Massoud Bakhshi – Tehran Anar Nadarad AKA Tehran Has No More Pomegranates! (2007)

Tehran is a large village near the city of Rey, full of gardens and fruit trees. Its inhabitants live in anthill-like underground holes. The village’s several districts are constantly at war. Tehranis’ main occupations are theft and crime, though the king pretends they are subject to him. They grow excellent fruits, notably an excellent pomegranate, which is found only in Tehran.
– Asar-o-Lblab, 1241 A.D
Tehran Has No More Pomegranates! is a postmodern documentary that is as witty and engaging as it is informative. The style of the film is fun and very visual, with the director, Massoud Bakhshi, using incredible archival footage, an original visual approach and terrific soundtrack that takes us through 150 years of Tehran’s history. Onscreen, Bakhshi may fail to complete his film, but he succeeds in both documenting Tehran’s history and entertaining us with its poignant contradictions.
About The Filmmaker
Massoud Bakshi was born in Tehran, Iran and is part of the new generation of Iranian filmmakers. He earned his high school diploma in photography and cinema in 1990 and his BS in Agriculture Engineering in 1995. He later studied filmmaking in Italy and cultural sector financing in France. He has worked as a film critic, screenwriter, and
producer. His films have won many international prizes.
Filmography
Bagh Dad Bar Ber (2008)
Tehran Has No More Pomegranates! (2007)
Lost Windows (2004)
Praying for the Rain (2003)
When Behrang Meets Ayoumi (2001)
Festivals
36th Rotterdam International Film Festival, The Netherlands
20th International Documentary Film Festival of Amsterdam IDFA 2007
51st Cork International Film Festival, Ireland
30th Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil
1001 Istanbul Documentary Film Festival, Turkey 2007
Drake International Film Festival, Italy 2007
13th Boston Festival of films from Iran, USA
CINEMA-VERITE International documentary film festival, Iran 2007
Cinema East Film Festival, NY, USA 2007
Doc Point Helsinki International Film Festival 2007
Ecocinema International Film Festival, Greece 2008
Human Rights International Film Festival, Switzerland 2008
UCLA Iranian Film Festival, USA 2008
Hot Docs International Documentary Festival, Canada 2008
Planete Doc Review International Film Festival , Poland 2008
“Jeu de pomme” International film festival,France 2007
“Well-played” Iran-Arab Film Festival,Germany 2008
Full Frame International Documentary Film Festival USA 2008
“Flandres” International Film Festival Gent-Belgium 2008
15th Alt?nkoza Film, Culture and Art Festival, Turkey 2008
Santiago International Film Festival SANFIC 2008 “Jewels of Middle- East,” Chile
Morelia International Film Festival 2008, Mexico.
San Luis Cine International Festival Competition, Argentina, November 2008
Move Media Right Festival. Thailand, December 2008
Edinburgh: Filmhouse Cinema, January 2009
Portland International Film Festival, Competition, 2009
All Roads International Film Festival, USA, Competition, 2009
Awards
Winner: Best Director, 11th House of Cinema Film Festival, 2007, Iran;
Winner: Best Director, 25th Fajr Int. Film Festival, 2007, Iran;
Winner: AVINI Prize for Best Documentary of the year 2007, Iran;
Winner: Audience Award, CINEMA VERITE International Documentary Film Festival, 2007 Iran.
Nominated for: Cinema Eye Award for Best Documentary Film, IFC 2009