Iran Darroudi: The Painter of Ethereal Moments, the most recent feature-length documentary by Bahman Maghsoudlou, was screened at the Paria Foundation, a cultural center in Toronto, at 6PM on Sunday, April 25. Mr. Hassan Zerehi, the editor-in-chief of Shahrvand magazine, the sponsor of the program, spoke at the beginning and introduced the producer/director of the film, Mr. Maghsoudlou.
After the introduction, the film was screened before a full audience. This was followed by a break for coffee and tea, after which Mr. Maghsoudlou participated in an hour-long Q&A session.
This was the third April in a row that Mr. Maghsoudlou has appeared in Toronto through the sponsorship of Shahrvand, one of the most prestigious cultural magazines in North America. Previous engagements were centered around Mr. Maghsoudlou’s documentary Ahmad Mahmoud: A Noble Novelist in 2008 and a lecture on Mr. Maghsoudlou’s new book Grass: Untold Stories that included a screening of the documentary that inspired the book, Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life, in 2009.
Mr. Hassan Zerehi and Maghsoudlou
The 2010 audience enjoyed the Darroudi film tremendously. In attendance were Dr. Reza Baraheni, the distinguished Iranian poet, writer and literary critic, Amid Naeini one of the most important Iranian journalist/writer and three famous Iranian artists: Sirak Melkonian, the sculptor Gholam-Hossein Nami, and Aydin Aghdashlou, who is also a writer and critic.
This documentary was seven years in the making. It is currently on the festival circuit and being shown at cultural centers throughout the world. It will be available on DVD next year.
