Bibliographer Ahmad Monzani dies at 90

TEHRAN – Prominent Iranian bibliographer Ahmad Monzani who was a recognized expert on Persian manuscripts, died of natural causes at his home in Tehran on Friday evening. He was 90.
The two-volume bibliography of manuscripts that he wrote for the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia won great acclaim at the 24th Book of the Year Awards in February 2007.

He was the son of Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Mohammad-Hassan Razi better-known as Aqa Bozorg Tehrani who was an expert on Islamic bibliography.

His funeral procession is scheduled to commence from the Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia on Tuesday at 9 a.m. He will be laid to rest in the Luminaries’ Section of Tehran’s Behesht Zahra Cemetery.

Iranian director to take “Veronica’s Room” to Masudieh Mansion

TEHRAN – Iranian theater troupe led by Reza Servati is scheduled to perform American writer Ira Marvin Levin’s “Veronica’s Room” at Masudieh Mansion in downtown Tehran today.

The play, rendered into Persian by Mitra Shakeri, tells the story of a young couple, Susan and Larry, who opt to stay with a middle-aged Irish couple. The hosts explain that Veronica, who died of consumption, used to live in their room and that Susan looks very much like her.

Iman Afsharian, Morteza Esmaeil-Kashi, Setareh Pesyani and Behnaz Jafari are the main members of the cast.


Tehran museum to screen “Werckmeister Harmonies”

TEHRAN – The cinematheque of the Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art (TMCA) will screen Hungarian filmmaker Bela Tarr’s “Werckmeister Harmonies” today at 5 p.m.

The movie based on László Krasznahorkai’s novel “The Melancholy of Resistance” is about Janos and his uncle Gyorgy during the Soviet occupation of Hungary at the end of World War II.

Shot in black-and-white, the film shows their journey among helpless citizens as a dark circus comes to town casting an eclipse over their lives.


Turkish festival to screen “Bartalakbaz”

TEHRAN – Iranian filmmaker Sajjad Ahmadbeigi’s “Bartalakbaz” will go on screen at the 6th Yilmaz Guney Short Film Festival, slated to be held in the Turkish city of Batman from December 16 to 20.

Produced by the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS), the movie is about wildlife poaching and its probable consequences on the vivid natural scenery of the western Iranian province of Ilam.


“When Sanam Cried” crowned best at Caminhos filmfest

TEHRAN – Iranian short “When Sanam Cried” co-directed by Fariborz Ahanin and Majid Sheyda has won the award for best film at the 21st Caminhos Film Festival, which was held in Coimbra, Portugal from November 27 to December 5.

The movie tells the story of Sanam, a six-year-old girl who has never cried even at the time when she was born. However, her elderly sister Saba posts a video of her on the internet to seek a way to solve the problem.


Culture minister, ISESCO envoy meet in Tehran

TEHRAN – Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati and the envoy of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, met in Tehran on Wednesday to discuss ways for expansion of relations.

Al-Ghamdi also conveyed a message from ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri seeking to revive some of the previous memorandums of understanding.

ISESCO is one of the major international Islamic organizations and specializes in the fields of education, science and culture.

Established in May 1979 by the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the ISESCO headquartered is located in Rabat, Morocco.


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