gnals V05.indd 267
Signals: How to Survive...
Az Tehran ta behesht From Tehran to Heaven Abolfazl Saffary
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Iran/Germany, 2013 | colour, DCP, 75 min, Persian Prod: Reza Mostafavi Tabatabaei, Alireza Saadat Nia | Prod Comp: Linkeeper Film production | Sc: Hossein Mortezavian Abkenar, Abolfazl Saffary | Cam: Bayram Fazli | Ed: Hayedeh Safiyari, Ebrahim Saeedi | Prod Des: Abolfazl Salimi | Sound Des: Nezamoddin Kiaie | Music: Behzad Abdi | With: Mahnaz Afshar, Jafar Vali, Alireza Khamse, Farzin Sabouni, Ashkan Saffary, Shabnam Farshadjo, Mehdi Abbasi | Print/Sales: PicArt Film Co. Public SCREENINGS Sat 25-1 17:00 Cinerama 2 Mon 27-1 19:45 Cinerama 7 Fri 31-1 18:30 Pathé 6 Press & Industry SCREENING Thu 30-1 10:45 Cinerama 3
An apocalyptic vision of Iran in which the pregnant, desperate and disoriented Ghazal goes looking for her husband. Her surrealistic journey takes her from a totally chaotic Tehran to a small house in the vast desert. When Ghazal comes home after having an ultrasound scan, she finds that her apartment has been ransacked and her husband Farhad has disappeared. He has left a note on the fridge with a cryptic message that he has left for a place called Heaven. Apparently he has stolen incriminating documents about biological weapons. Having survived rape and physical abuse, she knows she has to find Farhad as quickly as possible. Unknown pursuers are in the meantime hunting her. The story and the overwhelming visual style are more reminiscent of a nightmare rather than a lineair story. Imprisoned in what seems to be a feverish dream, Ghazal not only tries to survive herself, the life of her unborn child is also at risk in this dystopian society.
The Sacrament Ti West
USA, 2013 | colour, DCP, 95 min, English Prod: Eli Roth, Jacob Jaffke, Peter Phok, Christopher Woodrow, Molly Conners | Prod Comp: Arcade Pictures, Worldview Entertainment | Sc: Ti West | Cam: Eric Robbins | Ed: Ti West | Prod Des: Jade Healy | Sound Des: Graham Reznick | Music: Tyler Bates | With: Amy Seimetz, Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Kate Lyn Sheil, Gene Jones, Kentucker Audley, Shawn Parsons | Print/Sales: IM Global Public SCREENINGS Mon 27-1 22:30 Cinerama 2 Tue 28-1 22:30 Oude Luxor Thu 30-1 19:30 LantarenVenster 5
Based on the 1978 Jonestown Massacre. Fashion photographer Patrick (Kentucker Audley) visits his sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) with two of his colleagues from Vice magazine (Joe Swanberg and AJ Bowen). She has joined the Eden Parish, a utopian community somewhere in the bush. Its inhabitants paint an idyllic picture of their community and are full of praise for their leader (Gene Jones), whom they address as Father. They collaborate harmoniously on creating their paradise. Like any good journalist, the three distrust this much ‘bliss’ and the true story is slowly uncovered. As is often the case, the rigid utopian system is far from paradisiacal. This found-footage-style film is a really exciting slow burner, perfectly structured towards the inescapable, unfortunate dénouement. Cult filmmaker Ti West’s sixth and perhaps best film.
43rd INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ROTTERDAM
267
13-01-14 18:11