A frame from "Fog of War'

Antiwar American documentary ’The Fog of War’, directed by Errol Morris, was reviewed on Sunday at the ongoing 26th Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF).
According to ISNA, the session was attended by a number of critics including Abbas Maleki as well as Games Blight and Janet M. Lang who served as principal substantive advisors to Morris, during the three years his documentary ’The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara’ was in production.
They were also co-authors of a teacher’s guide for the film, which was underwritten by the film’s distributor, Sony Pictures Classics.
Speaking at the session, Blight said, “The film had widespread reactions ranging from approval to anger. Due to the keen public interest in the film, we decided to release it in the form of a teacher’s guide.“
He added that authentic war documents were incorporated in the book.
Maleki, an expert on international affairs, also said that dialogs with enemies are among the film’s features.
“It would be a good idea for our war filmmakers to interview Iraqi generals who invaded our country during 1980-1988,“ he said.
’The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara’ depicts the life of United States secretary of defense from 1961 to 1968, through the use of archival footage, White House recordings, and most prominently, an interview with McNamara at the age of 85.
The subject matter spans McNamara’s work as one of the ’Whiz Kids’ during World War II and as an executive at the Ford Motor Company to his involvement in the Vietnam War as secretary of defense under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.
The film won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature for 2003.

Names of jurors for radio and TV plays and performance pictures sections of the 26th Fajr International Theater Festival have been announced.
According to ISNA, Jahanshah Al-e Mahmoud, Shams Fazlollahi and Mahtaj Nojoumi will judge the entries at the section.
Al-e Mahmoud, a cinema graduate from Arts University, wrote the dramas ’That’s Enough for Tonight’, ’After That Day’ and the novel ’Like Dog, Black’.
Fazlollahi has been in the cast of performances ’Iranian Girl’, ’Sixth Storey’, ’Veis-o-Ramin’ and ’All My Boys’.
Nojoumi has so far directed more than 25 TV plays including ’Physicists’ and ’Mirror’ had participated in 19th Fajr International Theater Festival with the play ’Research on Myth of Arash Peace’.

A photograph of Hassan Esmailzadeh (Chalipa) carried during his funeral ceremony last year in Tehran.

Chalipa Museum and Artistic Foundation will be launched on February 13 to mark the first death anniversary of the late Hassan Esmailzadeh, a pioneer of teahouse painting in Iran.
Announcing this, Kazem Chalipa, a son of maestro Esmailzadeh, who is also a painter, told ISNA that a number of tableaux by the artist will be put on display at the museum.
Stating that the foundation seeks to conduct research on teahouse painting, he said, “No state entity has provided funds for the purpose.“
Esmailzadeh was born in Zanjan in 1922. He took up painting when he was seven under the guidance of maestro Mohammad Modabber who had the experience of working with Hossein Qollar-Agassi.
Esmailzadeh was also proficient in creating religious and epic paintings. Some of his works depict tales from Shahnameh (Book of Kings), an epic by renowned Iranian poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi as well as the events of Ashura.
Ashura, which is the tenth day of the lunar month of Moharram, marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Imam of the infallible household of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and 72 of his loyal companions in the plains of Karbala, in present-day Iraq.

Printing officials from member states of Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) in their first meeting on Sunday approved the establishment of a union for printing and publication.
According to a press release sent to Iran Daily by ECO Cultural Institute, the meeting opened with a message from Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Mohammad Hossein Saffar-Harandi.
Part of the message said that printing industry is considered one of the best areas of cooperation among member states. Given the potential facilities in the industry and the countries’ cultural and economic capacities, a bright future can be conceived for relations among the countries, he noted.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Rajabi, head of ECO Cultural Institute in Tehran called on all countries to cooperate in the field.
An exhibition of printing and packaging industry is regularly held in Iran and it’s better to organize the event in member countries, he said.
He further hoped that cooperation among member states will continue with more enthusiasm.

Homayoun Shajarian

Noted Iranian vocalist Homayoun Shajarian will perform a series of concerts in the Netherlands from February 14 to 17.
Shajarian, who recently staged a concert in Italy, will perform with his band ’Dastan’ in the Dutch cities of The Hague, Amsterdam and Antwerp, said ISNA.
The band will feature a number of pieces, including ’Image’, ’Impatient’ and ’Zeal for the Beloved’.
The band includes Pejman Haddadi on ’Tonbak’ (Persian goblet drum), Hamid Motebassem on traditional Iranian instruments ’Tar’ and ’Setar’ and Saeid Farajpouri on ’Kamancheh’ a traditional violin-like instrument.

Iran’s cultural attachŽ in Turkey has announced that a seminar on Haj Bektash Wali, an Iranian mystic and philosopher, will be held in Iran.
According to MNA, in a meeting with Filiz Qlich, head of the Center
or Researches on Haj Bektash Wali, affiliated to Gazi University in Ankara, Farhad Palizdar further said that in addition to conducting research works on the figure, Center for Islamic Studies plans to organize a conference to that effect in Mashhad, Neishabour or Tehran in May.
He said that the event can create conditions for arranging a more elaborate conference in the field by providing an opportunity to researchers from the two countries to become familiar with each others’ views.
Qlich, for his part, presented a report on the commemoration ceremony for Bektash Wali which was held in Ankara last October. He said that the articles presented during the event were published in a book.
Hajji Bektash Wali was an Iranian mystic, humanist and philosopher from Khorasan who lived approximately from 1209-1271 in Anatolia. He is the eponym of the Bektashi Sufi order and is considered as one of the principal proponents of Alevism.

A photo exhibition is organized
by Iran’s Photojournalists Guild Association to promote the idea that photojournalism is not limited just to news photography.
According to ISNA, the event opened in Artists House on Saturday and will continue until Thursday. Works on display have been grouped in the devotional, religious and political categories.
The exhibit themed social document showcases 65 photos by the same number of photographers including Hassan Golzar-e Shahri and Maryam Tajik, who are also members of the association.
Outgoing head of the association’s board of directors, Kavous Sadeqlou said that efforts were made to hold it in the best manner but some problems were created since the exhibit coincided with changes in the association’s board of directors.

First Internet radio and TV in the Islamic world which provides specialized information on Islamic teachings was commissioned in cooperation with the British Islamic Center.
According to MNA, head of London’s Internet Radio and TV announced that the media titled ’Baran’ with the internet address www.barantv.com, which became operational on a trial basis one and half a year ago, officially began its activities internationally concurrent with the anniversary of the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Amir Mehrdad Khosravi further said that this is the first Islamic media which will broadcast round-the-clock programs in four languages of Persian, Urdu, English and Arabic.
Stating that unlike satellite, accessing Internet is possible throughout the world, he also said that Baran can be easily received via the Internet.
British Islamic Center plans to promote Islamic teachings among the young audience, women and children on the network, he noted.
In addition to teaching Islamic tenets using video and audio materials for the audience in Europe and the US, the network will feature programs focusing on the holy Qu’ran, theology, Arabic literature and Islamic sciences.