All posts by islam

Isfahan children’s film festival kicks off

News, News 2

The 32nd International Film Festival for Children and Youth opened at Ghadir Park in the central Iranian city of Isfahan on Monday evening.

The ceremony opened with a message from Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi, which was read to the participants.

“The speedy progress of the world of today has changed the life of man in different areas including culture. However, it promises a gradual, evolutionary change in children, and the Isfahan festival has taken new steps to achieve this path, promising new developments,” read part of the message.

“The screening of a selection of participating films in the flood-hit regions of the country is also a great happening and needs to be praised,” the message added.

Director of the festival Alireza Tabesh in his brief words also expressed thanks to the all participants and the Iranian and foreign guests, and especially the art and cultural officials of Isfahan for their great help in organizing the festival.

A great number of Iranian and international films will go on screen during the gala, which will be running in Isfahan until August 26.

Eleven animated movies and nine short films have been selected from different countries to be screened at the festival.

The animation lineup includes Russian filmmaker Sergei Ryabov’s 2018 movie “6:1” that portrays an inseparable girl and cat who are playing checkers, and the cat loses again and again.

Latvian director Edmunds Jansons’ 2017 animation “Pigtail and Mr. Sleeplessness” will also be screened.

It is about a six-year-old girl known as Pigtail, who together with her shaggy friend from her closet, Mr. Sleeplessness, come up with a “brilliant” plan to return her baby brother Leo to the amusement park where they believe he was bought.

Also included is “Plankton” by Gustaf Lindstrom from Britain. The 2018 animation gives the viewers a glimpse of the ideas and aspirations that float around at the bottom of the food chain.

“The Kite” by Martin Smatana from Germany is a 2019 animation which depicts a little boy who visits his grandfather in the countryside and they fly a kite together.

“Kinkaku-ji” by Viktor Azeev from Russia narrates the story of a camper, Greg, who wants to learn how to write poetry, and follows his friends’ advice and makes his way to Japan where a majestic golden temple belonging to Kinkaku-dzi lies.

The organizers also announced earlier that a selection of movies honored at different editions of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France will go on screen during the festival.

In addition, eight features and animations by Danish filmmakers will be reviewed during a special program.

A selection of 12 Iranian animations will also be competing in the national section of the festival, in addition to 10 Iranian short films, which are also competing in the national section.

Eight features and animations by Danish filmmakers will be reviewed during a special program.

The festival also plans to review films and animated movies from Georgia and Tatarstan.

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) office in Tehran has dedicated a special award to a movie that provides a profound insight into children’s issues at the festival this year.

All the features, mid-length and short films competing in the Iranian national section will be reviewed for the UNICEF award.

The films will be reviewed by a special committee under the supervision of Iranian actress Mahtab Keramati, who is also a UNICEF goodwill ambassador.

Three Iranian cineastes will also be honored this year for their lifetime achievements in children’s cinema.

Screen and stage actress Maryam Saadat, filmmaker Mahin Javaherian and former director of the Fajr Film Festival Alireza Rezadad are the three honorees. / Tehran times /

Iran steel output up 9% in four months

News, News 3

Iranian steel mills produced a total of 4.12 million tons of finished steel products in the first four months of the current fiscal (March 21-July 22).

According to the latest date by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), the output of steel products, including hot- and cold-rolled coils, rebar, beams, pipes, wide and galvanized sheets, registered a 9% increase compared with the similar period of last year.

The lions share of the four-month output belongs to Mobarakeh Steel Company and its subsidiary Saba Steel with 2.36 million tons.

The giant steel producer was followed by Esfahan Steel Company with 776,253 tons, Oxin Steel Company with 294,174 tons, Khorasan Steel Company with 217,041 tons, Azarbaijan Steel Company with 116,629 tons, IASCO with 95,984 tons, and Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari Automotive Sheet Company with 83,952 tons.

Besides the finished steel products, a total of 6.86 million tons of ingot, bloom and billet were also produced in Iran during the mentioned four months, indicating a 4% growth year on year.

Mobarakeh Steel Company with its subsidiaries Saba and Hormozgan Steel was also the biggest producer of the semi-finished products with a 3.1-million-tons output.

