No One Knows About Persian Cats

No One Knows About Persian Cats (Persian: کسی از گربه‌های ایرانی خبر نداره, romanizedKasi az Gorbehaye Irani Khabar Nadareh) is a 2009 Iranian film directed by Bahman Ghobadi produced by Wild Bunch. The film offers the perspective of Iran as it explores its underground rock scene. It won the Special Jury Prize Ex-aequo in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.[1]

No One Knows About Persian Cats
Directed byBahman Ghobadi
Written byBahman Ghobadi
Hossein Mortezaeian Abkenar
Roxana Saberi
Produced byBahman Ghobadi
StarringHamed Behdad
Ashkan Kooshanejad
Negar Shaghaghi
CinematographyTuraj Aslani
Edited byHaydeh Safi-Yari
Music byAshkan Kooshanejad
Mahdyar Aghajani
Production
company
Mij Film
Release date
  • May 14, 2009 (2009-05-14)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryIran
LanguagePersian

Plot

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The film follows two young musicians (Ashkan Kooshanejad and Negar) as they form a band and prepare to leave Iran shortly after being released from prison. The pair befriends a man named Nader (Hamed Behdad), an underground music enthusiast and producer who helps them travel around Tehran and its surrounding areas in order to meet other underground musicians possibly interested in forming a band and later leaving the country.

Cast

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Bands and musicians

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International cinema release dates

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  • 23 December 2009: France[2]
  • 3 February 2010: Belgium
  • 26 March 2010: U.K.

Limited release: Curzon Soho and key cities[3][full citation needed]

  • 16 April 2010: U.S. (New York City only)
    [citation needed]
  • 16 April 2010: Italy
  • 15 July 2010: Israel[4]

Reception

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Accolades

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Its first official screening was at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize Ex-aequo in the Un Certain Regard section.

Accusations

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Shortly after the release of the movie, Iranian director Torang Abedian accused Ghobadi of having used many ideas for his movie from her documentary Not an Illusion, made from 2003 to 2008 and released in the same year. According to Abedian, her camera operator got a call from Ghobadi and left her afterwards to make the movie about the same topic with Ghobadi in a few days.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Festival de Cannes: No One Knows About Persian Cats". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-05-17.
  2. ^ http://www.festival-cannes.fr/fr/article/56923.html[dead link]
  3. ^ List of release dates and venues of No One Knows About Persian Cats on Brightwide [1] Archived 2010-02-20 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ List of upcoming movie releases in Israel, updated regularly by movie publishers and film journalists (Hebrew). [2]
  5. ^ http://oe1.orf.at/artikel/245863 - Austrian radio station Ö1
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