Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.
DOHA: The Doha Film Institute (DFI) will screen 14 films by award-winning filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami from September 13 to 21 at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA).
Kiarostami himself is expected to attend the screenings to engage with audiences from around the GCC.
Featuring a number of his acclaimed films, the Kiarostami Retrospective underscores DFI’s role in bringing the best of cinema and international filmmakers to Qatar’s audiences, stimulating discussion on world cinema, and continuing the development of appreciation for the art form among audiences in Qatar.
The Kiarostami Retrospective will include: Bread and Alley (1970); Breaktime (1972); Experience (1973); The Traveller (1974); Where Is the Friend’s House? (1987); Close-Up (1990); Cannes Palme d’Or winner Taste of Cherry (1997); Venice Film Festival Silver Lion winner The Wind Will Carry Us (1999); ABC Africa (2001); Ten (2002); Five (2003); Shirin (2008); Certified Copy (2010), for which Juliette Binoche won the best actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival; and Like Someone in Love (2012).
Abdulaziz Al Khater, CEO of DFI, said: “DFI is proud to present this rich selection of Abbas Kiarostami’s great works for the first time in the region.
“We are not only sharing some of the finest world cinema with Qatar’s audiences, but we also hope to inspire local and regional talent to expand boundaries of traditional filmmaking to experiment with various media, styles, and interpretations.” Ludmila Cvikova, Head of Film Programming at DFI, said: “One of the most admired contemporary auteurs of cinema, Abbas Kiarostami is an inspiration for emerging as well as established filmmakers.
A master of conceptual cinema and the first Iranian filmmaker to win a Palm d’Or Cannes in 2007, Kiarostami has over 70 credits to his name, making him one of the most celebrated filmmakers from the region.
He has been voted one of the most important filmmakers of the 1990s in two polls conducted by independent film critics.
He is not only a director, but a screenwriter, producer and photographer, stretching his artistic skills to writing poetry and painting.
Tickets for the Kiarostami Retrospective are now on sale at www.dohafilminstitute.com and at the DFI Ticket Outlet in Katara, building 16, Esplanade entrance from Monday to Saturday between 1pm and 7pm.
The ticket office will be closed on August 30 and September 20 and 21. Tickets are priced at QR35 and QR25 for students.
Tickets will be available at the Museum of Islamic Art DFI Ticket Outlet, across from the MIA auditorium from September 11 to 21, on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday from 10.30am to 5.30pm, Thursday and Saturday from 12pm to 8pm and Friday from 2pm to 8pm. The MIA DFI ticket office will be closed on September 17.
The Peninsula
