqi.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1974

1. “Chess rook” (Roḵ), animation, 35mm, 10 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; screenwriter, Ebrāhim Foruzeš; director, ʿAli-Akbar Ṣādeqi (see Figure 8).

2. “Confused” (Gij), animation, 35mm, 5 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; animator, screenwriter and director, Aḥmad Asbaqi.

3. “The traveler” (Mosāfer), live, 35mm, 72 min (83 min when shown in France in 1992 and later in US) b/w; director, Abbas Kiarostami (directing his first feature-length film).

4. “Atal matal” (Atal matal tutule), animation, 35mm, 5 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; music, Sheida Gharachedaghi; animator, screenwriter and director, Nur-al-Din Zarrinkelk.

5. “Look again” (Dobār-e negāh kon), live, animation, 35mm, 10 min, color; director, Faršid Meṯqāli.

6. “Excursion on a bright sunny day” (Gardeš dar yek ruz-e ḵoš-e āftābi), live, 35mm, color; director, Ḥasan Bani-Hāšemi director, Masʿud Kimiāʾi (Figure 9).

7. “Waiting” (Enteẓār), live, 35mm, 43 min, color; cinematographer, Firuz Malekzādeh; screenwriter and director, Amir Nāderi (winner of the Grand Prix award, 11th International Meeting of Film and Youth, Cannes Film Festival, 1975).

8. “Association of ideas” (Tadāʾi-e maʿāni), animation, 35mm, 3.30 min, b/w; designer and director, Nur-al-Din Zarrinkelk.

9. Hasani (Ḥasani), live, 35mm, 33 min, color; director, Šāpur Ḡarib.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1975

1. “Oriental boy” (Pesar-e šarqi), live, 35mm, 38 min, color; cinematographer, Neʿmat Ḥaqiqi; music, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh; screenwriter and director, Masʿud Kimiāʾi.

2. “Doorway” (Darvāzeh), live, 35mm, 15 min, color; cinematographer, Firuz Malekzādeh; music, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh; screenwriter and director, Jan Oonk.

3. “So can I” (Manam mitunam), 16mm, 3.30 min, color; cinematographers, Moḥammad Fayjāni, Moṣṭafā Ḥojjati; music, Nāṣer Čašm-Āzar; screenwriter and director, Abbas Kiarostami.

4. “Two solutions for one problem” (Do rāh-e ḥall barā-ye yek masʾal-e), live, 35mm, 5 min, color; screenwriter and director Abbas Kiarostami.

5. “Wooden pistols” (Haft-tirhā-ye čubi), live, 35mm, 46 min, color; cinematographer, Amir-Qāsem Ḵāni; music, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh; screenwriter and director, Šāpur Ḡarib.

6. “The mad, mad, mad world” (Donyā-ye divāne-ye divāne-ye divāneh), animation, 35mm, 3min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; screenwriter, animator and director, Nur-al-Din Zarrinkelk.

7. “Malek Khorshid” (Malek Ḵoršid), animation; 35mm; color; cinematographers, Moḥammad Fayjāni and Mehdi Samākār; screenwriters, Aḥmad-Reżā Aḥmadi, Parviz Davāʾi and Ali-Akbar Ṣādeqi; director, Ali-Akbar Ṣādeqi.

8. “The man and the cloud” (Mard va abr), animation, 35mm, 8 min, color; cinematographer, Mehdi Samākār; screenwriter and director, Parviz Nāderi.

9. “Purple crayon” (Medād-e banafš), animation, 35mm, 12.30 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; music, Kāmbiz Rošanravān; screenwriter and director, Nafiseh Riāḥi.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1976

1. “Colors” (Ranghā), live, 16mm, 15 min, color; cinematographers, M. Rastegār and Firuz Malekzādeh; music, Nāṣer Čašmāzar.

2. “The intruders” (Mozāhemhā), animation, 35mm, 2.30 min, color; cinematographer, Mehdi Samākār; screenwriter and director, Vajih-Allāh Fard Moqaddam.

