By April MacIntyre Apr 19, 2009, 18:34 GMT
Iranian cinema will be honored in Beverly Hills, CA. for the third annual Noor Iranian Film Festival.
Following the screening, Reza Badiyi, world renowned director, will be awarded the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award. Badiyi holds the record for the most hours of television directed.
Celebrity judges, nominees and the Lifetime Achievement Award recipient for the 3rd annual Noor Iranian Film Festival were announced today by Siamak Ghahremani, director and co-founder of the Festival.
The film festival celebrates the large Iranian population in the United States and the cultural ties to Iran. The festival presents films from Iran and around the world that an American audience would not typically have access to and strives to bring diverse communities together through the storytelling medium of film. The festival organizers hope to promote further positive Iranian-American dialogue with regards to Iranian-American's contributions to the American cultural landscape.
The Noor Iranian Film Festival will commence on May 1 until May 3 at the Fine Arts Theater in Beverly Hills .
The celebrity judges will include Rudi Bakhtiar (anchor - CNN and Fox News); Esai Morales (actor - NYPD Blue, Jericho); Ali Pourtash (actor - The Stoning of Soraya M.); Habib Zargarpour (visual effects supervisor and two-time Oscar nominee, Perfect Storm, Twister) and Brook Adams (actress - Monk, Invasion of the Body Snatchers).
The closing ceremony will be held on May 3 at the Fine Arts Theater with red carpet arrivals beginning at 6:30 pm PST.
The ceremony will include the screening of the Noor Iranian Film Festival nominated film, Otis E., starring Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Wilds Hogs); Peter Stormare (Fargo, Prison Break); David Diaan (Stoning of Soraya M., America So Beautiful); Marina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) and James Gammon (Appaloosa, Cold Mountain, Nash Bridges).
Born in Tehran Iran, Mr. Badiyi moved to United States in the 1960s to pursue a film career. He was educated at Syracuse University.
With over 40 years of industry experience which include over 400 hours of primetime television, four feature films, and more than 60 documentaries, he is the most prolific smallscreen director in American television.
His directing credits include episodes of Mission Impossible, Star Treck Nine, Hawaii Five-O, The Six Million Dollar Man, Starsky and Hutch, Cagney and Lacey, Falcon Crest, Baywatch, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, La Femme Nikita and dozens more.
Mr. Badiyi received the Gold Medal of Art from the Shah of Iran. He also received the Directors Guild of America award for most hours of television directing.
“Noor Iranian Film Festival is proud to bring the best of Iranian films to the U.S. audience for the third year in a row.” said Ghahremani. “It’s very exciting to have such an impressive and talented lineup of celebrity judges. We are also honored to present the 2009 Lifetime achievement award to a prominent and commendable director such as Mr. Badiyi.”
This year’s festival will feature long and short films created by Iranians around the world.
The 2009 Noor Iranian Film Festival nominees include:
FILM DURATION COUNTRY
Donkey in Lahore 117:00:00 AUSTRALIA
Sometimes Virtual 100:00:00 CANADA
Hayedeh 100:00:00 NETHERLANDS
Flags at Kaveh's Castle 97:00:00 IRAN
Ottis E 86:00:00 U.S.
Warring Factions 78:00:00 U.S.
Niloofar 77:00:00 FRANCE
Tehran: Another Side 63:00:00 U.S.
Young Republic 47:04:00 U.S.
Help 40:00:00 U.S.
The Generation at Nowhereland 37:00:00 U.S.
The Florist 20:00:00 U.S.
In the Dark 17:00:00 U.S.
Hoviat e Man 7:21:00 U.S.
Story Karvansara 7:00:00 U.S.
Slowness 5:11:00 IRAN
A Letter Home 4:31:00 U.S.
For more information on the nominated films, please visit here
“The nominees represent some of the best Iranian films makers from around the world,” added Ghahremani. “Noor Iranian Film Festival is delighted to be the catalyst to showcase this remarkable collection of films."
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