Fajr International Visual Arts Festival Wraps Up

TEHRAN (Press TV ) --The second Fajr International Visual Arts Festival ends with a ceremony at Vahdat Hall in Iran's capital city, Tehran.
The closing ceremony of the Fajr International Visual Arts Festival in Tehran began with speeches by festival organizers and tributes paid to Iranian masters of visual arts.
The international program, which presented all different branches of visual arts under one umbrella, aimed to further encourage the growing trend of visual arts in Iran.
Various paintings, sculptures, potteries, miniatures, photos and calligraphy were exhibited during the festival.
The Director General of the Visual Arts Center announced during the ceremony that a total of 2,500 works of art by 1,000 artists had been presented in the festival.
Works by artists from 79 countries, including India, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Russia, Peru, Argentina, Indonesia, and China were displayed at the event. festival.
Significant artworks from the 2nd Fajr International Visual Arts Festival will be shown in exhibits across the country.
Artists perform traditional music during the festival.


Maestros Pay Tribute to Musician Bijan Kamkar

TEHRAN (MNA) -- Iranian masters of music Shahram Nazeri, Keikhosro Purnazeri, Ali-Akbar Shekarchi, Jalal Zolfonun, Mohammad Sarir Hossein Yusef-Zamani, and several others gathered for a ceremony held in honor of vocalist and daf player Bijan Kamkar.
Bijan is a member of the Iranian traditional music group Kamkars and has been suffering digestive disorders for the past two years. He has been hospitalized several times and has undergone a number of operations.
The ceremony honoring Kamkar was held at Arasbaran Cultural Center on Saturday evening with the veteran musicians attending.
Maestro Purnazeri, Shams Band conductor first talked about his old friend Bijan, saying that they were schoolmates.
“All musicians know the daf very well. The instrument has captivated the entire country over the past 30 years, and we owe this to Bijan’s diligent efforts to introduce it to the world of Iran’s music.
“Iran’s music is indebted to the Kamkars family and Bijan has played a major role in singing and playing the daf,” he remarked.
Vocalist Shahram Nazeri also came on stage singing a beautiful song for his friend Bijan and said, “While there are many active artists in the country, only a few of them are innovators and Bijan is one of them.”
Nazeri also spoke of Kamkars’ father and said, “He did his best to teach music and train musicians in the Kurdistan region.”
The ceremony continued with several other speeches and live music performances.
Bijan also appeared on the stage with his wife, singer Najmeh Tajaddod. Expressing the utmost of his appreciation to her, he said, “Behind each artist and scholar is a wonderful and powerful wife. My wife suffered a lot and tolerated the difficulties I dealt with over the past two years. She has stood beside me all these years.”
The ceremony was brought to an end at midnight by unveiling the bust of Bijan Kamkar.


Hedyeh Tehrani Donates Awards and Memorabilia to Museum

TEHRAN (MNA) -- Iranian actress Hedyeh Tehrani donated a collection of her awards and memorabilia to the Film Museum of Iran.
16 items donated by Tehrani will go on display at the museum for the public in the near future.
Her awards from Pyongyang International Film Festival for best supporting actress in “Party”, a Crystal Simorgh for best leading actress in the 17th Fajr International Film Festival for “Red” are among the donated items.
Her role in Asghar Farhadi’s “Fireworks Wednesday” brought her the Best Actress Award at the 24th edition of the Fajr Film Festival in 2006.
In 2006, she appeared in Bahman Qobadi’s “Half Moon”, which received a Gold Shell award from the 54th San Sebastiلn International Film Festival.
“Hemlock” by Behruz Afkhami and “Soltan” by Masud Kimiaii are also among her credits.
Noruz national festival was held in Tehran on Sunday. Noruz, meaning new day, is celebrated on 21 March, the day of the vernal equinox, by more than 300 million people worldwide as the beginning of the new year. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years in the Middle East, the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and other regions.-Courtesy : Mehr News Agency


