Azadeh Navai

Azadeh Navai

Рождение : , Tehran, Iran

История

Azadeh Navai (born 1985, Iran) holds an MFA in Film and Video from California Institute of the Arts, and a BFA in Graphic Design from University of Tehran. She creates 16mm and digital films with the focus on visual memory, its imprints through time and its fluctuations through age. Her films have been shown in a number of venues, including New York Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Mothlight Microcinema, Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, San Diego Underground Festival and REDCAT Theater in Los Angeles. Her film, Friday Mosque, won the Jury Award at Binghamton University Film Festival (SEFF), and her other film, Remembering the Pentagons, was mentioned on Artforum in 2016, as well as winning the Best Experimental Short award at FILMADRID. In her latest piece, The Yellow Curtain, she examines the aftermath of the 1979 Iranian revolution through her grandfather's memories. Navai lives and works in Los Angeles.

Профиль

Azadeh Navai

Фильмы

Rizoo
Writer
To Rizoo, 8—who’s recently moved back to Tehran from California—the world is a magical place. But when she must take a class portrait, her world suddenly becomes very complicated. Does she wear the traditional head-scarf, which all girls over the age of 9 must wear—or not? Seemingly everyone has an opinion. We witness Rizoo navigate the challenges of growing up a California girl in modern Iran. She may be small in size, but her spirit is big enough to change the world.
Rizoo
Editor
To Rizoo, 8—who’s recently moved back to Tehran from California—the world is a magical place. But when she must take a class portrait, her world suddenly becomes very complicated. Does she wear the traditional head-scarf, which all girls over the age of 9 must wear—or not? Seemingly everyone has an opinion. We witness Rizoo navigate the challenges of growing up a California girl in modern Iran. She may be small in size, but her spirit is big enough to change the world.
Rizoo
Director
To Rizoo, 8—who’s recently moved back to Tehran from California—the world is a magical place. But when she must take a class portrait, her world suddenly becomes very complicated. Does she wear the traditional head-scarf, which all girls over the age of 9 must wear—or not? Seemingly everyone has an opinion. We witness Rizoo navigate the challenges of growing up a California girl in modern Iran. She may be small in size, but her spirit is big enough to change the world.
Gladiolus
Director
An ode to a flower that once enjoyed prominence in Iranian culture, Gladiolus tells the story of its ubiquitous role in life’s important ceremonies and how it became a victim of its own popularity by the same nation.
The Yellow Curtain
Director
In the 1970s, Iran seemingly had everything. U.S. President, Jimmy Carter called it "an island of stability" in a visit. Yet, only two years later, in the winter of 1979, a revolution occurred. The Shah of Iran was overthrown and the Islamic Republic was established. It was a major change, a complete switch of power. THE YELLOW CURTAIN interweaves the stories of three men around this sensitive time in history--persecuted Persian author, Gholamhossein Saedi, one of his fictional characters, Mansour, and the filmmaker's own grandfather, who worked directly under the Shah. Through a poetic blending of literature and cinema, the film examines many lives turned upside down; and in one rare case, a life turned right side up.
Remembering the Pentagons
Producer
The lyrical Remembering the Pentagons depicts filmmaker Azadeh Navai’s earliest memories. Places, smells and emotions are unearthed and the overwhelming world of her youth delineated using sensitive 16mm and pinhole footage. Her personal thoughts meet the words of classic Persian poet Hafez.
Remembering the Pentagons
Director
The lyrical Remembering the Pentagons depicts filmmaker Azadeh Navai’s earliest memories. Places, smells and emotions are unearthed and the overwhelming world of her youth delineated using sensitive 16mm and pinhole footage. Her personal thoughts meet the words of classic Persian poet Hafez.
Friday Mosque
Director
A silent meditation on the Islamic prayer ritual through motion (water is the core, but light is the cause) in FRIDAY MOSQUE. Shot on high-contrast black and white 16mm film, Navai hand processed the negative and painstakingly contact- printed the strips of celluloid. The resulting image quivers and pulses. Enlarged film grain nearly obliterates the already abstracted image. There exists both a tension and serenity in the flickering frame. Every element is preparing for and anticipating the faithful soul that is summoned to the everyday practice. The silent tune of the calling, Azan, has overtaken.