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2 - 20 October 2018: Mohsen Makhmalbaf: The Poetic Trilogy

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One of the preeminent figures of Iranian cinema, Mohsen Makhmalbaf has written and directed an impressive array of acclaimed films, winning accolades at international film festivals and the admiration of world cinema audiences. This programme presents three of Makhmalbaf’s most lyrical films which the director has termed his Poetic Trilogy.

Gabbeh
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
1996 | 75 min | Colour | Digital
Persian with English subtitles

The characters of a colorful Persian carpet come alive in Makhmalbaf’s tribute to the art and beauty of Iranian gabbeh (carpet) weaving. Originally conceived as a documentary on the nomads who wove their own lives into their works, the film expanded into a fictionalized love story poised between fantasy, folklore, and reality. read more

The Silence
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
1998 | 77 min | Colour | Digital
Persian with English subtitles

Tajikistan provides the setting of Makhmalbaf’s lyrical fable about a young blind boy and the acute sense of hearing that both connects him to – and liberates him from – the realities around him. Poised as if floating slightly above the earthbound individuals alongside him, the ethereal Korshid seeks attunement to everyday harmonies, though the discords of unemployment, poverty, and fanaticism remain omnipresent. read more

The Gardener
Mohsen Makhmalbaf
2012 | 87 min | Colour | Digital
Persian with English subtitles

An Iranian filmmaker and his son travel to Israel to investigate a world religion with around seven million followers, which originated in Iran about 170 years ago. Youth from all over the world come to Haifa – the centre of this religion – to serve, and those who serve in the gardens that surround the holy places develop peace-loving attitudes through their interactions with nature. read more