Daryush Shokof
Encyclopedia
Daryush Shokof (born Ali Reza Shokoufandeh on June 25, 1954) is an Iran
ian artist
, film director
, philosopher, writer
, art director
, and film producer
, and singer. He was born in Tehran
, Iran
, but lives in Germany
.
where he studied physics and mathematics at Eastern New Mexico University
and then industrial management at the University of Texas at Dallas
. At the age of 22 he moved to New York City
, became interested in, and began studying art and film at New York University
. In 1985, Shokof moved to Germany, where he became a full-time artist and sculptor. He continued to simultaneously write film scripts and made his first feature film debut Seven Servants
in Germany in 1995. Seven Servants
was an impressive and daring first attempt on the big screen. Seven Servants is often mentioned as one of the most original movies ever made. Even though the fate of the movie was a most unfortunate one in which it never got released for over 13 years, it somehow paved the way for Shokof to continue making movies with his unique views of filmmaking and establishing his name as an original Auteur filmmaker.
" (which gave way to his philosophy of Yekishim), in his movie Seven Servants, and in many of his paintings where the harmony and affection amongst people of all races appear to play a main role. In almost all of his films people of different races are the accomplishing force of leading the story.
, and Maximalists at the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York, in 1991. Many one-man showsand group exhibitions took place under Maximalism and the movement was supported by many artists such as, Mark Kostabi
, Milan Kunc, Jan Knapp, Luigi Ontani
, Marcello Jori, Wainer Vaccari, Helgi Fridjohnsson, Jeff Koons
and many others at the first Exhibition of Maximalists which was held in Gallery Schulze, Cologne, Germany in 1990, and Galleria Verlato in Italy during 1990-1992. Another group show of the works of the Maximalists was shown in the Kunsthaus in New York in 1995-1996. The works of these painters had similar characteristics; they were all figurative and had eroticism
and nature as their prime theme, with humor and poetry playing a fundamental role. All the works were socially, politically, and philosophically conscious works of arts. Later Shokof stated that being a Maximalist does not mean being against Minimalism.° His first one-man exhibition was under the title Antenna
which showed "antenna" sculptures of many colors and different sizes with fresh, ironic, and philosophically witty conceptual dialogues with God at the gallery Maerz in Cologne in 1989. The show was an instant success and got great reviews and paved the way for him to continue many more exhibitions coming his way in Europe. Shokof helped constructing the concept of New York KunstHall alongside Christian Leigh who was the originator of the concept in New York in 1992. In the first group show at the KunstHall in New York which was curated by Christian Leigh and under the title Psycho
with works from great many notable names of the Modern Art scene of the world: Andy Warhol
, Bruce Nauman
, Chuck Close
, Louise Bourgeois
, Rodney Graham
, John Chamberlain, Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein
, Heim Steinbach, Richard Prince
, Donald Judd
, and many more. Shokof presented Maximalism with a work in this group show as well.
His last major exhibition took place in Berlin, Germany with the Galerie 360 Grad in the historic building known previously as the Koniglichen Direction in 2003. the show was a retrospective of more than 100 works by Shokof dating back to 1985 and was received well.
Shokof wrote a manifest about his thoughts on Maximalism
, and said that it covers all creativities that promote harmony, and unity of mankind on Earth. He then continued that both Minimalism
and Sufism
can be a prime factor for creating works containing such merits, be it music, dance, painting or films. He stated that:
"Unbalancing the chaos = Balance = Life = Maximalism" and concluded that therefore a Maximalist is not a nationalist, or internationalist
but a Cosmotionalist.
Cosmotionalist was the title of his one man show
at the Galleria Verlato in Milano, Italy, in 1990. The thoughts of Maximalism gave way to many further philosophical theories by Shokof about mankind, Creation, God, his conviction and obsession about "unity of mankind" and Yekishim as the "only" reason for people to be on Earth. Yekishim or ("become one") is a word created by Shokof, mixing two Persian words; "yeki" meaning one, and "shim" meaning to become. In his thoughts about Yekishim he states that unity of mankind is the mere reason we live on earth, and explains the reasons with which mankind qualifies as the solution to questions revolving all mysteries about creation in visionary and original details:
God
is the Eternal
energy.there is God until someone proves there is no God.God is the scope of our creativity. the greater is one,s creativity, the more colorful would be that person,s God.
