From June 17 to 30, Filmtheater De Fabriek dives into the Iranian rock scene with the latest film by Bahman Ghobadi: 'No One Knows about Persian Cats' (Iran, 2009), which won a special jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year. In this film, an Iranian rock band attempts to leave their country in a creative but clandestine manner.

On Friday, June 25, this film will be introduced and discussed by Iran experts Sahand Sahebdivani and Sara Mohammadi. They will engage in a debate about contemporary (cultural) Iran, the (im)possibility of making music freely there, and the precarious situation of the musicians we see in the film.

Following the post-screening discussion between Sahebdivani & Mohammadi, a unique musical performance will take place in the cinema hall. Unfortunately, for safety reasons, we cannot name the performing artist here.

To conclude the evening in style, Café Fabriek and the Iranian Film Festival offer you a free performance by the Mezrab Connection following the film and music program. This Amsterdam-based group blends traditional Persian music with steamy flamenco and cheerful contemporary (pop) music into a swinging whole.

You can find more information about 'No One Knows about Persian Cats' at www.iraansfilmfestival.nl

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Sahand Sahebdivani (1980) is a writer, storyteller, and musician. In the early 1980s, he fled Iran with his parents and settled in Amsterdam. Sahebdivani produces radio programs for the NMO and Radio Zamaneh, among others; the latter is a radio station that broadcasts uncensored radio programs from the Netherlands to Iranians all over the world. Sahand is a professional storyteller and also writes about Iran for publications such as De Groene Amsterdammer and various weblogs. In addition, together with his parents, he has been running his Persian teahouse, Mezrab, in Amsterdam for many years with great enthusiasm and success.

Sara Mohammadi has been a film programmer for the Iranian Film Festival since its inception in 2005. She came to the Netherlands to study and live in 2001. Mohammadi worked for the NPO, among others, as a New Media Concept Developer and currently works as an Online Marketing Project Manager for This is Africa, a Kenyan radio station in the Netherlands.

This program is brought to you by The Iranian Film Festival/WOEST and Cafe Fabriek. www.iraansfilmfestival/cafefabriek.nl

Location
Jan Sijbrandssteeg 12, Zaandam



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