3. “The bamboo fence” (Parčin), live, 35mm, 42 min, color; cinematographer, Morteẓā Rastegār; music, Sheida Gharachedāghi; screenwriter and director, Arsalān Sāsāni.

4. “Brief spring” (Bahārak), live, 35mm, 38 min, color; cinematographer, Morteżā Rastegār; screenwriter and director, Esfandiār Monfaredzādeh.

5. “The horse” (Asb), live, 35mm, 52 minute, color; cinematographer, Neʿmat Ḥaqiqi; music, Fereydun Šahbāziān; screenwriter and director, Masʿud Kimiāʾi.

6. “A suit for the wedding” (Lebāsi barā-ye ʿarusi), live, 35mm, 57 min, color; cinematographer, Firuz Malekzādeh; screenwriter and director, Abbas Kiarostami.

FILMS PRODUCED IN 1977

1. “Amir Hamzeh” (Amir Hamze-ye deldār va gur-e delgir), animation, 35mm, 28 min, color; cinematographer, ʿAbd-Allāh Alirmorād; screenwriter and director, Nur-al-Din Zarrinkelk.

2. “The circle” (Dāyere), animation, 35mm, 5min, color; screenwriter, Mehdi Samākār; director, Sudābeh Āgāh.

3. “The coin” (Sekeh), live, 35mm, 44 min, color; music, Fereydun Šahbāziān; screenwriter and director, Neʿmat Ḥaqiqi.

4. “Point of departure” (Zang-e avval, zang-e dovvom), live, 35mm, 27 min, color; cinematographer, Morteżā Rastegār; music, Mojtabā Mirzādeh; screenwriters, Ebrāhim Foruzeš, Kiumarṯ Puraḥmad; director, Kiumarṯ Puraḥamd.

5. “Summer vacation” (Se-māh taʿṭili), live, 35mm, 70 min, color; cinematographer, Amir Qāsemḵāni; music, Ḥosayn Vāṯeqi; screenwriter and director, Šāpur Ḡarib.

6. “Zal and Simorgh” (Zāl o Simorḡ), animation, 35mm, 26 min, color; cinematographer, Moḥammad Fayjāni; music, Majid Enteẓāmi; screenwriters, Ebrāhim Foruzeš and ʿAli-Akbar Ṣādeqi; animator and director, ʿAli-Akbar Ṣādeqi.

7. “It has been said” (Čenin konand ḥekāyat), live, b/w; cinematographer, Mehrdād Faḵimi; music, Sheida Gharachedaghi; screenwriters, Moḥammad-Reżā Aslāni, Mehrdād Faḵimi, and Kāmrān Širdel; director, Moḥammad-Reżā Aṣlāni.

EDUCATIONAL FILM CENTER

To concentrate better on film production and separate clearly the worlds of fiction and documentary (including educational film), Kanun, almost simultaneously with its Film Production Department, created its Educational Film Center. Abbas Kiarostami, who had a taste for nonfiction, was appointed to run the center. The subjects varied from arts and crafts to science and technology, from health issues to social institutions.

Many of today’s famous artists and directors made their first films here, among them Abbas Kiarostami, who made 3 of the 27 pre-Revolution films completed at this center—all filmed in 16mm format, including:

1. “Sara is sick” (Sārā bimār-ast), live, 6 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

2. “This is your city” (Injā šahr-e šomāst), live, 6 min, color; director, Ḥasan Mošref Āzād Tehrāni.

3. “Listen well to what is said” (Be ḥarf-hā ḵub guš konid), live, 11 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

4. “An introduction to the book” (Moqaddameh bar ketāb), live, 2.30 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

5. “The post office” (Post), live, 18 min, color; director, Nāṣer Zerāʿati.

6. “Along a wire” (Dar emtedād-e yek sim), live, 11 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

7. “Come, let’s paint” (Biāʾid naqqāši konim), live, 14 min, color; director, Ebrāhim Vaḥidzādeh.

