<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; "><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><b>"Iran Through the Lens of History</b></font><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5">" </font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; "> </span></span></div><div><br></div><div>Lecture and movie series deals with contemporary issues pertaining to Iranian politics, cinema, society and culture. The lectures will be delivered by Prof. Hamid Dabashi, a world renowned expert of Iranian history and Iranian cinema. The movie series that depict the multi-faceted aspect of Iranian cinema present the works of the most important Iranian directors.</div><div>Contact: Bedross Der Matossian, E51-178, 617-253-9621, <a href="mailto:bedross@mit.edu">bedross@mit.edu</a></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><b> "Obama's Iranian Problem"</b></div><div> Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies Columbia University, Middle East and Asian Languages and Culture</div><div> The presidency of Barack Obama will probably face one of its most daunting foreign policy tests with the Islamic Republic of Iran and its nuclear project. What are the terms and conditions of this fateful encounter between a widely celebrated and globally popular American president and a beleaguered Islamic republic?</div><div> Tue Jan 6, 04:30-06:30pm, Room 2-105</div><div><br></div><div><b> "Gabbeh"</b></div><div> Bedross Der Matossian</div><div> In this poetic film by Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf, an elderly couple is involved in the ritual of cleaning their gabbeh, a beautiful intricately designed rug. Suddenly, a woman resembling one of the figures on the carpet emerges from the gabbeh. She recounts the history of her nomadic clan and the story of her love for a man outside her tribe. This magical musing on love and art won numerous film festival awards.</div><div> Wed Jan 7, 06:30-09:30pm, Room 3-270</div><div><br></div><div><b> "Prelude to Kiarostami's Meditative Camera"</b></div><div> Hamid Dabashi, Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies Columbia University, Middle East and Asian Languages and Culture</div><div> Over the last half century Abbas Kiarostami has worked through a deeply meditative camera he has taught to probe the inner anxieties of a world otherwise covered by the placid paucity of entirely vacated signs--how does this camera work, and what does it reveal?</div><div> Thu Jan 8, 06-08:00pm, Room 3-270</div><div><br></div><div><b> "The Wind Will Carry Us" (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002)</b></div><div> Bedross Der Matossian</div><div> This film's abstract, symbolic plot follows a man named Behzad and two colleagues as they travel from Tehran, Iran, to the tiny village of Siah Dareh, located on a dry, barren mountainside. There they observe the harsh life and everyday activities of the villagers. Technology -- or the lack thereof -- figures prominently in this film, which is considered director Abbas Kiarostami's most socially critical work.</div><div> Tue Jan 13, 06:30-09:30pm, Room 4-231</div><div><br></div><div><b> "Turtles Can Fly" (Bahman Ghobadi, 2004)</b></div><div> Bedross Der Matossian</div><div> Residents of an Iraqi Kurdistan village await the violent arrival of the invading U.S Army. A young boy named Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) helps clear minefields and installs equipment that brings in news from the outside world. Meanwhile, three orphans wander aimlessly, the victims of tragic happenstance. As Saddam is removed from power, these innocent children confront the harsh reality that awaits them.</div><div> Tue Jan 20, 06:30-09:30pm, Room 2-105</div><div><br></div><div>***************************************************************</div><div><br></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" size="5"><b>NOUR in Concert</b></font></div><div> Bedross Der Matossian</div><div> Fri Jan 23, 07:30-11:00pm, Killian Hall-14W-111</div><div><br></div><div> Single session event</div><div><br></div><div>Features the NY based musical group NOUR. NOURishing itself from Middle Eastern polyglot folk traditions, NOUR means pomegranate in Armenian, divine light in Arabic. Songs in Armenian, Kurdish, Turkish, Ladino, Arabic, Hebrew, Assyrian and Greek. Pomegranate is the heavenly fruit of the old world symbolizing fertility, abundance, and sanctity. In line with its pomegranate nature, NOUR is rich in anti-oxidants and enhances its audience's cardio-vascular health. EX ORIENTE LUX concert illuminates the New World with the divine light that NOUR brought from the Old one.</div><div> Ayda Erbal - lead vocals, daf, dumbek, percussions</div><div> Ozan Aksoy - vocals, saz, kaval, ney, percussions</div><div> Bedross Der Matossian - keyboards, shvi, duduk, percussions, vocals</div><div> Z. Umut Turem- oud, vocals</div><div> Mustafa Avci - vocals, saz</div><div> Gabrielle Clark - violin</div><div> Contact: Bedross Der Matossian, E51-178, 617-253-9621, <a href="mailto:bedross@mit.edu">bedross@mit.edu</a></div><div><br></div><div>*******************************************************************</div><div><br></div><div>For an MIT campus map please go to whereis.mit.edu</div><div><br></div></body></html>