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focus on víctor erice and abbas kiarostami

The Spirit of the Beehive (El espíritu de la colmena)

Bound together by the poetry of people and place, survey rare early works and classics by the directors featured in Correspondences, plus key works from their respective film traditions.

"Smugglers of meaning and masters of pure image" (program curator Amree Hewitt on Abbas Kiarostami and Víctor Erice).



Thursday 2 October - Sunday 12 October 2008
Full $13 Concession $10
6 Session Package: Full $60 Concession $48

Thanks to Kanoon: Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children & Young Adults, Tehran; Maryam Bafekrpour; Instituto de la Cinematografía y de las Artes Audiovisuales (ICAA) Madrid; Manuel Llamas Antón; El Ministerio de Cultura; Pilar Torre; Nasrine Médard de Chardon; Rocio Garcia; Pina Virtuoso; Queenie Chan, Peter Lawson.

the wind will carry us (bad mara khahad bourd) The modern world is confounded by traditional life in Abbas Kiarostami's masterwork of sparse grace and panoramic visual beauty.

the south (el sur) Made ten years after The Spirit of the Beehive, Víctor Erice's second feature is an emotional rendering of a story by Adelaida García Morales.

the runner (davandeh) The first post-revolution film to gain significant attention in the West, Amir Naderi's work has been a key influence on New Iranian cinema.

where is my friends house (khaneh-ye doost kojast?) The first, and seemingly most simple, feature film in what has become known as Kiarostami's 'Koker trilogy'.

the spirit of the beehive (el espíritu de la colmena) Vast landscapes, train tracks leading to infinity, and the unforgettable face of the child Ana - these images define Erice's 1973 feature debut.

the experience (tadjrobeh) + the wedding suit (lebasi bara-ye aroussi) A rare chance to see two pivotal early works from Kiarostami, at a time when he was honing his craft and refining his (and our) view of the world.

the delinquents (los golfos) The first Spanish film shot on location, Carlos Saura's1959 film cast youths from Madrid's slums in leading roles, and was not enjoyed by Franco.

and life goes on (va zendegi edameh darad) Kiarostami returns to Koker in his semi-fictional tale of a filmmaker searching for his lead actors in the aftermath of a massive earthquake.

through the olive trees (zir-e derakhtan-e zeytun) The final in his Koker 'trilogy', Kiarostami displays wry wit in depicting a director whose non-professional actors' real lives contradict his vision.

from pink ... to yellow (del rosa al amarillo) This dual tale of love was Manuel Summers' directorial debut and a key film of the early years of the Nuevo Cine Español.

the taste of cherry (ta'm-e gilas) The first Iranian film to win the Cannes Palme d'Or, this darker vision from Kiarostami turns the bleak into the beautiful.

the quince tree sun (el sol del membrillo) Erice's third (and to date last) film is a portrait of Madrid painter Antonio Lopez, a meld of reality, fiction and aesthetic contemplation.

the traveller (mosafer) A young boy scams those around him in order to achieve his dream of attending a soccer match in Tehran, in Kiarostami's first feature film.