It was followed by Khouzestan Steel Company with 1.3 million tons, Esfahan Steel Company with 819,107 tons, South Kaveh Steel Company with 389,998 tons, Khorasan Steel Company with 361,018 tons, Chadormalu Steel Company with 345,043 tons, Arfa Iron and Steel Company with 298,733 tons, Iran Alloy Steel Company with 166,122 tons and Bonab Steel Company with 74,808 tons. / MNA/

Makhunik, Iran’s ancient village of dwarves

About Iran, Iran 1, News

Makhunik is a unique village in a remote corner in Iran’s South Khorasan Province which dates back to hundreds of years ago. This mysterious village commonly known as the land of Lilliputians, is one of the seven amazing world’s villages by its remarkable architecture.

Iran is a vast country with many tourist attractions, many of which may have never been heard before and few people are aware of them. One of these tourist attractions is Makhunik which is founded 1,500 years ago. It is located in Doreh rural district of Sarbisheh County, South Khorasan Province, near the Iran-Afghanistan border.

Makhunik is known to LILIPUT land because of its dwarf residents and the tales around them; people who have an Afghan nationality and migrated to the area several hundred years ago. Most of its inhabitants were hardly taller than one meter in the past. However, experts say only a handful of dwarf residents still live there. Researchers believes that marriages between close relatives, poor diet and drinking water laced with mercury had left the inhabitants of Makhunik half a meter short than the average height of that time. Makhunik’s residents have inherited short stature disease from their fathers, generation by generation.

It is said that, an Afghan man, along with his family left Afghanistan and came to Iran about 400 years ago. They sought refuge in the Makhunik area in search of a place to live and they settled in this land.

But this is not the only attractive feature. Makhunik is also popular for its ancient-style architecture as well as its unique tradition and culture. The residents of Makhunik built their houses based on architectural styles in the Neolithic Era. The buildings’ color once served as camouflage; it was impossible to spot them from the mountains at a distance.

If you walk through the narrow alleys of the village, you will see small adobe houses with very tiny walls and doors. These tiny houses have been built next to each other into the earth hollows on the slopes of the hills. They have been built of stone and soil, and their roof is covered with foliage and a short entrance gate.

Building small houses was not only for lack of height, it meant fewer building materials were required, which was convenient as domestic animals large enough to pull wagons were scarce and proper roads were limited. Smaller houses were easier to heat and cool than larger ones due to climatic conditions. Firewood was insufficient in the region and the inhabitants had serious problems in warming their homes. They made very small windows to prevent the cold weather from entering the homes. The tiny windows also allowed the day light into the homes.

Inhabitants of Makhunik did not drink tea until 50 years ago, hunt and eat meat because of considering them as guilt. There are also no TVs anywhere, as the villagers believe that they are from the Satan.

The residents of the village mostly depend on pasturing their livestock and also agriculture. Some of them work in a mine near the village. Most of their agricultural products include wheat, garlic, turnip, beetroot, carrot, tomato, onion and saffron.

They speak in Persian with the special accent of the area. Nobody smokes in this village. People of Makhunik consider smoking as taboo and dangerous for the community.

About a hundred years ago people found out about the existence of this village, so that the connection was made and vehicles opened their way to the village. In the past, the lack of animals such as donkeys, cows, and horses in the area did not allow people to travel far to bring materials for building as well as foods. The village now has water, electricity, a health house, a primary school, a bathroom and several shops including grocery stores, butchers and bakers.

The inhabitants are now of average height and children have become taller as life standards improved in the region from the mid-20th century when construction of roads and growing numbers of vehicles have lessened their isolation. They have abandoned their ancient homes and moved into brick houses. The younger people go to nearby cities for work and women do some carpet weaving.

Important parts of Makhunik to visit are Sang Siah (Petroglyph of Makhunik), tower and castle building, Gol Anjir tower, astray house, Nader morde (Nader is dead).

A mummified body measuring 25cm was discovered in 2005. Experts said the mummy belonged to a baby who died about 400 years ago. The mummy showed that previous generations of Makhunik residents were shorter than the average human being.

The best time to visit Makhunik is spring. Summer is quite hot and winter is cold, so they are not good time to visit the village at all./MNA/

Iran U19 volleyball beats Brazil in friendly

News, News 2

Iranian boys volleyball team gained a 3-1 victory over Brazil in a Saturday friendly match in Tunisia. The team is preparing to defend its title at 2019 FIVB Boy’s World Championship which is going to start in the African country on August 21.

