Waiting for Godot
Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot.
JawsHarp Solo
JawsHarp Solo by Martin Shamoonpour. December 14, 2001.
Learning to Walk (1978)
Learning to Walk (1978, Yugoslavia). Written and directed by Borivoj Dovnikovic-Bordo.
Ménilmontant
Dimitri Kirsanoff’s Ménilmontant, an avant garde silent movie from 1926.
Elegy
Elegy: Arno Babadjanyan (1921-1983). In memory of Aram Khatchaturian (melody after Sayat Nova).
Arrangment: Sormeh, Lyrics: Golnar Shahyar, Mona Matbou Riahi
Glenn Gould plays Bach
Extracts from “The art of Piano” documentary show Glenn Gould playing J.S.Bach’s Partita #2.
“Every nation is a lie for which time and history have gradually fashioned an appearance of truth – as they did for ancient myths and classical legends. No nation ever arose naturally. The coherence and fraternity that a few still display conceal alarming realities beneath fine literary, historical and artistic fictions that underpin their identity. In these nations too those “contradictions and differences” – creeds, races, customs, languages, and not always minority languages – were demolished, for just like Albert Camus’s Caligula, the Nation needs to eliminate these things in order to feel secure, safe from the risk of fragmentation.”
—Mario Vargas Llosa
Two lights
Two lights. by Sourena Parham. Williamstown, November 7, 2011.
The First Love
The First Love (1952) by Gambar Huseinli. Performed by Ramiz Guliyev (Tar).
The Screen
The screen, New York, January 2009. Photo by Sourena Parham.
Hè, te!
Hè, te! by Péter Szoboszlay’s (Hungary, 1976)
When I am Sad
When I am sad. An animation by Aglaia Mortcheva.
Green Grass and Crazy Hair
Two unknown teenagers, Agathe Peyrat and Josephine Stephenson, sing the Tom Waits’ song “Green Grass” in a way that really touches my heart. It is about three hours I am listening to this song.
Ranjbar-Daemi: Clericals and Seminaries in Modern Iran
Siavush Randjbar-Daemi’s speech at “Clericals and Seminaries in Modern Iran” Conference, SOAS, 9 April 2011.
Daily Show: Lewis Black on Donald Trump’s Presidency
Lewis Black thinks Donald Trump has what it takes to be the crazy third-world dictator that America needs.
“Eshgh e Aasemaani”
From the album “Bord o Baakht” (March 2011) by the Iranian-American band Eendo. “Bord o Baakht” is the debut album Ardalan Payvar and Shaadbaanoo.
Vanak Square, Tehran – March 16, 2008
I recorded this in Vanak Square in Tehran, March 16, 2008.
Impromobilivisation XIII
Impromobilivisation XIII by Kiawasch Sahebnassagh.
Mohsen Namjoo’s “Andar Omidvari”
Namjoo really touches my heart in this song. His pessimistic lyrics and the song’s sad and bitter music is so much about my generationʾs life story in Iran.
Nasseredin Shah and his 84 wives
A film by Beate Petersen
In 1842 the 11 year-old heir to the Persian throne, Nasseredin Mirza, received a photographic camera from Queen Victoria of England. In the following decades he documented his life: his many wives, his jesters and clowns, his glorious palaces, and his jewels and treasures. As such he revealed to the public eye, what the public eye never was supposed to see.
Through animated sequences and photos taken by Nasseredin Shah and his court, the film depicts the rivalry and intrigues within the harem, the corruption, the secret murders, the political power struggle, the Shah’s obsession with a beautiful calico cat, as well as Persia’s troubled relation to Europe.
Obama on Libya
The world is a better place without Ghaddafi.
The transcript: Obama on Libya
Also read:
Women in Photography
Women in Photography is a collection of works by photography works by women, including the famous collection of Qajar style women by Shadi Ghadirian.
A Source of Quotes
Quotevadis is a Tumblr blog that has nothing but an endless list of quotes.
Bahram Bayzai’s “The Raven”
This is the only part of the movie “The Raven” (1976), by Bahram Bayzai that is available. The movie is archived in the National Film Archive of Iran for years, banned to be screened since 1976.
Celebrities
Downtown Los Angeles, Olvera Street, 2006.
Photo by Sourena Parham.