8. “Come, let’s play music” (Biāʾid sāz bezanim), live, 11 min, color; director, Ebrahim Vaḥidzādeh.

9. “Come, let’s play theater” (Biāʾid teʾātr bāzi konim), live, 15 min, color; director, Ebrāhim Vaḥidzādeh.

10. “Ceramic work” (Kāšikāri), live, 10 min, color; director, Aydin Aghdashlou.

11. “Calligraphy” (Ḵaṭṭāṭi), live, 8 min, color; director, Aydin Aghdashlou.

12. “Blood” (Ḵun), live and animation, 12 min, color; directors, Nafiseh Riāḥi and Ḥosayn Jahānšāhi.

13. “Our share of the sun” (Sahm-e mā az ḵoršid), live, 7 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

14. “Wealth” (Ṯarvat), live, 9 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

15. “Painting” (Rangzani), live, 17 min, color; director, Kuroš Afšārpanāh.

16. “Cooperation” (Taʿāvon), live, 15 min, color; director, Kuroš Afšārpanāh.

17. “Solution no. 1” (Rāh-e ḥall-e yek), live, 11 min, color; director, Abbas Kiarostami.

18. “Solution no. 2” (Rāh-e ḥall-e do, 1978), live, 6 min, color; director, Abbas Kiarostami.

19. “Family team 1” (Tim-e ḵānevādegi 1), live, 20 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

20. “Family team 2” (Tim-e ḵānevādegi 2), live, 20 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

21. “Family team 3” (Tim-e ḵānevādegi 3), live, 20 min, color; director, Javād Kahnamuʾi.

22. “The mechanic” (Mekānik), live, 17 min, color, director, ʿAbd-Allāh Ḡiāʾi.

23. “The electricians” (Taʿmir kārān-e vasāyel-e elektriki), live, 13 min, color; director, Abu’l-Fażl Rāzāni.

24. “The actor” (Bāzigar), live, 21 min, color; director Dāvud Rustāʾi.

25. “The judge” (Qāżi), live, 15 min, color; director, Kiumarṯ Puraḥmad.

26. “The driver” (Rānandeh), live, 16 min, color, director, Nāṣer Zerāʿati.

27. “Dental hygiene” (Behdāšt-e dandān; 1980), live, 24 min, color; director, Abbas Kiarostami.

The Educational Film Center has also produced over 60 promotional television shorts for Kanun. To promote and introduce Kanun’s cultural centers on a national level, F. Moezi Moghadam proposed a series of short documentary films (around 3 minutes each) for television broadcast, to be made with child members of Kanun throughout the country. After the project’s approval, over 60 films were conceived and directed (total length: 194 min); 23 episodes covering four provinces were done by F. Moezi Moghadam, upon Kiarostami’s insistence, in order to set a pattern and style for others to follow. The rest were entrusted to Kuroš Afšārpanāh and Moḥammad-Reżā Aṣlāni, who each directed around 20 films, covering other parts of the country. All these shorts, which have collectively been titled “Today’s children” (Kudak-e emruz), were broadcast by NIRT before the Revolution, and many have also been circulated since the Revolution (especially those with no girls in close-up, as they were not wearing veils [ḥejāb] at the time; see http://www.kanoontolid.com/?p=1297).

Bibliography: See at end of part IX.

(Fereydoun Moezi Moghadam)

Originally Published: December 15, 2010

Last Updated: April 20, 2012

This article is available in print.
Vol. XV, Fasc. 5, pp. 509-512

Cite this entry:

Fereydoun Moezi Moghadam, “KĀNUN-E PARVAREŠ-E FEKRI-E KUDAKĀN VA NOWJAVĀNĀN v. Film Production: 1970-77,” Encyclopædia Iranica, XV/5, pp. 509-512, available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kanun-e-parvares-e-fekri-e-kudakan-va-nowjavanan-film-production (accessed on 30 December 2012).