Puppet Adaptation of “Blind Owl” to Go on Stage in Tehran

TEHRAN (MNA) -- Nader Borhani-Marand is writing a puppet show adaptation of Sadeq Hedayat’s “Blind Owl” for the 13th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival.
“I am currently writing a play based on an adaptation of the ‘Blind Owl’ and director Azadeh Ansari will be taking this play on stage at the festival,” he told MNA.
“All the major characters of the story will be present in this puppet show. I have also made use of the character of writer Hedayat in this play. However, there might be some slight changes in the play before it goes on stage at the festival,” he added.
The festival usually runs in August in several of Tehran’s theaters. “Macondo”, an Iranian play directed by Ansari won the grand prize at the 12th Mobarak International Puppet Theater Festival last year.
On choosing the story for the puppet show, he said, “Blind Owl’ is an outstanding example of Iran’s contemporary literature and the troupe is highly enthusiastic about performing it on stage.”
“The Blind Owl,” about a painter who sees the presence of death in his murderous, feverish nightmares, is the most famous modern Persian novel both in Iran and Europe as well as in America.
It is considered Hedayat’s masterpiece and was not published in Iran until 1941. Many of Hedayat’s short stories, which have been translated in various languages, are regarded as among some of the best written in twentieth century Iran.


Iraq-Based 'The Hurt Locker' Triumphs at the Oscars

TEHRAN (Press TV) -- The movie industry's biggest stars gathered together in the 82nd annual Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood to recognize the year's top films and filmmakers.
With nine Oscar nominations each, Avatar and The Hurt Locker competed for most coveted awards.
The Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker won six prizes including the best picture and best director award at the Academy Awards.
Kathryn Bigelow has become the first woman in the 82-year history of the Oscars to earn Hollywood's top prize for filmmakers.
The complete list of the 82nd Oscar winners, announced on March 7, is as follows.
And the Oscar goes to…
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker by Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Nicolas Chartier and Greg Shapiro
Actor in a Leading Role: Jeff Bridges for 'Crazy Heart'
Actor in a Supporting Role: Christoph Waltz for 'Inglourious Basterds'
Actress in a Leading Role: Sandra Bullock for 'The Blind Side'
Actress in a Supporting Role: Mo'Nique for 'Precious': Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire
Animated Feature Film: Up by Pete Docter
Art Direction: Avatar, Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg (Art Direction); Kim Sinclair (Set Decoration)
Cinematography: Avatar, Mauro Fiore
Costume Design: The Young Victoria, Sandy Powell
Directing: The Hurt Locker by Kathryn Bigelow
Documentary Feature: The Cove by Louie Psihoyos and Fisher Stevens
Documentary: Short Music by Prudence
Roger Ross Williams and Elinor Burkett
Film Editing: The Hurt Locker, Bob Murawski and Chris Innis
Foreign Language Film: The Secret in Their Eyes (El Secreto de Sus Ojos) from Argentina directed by Juan José Campanella Makeup: Star Trek, Barney Burman, Mindy Hall and Joel Harlow
Music (Original Score): Up, Michael Giacchino
Music (Original Song): Crazy Heart, 'The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)' Music and Lyric by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett
Short Film (Animated): Logorama by Nicolas Schmerkin
Short Film (Live Action): The New Tenants by Joachim Back and Tivi Magnusson
Sound Editing: The Hurt Locker, Paul N.J. Ottosson
Sound Mixing: The Hurt Locker, Paul N.J. Ottosson and Ray Beckett
Visual Effects: Avatar, Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham and Andrew R. Jones
Writing (Adapted Screenplay) : 'Precious': Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire, screenplay by Geoffrey Fletcher
Writing (Original Screenplay): The Hurt Locker written by Mark Boal


Pistachios Lower Cancer Risk

TEHRAN (Press TV) --New findings show that pistachios have anticarcinogenic properties and protect cells from damage caused by free radicals that might lead to cancer.
The latest studies by German researchers suggest eating pistachios on a daily basis may reduce the risk of cancer by raising the amount of gamma-tocopherol in the body.
The US study cited by the German Lung Foundation say pistachios are a rich source of gamma-tocopherol, the major form of vitamin E, which guards against certain cancers.
Gamma-tocopherol has antioxidant properties. Antioxidants are substances thought to protect cells from damage that can be caused by molecules known as free radicals.
This protection could help prevent cancer from developing.
Researchers gave the study's participants 68 grams of pistachios daily for four weeks in addition to their normal diet.
The study group had a significantly higher level of gamma-tocopherol in comparison to the control group that received no pistachios.