Iran continues to be a reservoir of fresh filmmaking talent in world cinema. This is testified to by the steady stream of prizes for Iranian films at prestigious film festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Montreal, Pusan, and Chicago last year-including several Best First Film awards. New Directors, New Directions, a series curated by critic, educator, and filmmaker Jamsheed Akrami, focuses on the achievements of the generation of Iranian filmmakers, women and men, who began their careers in the 1990s. While some in this generation have become internationally known through festival prizes and Academy Award nominations, the focus of our series is on new directors whose works remain largely unknown even in Iran. Collectively they hold the promise of extending the fine cinematic tradition established by Abbas Kiarostami, Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Amir Naderi, Bahram Beyzai, et al. We wish to thank Professor Jamsheed Akrami, Director, Broadcast Media Group, Department of Communication, William Paterson University. Special thanks also to Hossein Khosrowjah, filmmaker and lecturer at San Francisco State University, whose program notes for our calendar offer additional insight into the films. We also thank Amir Esfandiari of Farabi Cinema Organization, Mohammad Atebbai of Iranian Independents, and Ali-Reza Shahrokhi of Cima Media International (CMI).
