TEHRAN – The Bozar Center for Fine Arts in Brussels will pay tribute to the legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami during a program on January 16.

Agnes Devictor, a French specialist in Iran’s war cinema, is also scheduled to attend the program, the organizers have announced.

Kiarostami’s close friend Seifollah Samadian’s montage film “76 Minutes and 15 Seconds with Abbas Kiarostami” will be screened at the program.

The title of the film refers to the duration of Kiarostami’s life, 76 years and 15 days, and shows a picture of Kiarostami as a filmmaker, photographer, poet, graphic designer, video artist and even as a carpenter.

In addition, “Take Me Home”, Abbas Kiarostami’s final work that is a characteristically playful tour of the alleys and stairways of southern Italy, with a soccer ball as our guide, will also go on screen.

Kiarostami had been involved from 1940 in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries. He attained critical acclaim for directing “Close-Up”, “Taste of Cherry”, “The Wind Will Carry Us”, “Certified Copy” and “Like Someone in Love”.

A winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1997 for his “Taste of Cherry”, Kiarostami died July 2016 at the age of 76.

Paul Dujardin, the CEO and artistic director of Bozar, visited the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization (ICRO) Deputy Director Abbas Khameyar in Tehran in July 2016 and discussed the development of cultural relations between Iran and Belgium.

Photo: Abbas Kiarostami in an undated photo. 

RM/MMS/YAW