Iranian Taboo

Iranian Taboo by Iranian-Dutch filmmaker, Reza Allamehzadeh. Iranian Taboo takes us across continents from Turkey to Israel, and from the U.S. to Iran and gives us a unique insights into the persecution of Baha’is of Iran -from the underground Baha’i University (BIHE) to the oppressed Baha’i peasants of the Eival village in the northern province of Mazandaran. The film includes never seen before interviews with some of the most respected Iranian scholars, authors and politicians, speaking about the persecution of Baha’is in Iran.

The Gardener

The Gardener The Baha’i faith is explored by Iranian father-son filmmakers Mohsen and Maysam Makhmalbaf

BUSAN — The Gardener marks the first time in decades — perhaps since the Iranian Revolution in 1979 — that an Iranian filmmaker has shot a movie in Israel, and what it has to say about religion and world peace is as radical a statement as unconventional filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf (The Bicyclist, Kandahar) has ever made. Filmed amid the extravagant colors of nature at the Baha’i world headquarters in Haifa, Mohsen and his cameraman-son Maysam Makhmalbaf amicably debate the role of religion in life and war in an engaging, good-humored introduction to the Baha’i Faith. The deep spirituality it discusses so intelligently will appeal to open-minded viewers and should reach beyond festivals via culture channels.