Iranian boys came from one set behind to defeat the powerful Brazil 3-1 on Saturday (20-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-20). Iran had earlier defeated Cuba and Egypt in two other friendly games which are being held as a form of tournament.

“This friendly game was very useful for Iran. Tomorrow we will face the winner of Tunisia and Italy which will be the final match of the tournament and our last preparing game before the world event,” the team’s coach Mohammad Vakili said after the game against Brazil.

The 2019 edition of FIVB Boy’s World Championship will be held from August 21 to 30 in Tunis, Tunisia. According to FIVB, the 20 participating teams will be divided into four pools of five teams each and will play a round-robin tournament. The bottom-ranked team of each pool will play classification matches for 17th-20th place in a round-robin system.

Iran is seeded in Pool B of competition along with Czech Republic, Italy, Colombia, and Bulgaria. Vakili’s boys will face Bulgaria on August 22, the Czech Republic on August 23, Colombia on August 24 and Italy on August 25.

With two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals, Iran is the third most decorated team in the event after Brazil and Russia. Iranians won their first title in 2007 where they defeated China in the final. Iran has taken part in 11 out of 15 editions of the games so far managing to advance to the semifinal in eight ones. /MNA/

SRI to deliver homegrown Pars 1 satellite in Dec.

News, News 1

Iran Space Research Center (SRI) is to deliver domestically designed and manufactured remote sensing satellite Pars 1 to Communication and IT Ministry in December 2019, the center’s head announced on Sunday.

As Hossein Samimi told Mehr news agency, Pars 1 is passing the final steps in SRI.

He added that the research center is planning to design and produce remote sensing satellite Pars 2 and in this regard will cooperate with Iranian universities and private companies.

“Pars 2 is more developed than Pars 1 and comes with a higher resolution and better operation,” he said.

SRI has many different projects namely remote sensing satellites such as Saba, Pars 1 and 2 and telecommunications satellites such as Mesbah-2, Zohreh, Ghaem-1 and SRIsat. .

The center is focused on producing ‘Remote Sensing’ and ‘Communication Satellites’ based on the sixth five-year development plan of Iran.

It is intended to develop space technology by conducting research, plan making, localization, implementing and monitoring projects as well as recruiting and training professionals in different space-related areas./MNA/

Message of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution to the great Hajj

News, News 3, Supreme Leader of Iran

In the name of Allah, the most Beneficent, the most Merciful
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace be upon his exalted, trustworthy messenger, Muhammad the last of the prophets, and his pure progeny, especially the one remaining with Allah on earth, and on his chosen companions and those who faithfully followed them, until the day of judgment.

Every year, the time of Hajj is the resort for the Islamic Ummah where they receive the Lord’s mercy. Quran’s call of “And proclaim Hajj among men” [Quran 22:27] is a call to everyone throughout history to come to this distribution of mercy, so that their God-seeking hearts and souls, and their thoughts and views benefit from its advantages; and every year, the lessons and teachings of Hajj propagate throughout Muslim world by congregations of people.

The Hajj presents a miniature scale of a set of fundamental pillars of the Islamic society by placing the elixir of Dhikr and servitude—which is the main element for the cultivation, progress, and growth of individuals and the society— next to congregation and unity, which are the symbols of the unified Ummah; the movement around a unique center, and on the path towards a common goal—which are the keys to the endeavor and livelihood of the Ummah based on monotheism—;and through harmony among every Hajj pilgrim, where there is no distinction—which is the sign of removing discrimination and providing everyone with the same opportunity. Every one of the rituals of Hajj including Ihram, Tawaf, Sa’i, wuquf, ramy, movement and repose, is a symbolic reminder of a part of the picture presented by Islam of its ideal society.

Exchange of knowledge and assets between people of different countries and places far apart, and spreading awareness and experience, asking for the news of one another, removing barriers of misunderstanding, bringing the hearts closer, and storing strength to confront common enemies are the vital and magnificent outcomes of Hajj, which otherwise would not be achieved through hundreds of the usual and typical gatherings.

