Samak Ayyar (A Tale of Ancient Persia)
Translated by: Freydoon Rassouli
Adapted by: Jordan Mechner
The adventures of Samak, a trickster-warrior hero of Persia’s thousand-year-old oral storytelling tradition, are beloved in Iran. Samak is an ayyar, a warrior who comes from the common people and embodies the ideals of loyalty, selflessness, and honor—a figure that recalls samurai, ronin, and knights yet is distinctive to Persian legend.
Translated from the original Persian by Freydoon Rassouli and adapted by Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner, this timeless masterwork can now be enjoyed by English-speaking readers. A thrilling and suspenseful saga, Samak the Ayyar also offers a vivid portrait of Persia a thousand years ago.
We are delighted to welcome Freydoon Rassouli (artist, author and translator) and Jordan Mechner (author, screenwriter, graphic novelist and game designer) to our latest edition of #FarhangConnect to talk about their new collaboration on SAMAK THE AYYAR, A TALE OF ANCIENT PERSIA, translated by Freydoon Rassouli and adapted by Jordan Mechner for Columbia University Press.
Freydoon Rassouli is an artist, author, and translator whose books include Fusionart, Rumi Revealed, and The Book of Creativity. His artworks have been exhibited widely, and he painted two major street murals in Venice, California, and downtown Los Angeles.
Jordan Mechner is a New York Times best-selling author, screenwriter, graphic novelist, and game designer. He is the creator of Prince of Persia, one of the world’s most successful video game franchises, which he also adapted as a feature film. His books include the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Templar (2013).
Illustrated Book Profiles 15 Trailblazing Women with Roots in Iran
Yasmine Mahdavi
New York, NY, October 14, 2021-(PR.com)- This gorgeous book introduces readers (ages 12+) to fifteen incredible women with Roots in Iran. In their biographies, readers will find athletes and artists, scientists and activists, astronauts and authors whose struggles are universal. Yet they persevered. Roots in Iran celebrates the achievements of transformative pioneers whose vision of who they wanted to become will surprise and inspire readers of all ages.
In Summer 2017, Yasmine Mahdavi’s children listened to her tell them about the recently deceased Maryam Mirzakhani, a woman, born and raised in Iran who became a world-famous mathematician. In fact, she is the first and only female to date to win the Fields Medal, the highest prize in mathematics. Telling Maryam’s story to her children, set Yasmine off on a marvelous adventure of curiosity. Who are the other women with roots in Iran who overcame significant obstacles, and how did they achieve success? Four years after Yasmine told Maryam’s story around the kitchen table, she is delighted to share Roots in Iran with readers. The book is divided in two sections, the longer chapters provide an in-depth look into the lives of five trailblazers. Readers learn how Anousheh Ansari’s fascination with the galaxies led to her triumphs and travails as an entrepreneur and how Jasmin Moghbeli, riveted by the achievements of Valentina Tereshkova, became a Marine helicopter and eventually a U.S. astronaut. The shorter chapters introduce readers to ten more dynamic women. Readers travel with Farnaz “Spider-Woman” Esmaeilzadeh, rock-climbing star, to find out how she got her start, and discover how Melody Ehsani, designer extraordinaire, champions women’s rights even though she didn’t end up in law school.
Each story is accompanied by brilliant, full-color portraits created by female artists with roots in the Middle East. The book also offers sidebars that give a glimpse into Iran’s culture and history as well as the intriguing vocations the women pursued. Moreover, each chapter offers a discussion guide aligned with Common Core Standards.
Yasmine Mahdavi was born and raised in Iran. She left Iran for the U.S. when she was twelve years old. She wrote this book—her first—to her thirteen-year-old self as an homage to her country of birth and an ode to her adopted country. Yasmine lives in New York City.
Erin and Iran
Cultural Encounters between the Irish and the Iranians
Edited by H.E. Chehabi and Grace Neville
“In Erin and Iran” there are ten essays by North American and European scholars who discuss parallel themes in and interactions between Irish and Iranian cultures.
In the first section three essays explore common elements in pre-Christian Irish and pre-Islamic Iranian mythologies, common elements that have often been pointed out by scholars of Indo-European mythology but rarely examined in detail.
The essays address literary subjects, ranging from medieval romances such as Tristan and Isolde and Vis and Ramin to twentieth-century novels such as James Joyce’s Ulysses and Simin Daneshvar’s Savushun and three nineteenth-century travelogues are presented, of which two are written by Irish travelers to Iran and one written by an Indo-Persian traveler to Ireland.
Together, these studies constitute the first-ever collection of articles dealing with cultural encounters between the Irish and the Iranians.”
“Zalava” Film’s World Poster
Released for Screening at 78th Venice Film Festival
On the eve of the world premiere of the movie “Zalava” in the competition section of the 36th edition of “Critics’ Week” at the 78th Venice International Film Festival in Italy, the international poster of this movie was unveiled.
The movie “Zalava” directed by Arsalan Amiri, produced by Rouhollah Baradari and Samira Baradari and written by Arsalan Amiri, Ida Panahandeh and Tahmineh Bahram will be screened in three times including 13:15 on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at the Perla Cinema and at 19:15 and 19:30 on Thursday, September 9, 2021 at the Astra 1 and Astra 2 cinema halls in this international prestigious film festival.
Mohammad Hossein Houshmandi “has designed the poster of this film.
“Zalava” will compete with six films, including; “They Carry Death” by Helena Girón and Samuel M Delgado from Spain and Colombia, “Erasing Frank” by Gábor Fabricius from Hungary, “Dogworld” by Alessandro Celli from Italy, “Mother Lode” by Matteo Tortone from France, Italy and Switzerland, “Detours” by Ekaterina Selenkina from Russia and the Netherlands, and “The Salamander” by Alex Carvalho from Brazil, France and Germany.
Claudio Cupellini from Italy, Sandrine Marques from Spain and Vanja Kaludjercicfrom Croatia are the judges of the Venice “Critics’ Week” organized by the Italian Film Critics Association.
In the meantime, Uberto Pasolini from Italy, Martin Schweighofer from Austria and Amalia Ulman from Argentina are the judges of the “Lion of the Future” section which judge the works of the first filmmakers of this prestigious cinematic event.
“Zalava” was filmed in the fall of 2020, starring Navid Pourfaraj, Pouria Rhimi Sam, Hoda Zineh Al-Abedin, Basit Rezaei, Shaho Rostami, Fereydoun Hamedi, Saleh Rahimi, Zahed Zandi, and a number of other Kurdistan Theatre and Television actors.
Arsalan Amiri’s first cinematic experience as a director has been produced with the support of the Hong Kong Film Forum HAF, the South Korean Film House KOFIC, in partnership with the Farabi Cinema Foundation and the investment of Touba Film.
The film was nominated for an award in 10 categories at the 39th Fajr Film Festival, with Best Actor for Pouria Rahimi Sam, Best Screenplay for Arsalan Amiri, Ida Panahandeh and Tahmineh Bahram, Diploma of Honor for the best cinematography for Mohammad Rasouli and the best first director for Arsalan Amiri.
The 78th Venice International Film Festival, the world’s oldest film event, chaired by Alberto Barbera in the competition category; Main Competition, Short Film, Orizzonti, Critics’ Week, Venice Development and the Out of Competition section; Venice VR Expanded, Special Screenings, Orizzonti Extra, Biennale College Cinema and … was held September 1 to 11, 2021 in Venice, Italy.