Iranian Artists Forum honors filmmaker Nasser Taqvaii

Cineastes Masud Kimiaii, Saeid Pursamimi, Ashkan Khatibi, Seifollah Samadian, graphic designer Ebrahim Haqiqi, writer and translator Najaf Daryabandari, and IAF Director Majid Sarsangi attended the ceremony.

Speaking at the event, Kimiaii called Taqvaii an intimate friend, “I have always disagreed with Taqvaii for not making a film, because if he had made films, we would not have been left alone.”

“We came from an era that took cinema seriously. Taqvaii made his efforts with literature, short films and documentaries, and whatever he produced turned out to be a masterpiece in its time,” he explained.

Sarsangi regarded Taqvaii as a genius of Iranian cinema, “He is an intellectual, a filmmaker who is familiar with literature and writes books and articles.”

“Taqvaii is a filmmaker with idealistic values who prefers to deter himself from making films, and has concentrated on more personal activities such as literature and photography,” Sarsangi said.

Pursamimi called Taqavii an individual who mixed filmmaking with different types of arts and created a new style of filmmaking.

Taqvaii’s actress wife Marzieh Vafamehr made a brief speech and called Taqvaii a filmmaker with a modern outlook on cinema.

“Captain Khorshid” director Taqvii was next called on stage to speak, who said, “Nobody has forced me not to work, however, in the current cultural atmosphere, there is no room to work easily.

“I am not making films these days, but I teach cinema and try to concentrate on the current condition of screenwriting in Iran,” he continued.

However, the concept of screenplay and story needs to be differentiated, he said, “The problem is that a story needs to be turned into a screenplay and later appears on silver screens.”

“Directors like Kimiaii and (Dariush) Mehrjuii know both screenplay and filmmaking, and they can make good productions, but there are not many like them in our cinema,” Taqvaii said.

He also stressed that he is busy these days, though he has not made features for a long time, adding that he has produced several documentaries and short films. “We are far behind in making documentaries since we do not possess the equipment we need in order to make interesting docs,” he concluded.

“Tranquility in the Presence of Others” and “The Curse” are among Taqvaii’s other credits.

The ceremony was brought to an end by handing the plaque of “Cypress of Art” to Taqvaii.