July 2010
FRONTIER BLUES A film by Babak Jalali Persian/Turkmen with English Subtitles Special screening + Q&A with the director 30 July 2010 6:20 pm Renoir Cinema, Brunswick Centre WC1N 1AW On Iran's northern frontier with Turkmenistan, the land of "heartbreak and tractors", Jalali mines absurdist humour and quiet pathos from the immutable routines of a group of men.

Organised by

Artificial Eye and Caspian Films

Supported by

Iran Heritage Foundation

Introduction

Frontier Blues premiered at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2009 and has since shown at film festivals across the world including Edinburgh, New Directors/New Films at MOMA and Lincoln Centre in New York City, San Francisco, and Stockholm amongst others.

The film was written and directed by Babak Jalali and is his first feature film since his short, Heydar, an Afghan in Teheran earned him a BAFTA nomination in 2006. It was developed at the Cannes Film Festival Cinefondation Residency.

On Iran's northern frontier with Turkmenistan, the land of "heartbreak and tractors", Jalali mines absurdist humour and quiet pathos from the immutable routines of a group of men. Hassan, a Persian with Coke-bottle glasses whose only pal is his ever-present donkey, collects license plates and listens to a Francoise Hardy song over and over. His uncle runs a clothing store whose items never seem to fit his shoppers. A Turkmen minstrel—posing for a Tehrani photographer more interested in an exotic ideal than the real man in front of his camera—pines for the wife he lost 30 years ago, and Alam, a young Turkmen working on a chicken farm, devotes free time to learning English so that he can run away with the Persian woman he loves, but has never talked to.

Together, these characters go through the motions of living while preoccupied with escape. Against beautiful, dead-pan tableaux and a plaintive score, Jalali teases out the intense longing hidden behind his characters’ stoic expressions, crafting a humane and drolly charming first feature that leaves an indelible impression.

Iran/UK/Italy 2009
95 Minutes

Dates & Times

Special Screening + Q&A with the director
30 July 2010
6.20pm
Price £10.50

Regular screenings
30 July 2010 - 5 August 2010 - Screen 1

check with Renoir Cinema for times & prices

Booking & Enquiries

Renoir Cinema

www.curzoncinemas.com/films/frontier_blues

Box Office: 0871 7033 991 Recorded Information: 020 7837 8402
Tube: Russell Square

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