The ritual of Bara’ah which means refusing every instance of mercilessness, cruelty, wrongdoing and corruption of the tyrants of any time, and rising against intimidation and unjust levy by the arrogant throughout history, is one of the great advantages of Hajj, and an opportunity for oppressed Muslim nations. Today, repudiating the front of shirk [polytheism] and kufr [disbelief] made up of the arrogant powers—the foremost of them being the U.S.—equals refusing the killing of the oppressed, and waging wars. It equals condemning the sources of terrorism, including ISIS and the American Black Water. It is the Islamic Ummah’s shout at the child killers of the Zionist regime, and their backers and cohorts. It is a condemnation of The United States and their associates’ warmongering, in the sensitive regions of West Asia and North Africa, who have pushed the nations’ pain and suffering beyond limits and who bring them new catastrophes every day. It means refusing racism, and discrimination based on geography, race, and color of skin. It means refusing the arrogant and vicious behavior of aggressive and seditious powers against dignified, noble and just behavior recommended to everyone by Islam.

These are some of the benedictions of the Abrahamic Hajj that the pure Islam calls us to. And this is the incarnation of an important part of the ideals of the Islamic society that every year, through every one of the participating Muslims, and directed by Hajj, puts on a grand and rich spectacle, calling everyone through a clear language, to try to create such a society.

The elite of the Muslim world, some of whom are now present at Hajj from different countries, have a crucial and important duty. These lessons must be transferred to all nations and the public through their efforts and ingenuity, and moral exchange of ideas, motivations, experience, and knowledge must be realized by them.

Today, one of the most important issues of the Muslim world is Palestine, which is at the top of Muslims’ political issues, regardless of their school of thought, race, and language. The greatest injustice in recent history has happened in Palestine. In this painful affair, all that a nation had—their land, homes, farms, belongings, dignity, and identity—was confiscated. With God’s assistance, this nation has not surrendered to defeat, and has not given up, and today, they are on the battlefields more enthusiastic, and braver than yesterday. But the ultimate outcome requires assistance from all Muslims. The ploy of Deal of the Century prepared by the oppressive U.S., and its treasonous cohorts, is a crime against human society, and not just the Palestinian nation. We are inviting everyone to active participation in overcoming this deception by the enemy, and with the power and help of God, we consider this and every other ruse by the arrogant front doomed to failure against the efforts, and faith of the Resistance front.

Almighty Allah said: “Or do they intend a plot? But those who defy Allah are themselves involved in a Plot!” [Quran 52:42]. True is what Almighty Allah said. I supplicate Almighty God for success, blessing, comfort, and acceptance of prayers for every one of you respected pilgrims.

Sayyed Ali Khamenei
August 6th, 2019 (Dhu’l-Hijjah 3rd, 1440)

‘Box Man’ receives 2 nominations at Hollywood Dreams Filmfest.

Art & Culture, News, News 6

Iranian short ‘Box Man’ written and directed by Manouchehr Teymourzadeh was nominated in two categories at Hollywood Dreams Film Festival in the US.

The Iranian short film ‘Box Man’, in its third international screening, was nominated for best foreign film and best supporting actor award at Hollywood Dreams Film Festival in the US.

The film had previously taken part at the 9th London Lift-Off Film Festival in the UK, and was nominated in three categories at the Action on Film MegaFest Festival in the US.

Written and directed by Manouchehr Teymourzadeh, ‘Box Man’ narrates the story of a middle-aged reporter who is making a film about a teenager who lives inside a box and refuses to come out despite his mother’s pleas. Meanwhile, the reporter gets closer to the world of the teenager and becomes enraptured by his life inside a box.

The Hollywood Dreams International Film Festival (HDIFF) and Writers Event is dedicated to the movement, the language and the power of Film, Video and the Written Word. Film is a powerful tool that crosses all boundaries and languages and connects people universally, says the event’s website.

HDIFF is the sister festival to the long running Action on Film MegaFest Festival in the United States. /MNA/

MSP Iranian filmfest. to screen 7 acclaimed films in US

Art & Culture, News, News 2

The second annual MSP Iranian Film Festival, slated for mid-August in Minneapolis, US, features seven award-winning and acclaimed Iranian films.

MSP Film Society celebrates the varied perspectives on modern Iran with seven films, including ‘African Violet’, ‘Orange Days, ‘Bomb, A Love Story’, ‘Dressage’ and ‘The Girls’, according to the event’s website.

The second annual MSP Iranian Film Festival will take place on August 15-18, 2019 at the Film Society’s Screen 3 at St. Anthony Main Theatre, Minneapolis, US.

The Festival showcases acclaimed and award-winning new Iranian cinema, and presents a variety of themes, genres, and perspectives of contemporary Iran.

