23rd Iranian Film Festival (MFAH Screenings): 316

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the 23rd Houston Iranian Film Festival January 22 – February 2, 2016.

For the 23rd edition of the longest-running MFAH film festival, the Museum is honored by the presence of actress Fatemeh Motamed Arya. She is scheduled to attend a rare, Tuesday-night screening on February 2, accompanied by her husband, actor Ahmad Hamed.

Another highlight of this year’s festival is a new documentary about artist Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, who is represented in the Museum’s permanent collection.

The Houston Iranian Film Festival continues at Asia Society Texas Center and Rice Cinema.

Film selections were made in collaboration with Tom Vick of the Freer and Sackler Galleries, the Smithsonian Institution’s museums of Asian art; Carter Long of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Barbara Scharres of the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago.

316
Directed by Payman Haghani
2014, in Farsi with English subtitles
Iran, 72 minutes
DCP

An aging woman (Sara Vazirzadeh) narrates her life story through memories dominated by the shoes belonging to those she loved.

She recounts her childhood when she anxiously waited until she could wear high heels, her life during wartime, meeting her husband, and having children and grandchildren.

Payman Haghani’s (A Man Who Ate His Cherries) imaginative second film examines the narrative structure in most creative ways: even though audiences do not see the faces of each character, the emotional reaction is just as rewarding as the film unfolds.

Additional support is provided by the Society of Iranian-American Women for Education (SIAWE) and the Iranian Cultural Foundation-Houston.