SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL AND ACMI PRESENT ‘THE LONG & WINDING ROAD: THE FILMS OF ABBAS KIAROSTAMI’ RETROSPECTIVE

Sydney Film Festival and ACMI, Australia’s national museum of screen culture, announce a program of 8 essential features and 3 short films by pioneering Iranian filmmaker, Abbas Kiarostami. Audiences can see the films as part of the 68th Sydney Film Festival (18-29 August 2021) and a selection at ACMI from 2-13 September. Entitled The Long & Winding Road: The Films of Abbas Kiarostami, the program is presented by Sydney Film Festival and ACMI. The collaboration marks the sixth large-scale retrospective season ACMI and Sydney Film Festival have co-presented since 2015, allowing audiences in Sydney to deep dive into the works of cinema greats from around the world. Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley said, “Abbas Kiarostami is widely recognised as one of the most influential figures in contemporary film, with his distinct style serving as an early entry point for audiences across the globe to experience the vibrant world of Iranian cinema. “Known for his deeply humanist and formally inventive approach to filmmaking, this retrospective will showcase the diverse body of work produced during Kiarostami’s illustrious forty plus year career. This is a wonderful opportunity for seasoned cinephiles and new audiences alike to celebrate the legacy of one of cinema’s truest auteurs,” he said. Kiarostami was born in Tehran in 1940. Martin Scorsese attributed the “highest level of artistry in the cinema” to the director. At the time of his death in Paris in 2016, Kiarostami was an undisputed master of contemporary cinema. ACMI Director of Film Programs Kristy Matheson said, “Abbas Kiarostami was a prolific photographer, poet, teacher and filmmaker. He not only introduced the world to Iranian cinema but redefined what a film can be. His multi-disciplinary practice will be right at home at ACMI – we're thrilled to showcase Kiarostami’s extraordinary artistry at our multiplatform museum.” Selections include Kiarostami’s beloved Koker trilogy: Bronze Leopard Winner at the 1989 Locarno Film Festival Where is the Friends House?, a poetic tale about a young boy who must return a classmate’s schoolbook; Un Certain Regard Opening Film at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival And Life Goes On, a self-reflexive meditation on identity set amidst the aftermath of the 1990 earthquake that devastated northern Iran; and Through the Olive Trees, a wildly meta examination of class and romance. Other career-defining titles revisited: The Traveler, Kiarostami’s debut feature about a headstrong boy who embarks on a series of deceptions to travel to a sporting match in Tehran; Close-Up, a sophisticated blend of documentary and fiction that takes a bizarre crime and artfully reworks it for the big screen; and Taste of Cherry, which features one of cinema’s most daring endings and became the first Iranian film to win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Audiences can also expect more recent career highlights: Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival The Wind Will Carry Us, a gently comic fable on the unpredictability of life; and Ten, an illuminating and experimental piece focusing on the lives of contemporary Iranian women. The program also features the short films Bread and Alley, Orderly or Disorderly and Solution. The 8 features in the program are: The Traveler (1974) Where is the Friend's House? (1987) Close-Up (1990) And Life Goes On (1992) Through the Olive Trees (1994) Taste of Cherry (1997) The Wind Will Carry Us (1998) Ten (2002) The 3 shorts in the program are: Bread and Alley (1970) Solution (1978) Orderly or Disorderly (1981) The full Sydney Film Festival program is announced on Wednesday 21 July 2021.  Flexipasses and subscriptions to Sydney Film Festival 2021 are on sale now. Call 1300 733 733 or visit sff.org.au for more information.  For more information about the film season at ACMI and ticketing details, visit acmi.net.au.

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