On Sunday, August 19, a reception celebrates the end of the film festival and the beginning of Twin Cities Iranian Culture Week.

Encore performances of three films are scheduled throughout Iranian Culture Week.

/ MNA/

Guests from 27 countries to attend Iran’s children filmfest.

Art & Culture, Art & Culture 1, News, News 1

Director of 32nd International Film Festival for Children and Youth, Alireza Tabesh, said several foreign guests from 27 countries would attend this prestigious cinematic event later this month.

He also emphasized the importance of the quality of films which has been submitted to the festival’s secretariat, adding that the festival has abandoned the tradition of film production for the festival and the quality of the films rather than quantity matters.

“In this edition of the festival, we have established a video library section and invited the regional and international distributors to the event,” he added.

In the course of the festival, for the first time in the country, the economic profiling of films will be presented to the filmmakers on their way to the national competition.

“The industries adjacent to the cinema industry are of fundamental importance in the boom in film production” he said.

Paying Special attention to animation and short animation films works leading to the National Competition Section, having a close look at non-cinematic short and feature films and launching new web series section are all indications that the festival in this era has a particular look which will go beyond just cinema,” he added.

“In this edition of the festival three top cinematic figures of children and youth cinema including filmmaker Mahin Javaherian, leading filmmaker Alireza Rezadad and top artist Maryam Saadat would be commemorated,” Tebesh added.

Out of 217 films including 12 feature, 105 short films, 16 long feature, 16 short, 66 short, 6 animated, 39 weblog, 36 works were selected by the Iranian Selection Board of National Section of the festival including 7 feature, 10 short feature, 7 long feature and 12 short animated films.
He added that 235 movies were submitted to the international sections of the festival secretariat of which 100 features, 45 animated features, 40 animated short, and 50 short fiction were reviewed by the International Selection Board and eventually 42 films were selected including 12 feature, 10 animated feature, 11 animated short and 9 short fiction films.

Tabesh reiterated that 39 works also have been submitted to the web series of the festival.

Asked about the number of international films and the impact of sanctions on the films’ presence in the festival, he said: “The festival is a symbol of public diplomacy, especially when our enemies are trying to tarnish the real image of our country.”

Commenting on presence of Turkish film’s participation in the event, he said: “Fortunately we will have participants from Turkey and we will hold several international workshops.”

Tabesh underscored that the motto of festival is to make the flood-hit children’s dream come true.
“In collaboration with the Iran Youth Cinema Association, a mobile cinema would be established in the flood-hit areas in Iran to display the festival’s film,” he added.

Presided by Tabesh, the 32nd International Film Festival for Children and Youth is slated to be held in Province of Isfahan on August 19-26, 2019 in the national and international sections./ MNA/

Leader calls on youth to push forward sci-tech boundaries

News, News 3, Supreme Leader of Iran

The Islamic Revolution Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei called on the elite youth generation to strongly continue scientific growth of the country and to enhance boundaries of science and technology.

He made the remarks in a Wednesday meeting with a group of Iranian students who have managed to collect medals in different international science olympiads as well as members of Iran’s U21 volleyball team which collected the world title last week.

“Achieving beneficial scientific progress for the country is possible through a revolutionary, Islamic-based approach, and elite youths must set the primary goal for reaching the frontiers of science and technology and pushing them forward,” said the Leader.

“Despite the efforts that have been made in the scientific and technological movement after the Islamic Revolution, especially in the past twenty years, we still have a long way to go, and the most important task of the elite generation is to push forward the boundaries of knowledge in addition to continuing their successful scientific path,” Ayatollah Khamenei stressed.

Refereeing to Iran’s great achievements and top ranks in the field of nanotechnology, he noted, “it is now expected that elite and next-generation youth would discover hundreds of such fields as nanoscience as well as unknown scientific phenomena in areas such as biotechnology. They should not be satisfied with the mere continuation of the scientific path.”

Elsewhere, Ayatollah Khamenei pointed to Iran’s winning the title of 2019 FIVB U21 Men’s World Championship, saying, “thanks to God, our youth volleyball players were able to turn into a source of pride and stand at the top of the world. This is a very valuable achievement that made people happy.”

He went on to say that gaining this trophy with an Iranian coach is so important. “I have always believed that it befits the country’s sports teams would have Iranian coaches.” /MNA/