Book Description
The thesis is an exploration of the relationship between Persian poetry and the internationally celebrated and inspiring Iranian art-house cinema; and an experimentation of applying such poetic aesthetics in My Tehran For Sale as a reflection on a native poetics. The thesis is concerned with examination of the roots of the Iranian poetic cinema in poetry, in which My Tehran For Sale finds its origins, and its poetic tradition against the country's social and political background. In doing so, I also explore the compatibility, similarities, and differences of a native poetic discourse in Iranian cinema with the key theories of poetic film in Western literature. My Tehran For Sale is a practical research project that examines the possibilities for application of such native aesthetics into a global poetic language. Taking various theoretic accounts from Iranian and international scholars and practitioners on the poetic cinema in general, the aesthetics of Iranian poetic cinema and its particular characteristics are closely analyzed through examples from selected films from Forough Farrokhzad, Ebrahim Golestan, Sohrab Shahid Sales, Amir Naderi, and especially Abbas Kiarostami. However, the main focus of the thesis is on textual and stylistic analysis of the feature film, My Tehran For Sale, as a practical research project. In this paper, I also explore and discuss my journey as a scholar/filmmaker on how I have applied my studies and understanding of the aesthetics and traditions of poetic style in cinema, and especially Iranian art-house cinema, into my poetic film. In doing so, I have drawn on my background and knowledge as a published poet and examined how my experiences as a poet and filmmaker, combined in a semi-autobiographical film, reflect on both mediums of poetry and cinema. Since the film has been exhibited in numerous international film festivals such as Toronto, Pusan, and Rotterdam, the feedbacks from the film experts, journalists, and audiences in relation to the poetic aspects of the film will be also attached to this thesis.