Human Beings are of 4 types:
Those who are of Godly natures.
Those who are of Satanic natures.
Those who are of Godly and Satanic Natures.
Those who do all to make peace between God and Satan by uniting mankind on Earth.
This last type of Human Beings will lead the way to Yekishim on Earth.
"Religions have only prevented and made it more difficult for people to reach God
directly. Every human-being, (even the Atheist) feels God and has constant direct contact to the creator throughout one's life without the pointing fingers of all religions showing the man-kind how to reach or believe in God on Earth. Heaven is not the Final or the highest phase to reach. all those in the heavens do not necessarily know the story of the Creation
. If according to all religions Heaven
exists , then, it is just a place of rest for all the good deeds on earth. we will only find the "Truth" about the Creation when we Unite Yekishim... Love is only a program planned for us human beings to remain connected to earth, not to commit suicide, not to ask constantly why we are here, and it is elevated as a program to the next phase with having children to solidify our roots and interest to remain further on earth. the true "love" is when we all feel the urge to become "united" and "one" on earth. to reach "yekishim"...."
Atomic or Nuclear Energy is the safest and the most advanced type of all energies human being can use to advance to the upper levels of thoughts and movement. however, we human beings are only in early infant stages of technology comprehension and much too immature to fully understand and or use Atomic Energy properly yet. one day soon, all cars and or vehicles would use Nuclear Energy to move about without using a drop of oil, and with a speed much faster than that of the light.
His further activities in film, arts and political stands separated him from the rest of the artists and also stopped further exhibitions of the Maximalists and he ended up as the sole person in pursuit of completing more comprehensive thoughts of Maximalism in the years to come. His thoughts and philosophy about life and creation under Maximalism
are published in the art books of his one-man shows in Germany, Italy, and the USA.
called Angels Are Wired, in 1991. Since then he has made over 25 short
and feature length
films and has written over 50 film scripts, some of which he made into movies himself. He has a recognizable and independent style and does the complete "Mise en scène
" of every film he has made so far. He has never made a mainstream movie. Even his best known film, Seven Servants
(1995), starring Anthony Quinn
, was not screened publicly or distributed for 12 years after its release (Seven Servants is just now finally released through Pathfinder Distribution, New York, USA). Other actors who have worked with Shokof include David Warner
and Jack Taylor
.
Shokof's films express his own philosophy, thoughts, politics and world-view, and have all been made independent of any studio contract. Many of his films share unconventional characteristics, including varying screen perspectives. In his first film, Angels are Wired, the film is shown in two frames, each hanging from one side of a set of scales
. The story is played out simultaneously in both frames and they collide both conceptually and visually. His film Venussian Tabutasco
was shot entirely in a glass elevator and Tenussian Vaccuvasco was shot through the windows of an apartment block. The titles of his films are often taken from works of art he has created.
His most recent film, Breathful
, a gangster-comedy film with an all-woman cast, is dedicated to the rights of women worldwide and more specifically to the freedom and rights of women in his own homeland Iran. The film reflects Shokof's belief that Iran is ruled by a brutal dictatorial Islamic republic regime which ignores the many basic rights of Iranian women.
SHIF Productions, USA, is producing Shokof's latest film Hitler's Grave in Berlin, Germany. Hitler's Grave]] is a semi-documentary story about a young girl who visits her dying brother seconds before he dies (the brother has suffered lethal blows under torture by thugs of Iranian Islamic Republic Regime in prison for having participated in the protests against the fraudulent results of the presidential elections in Iran in 2009). This Political-Romantic story is written by Shokof himself.
, Vision Earth, and Geheimbund between 1997 and 2000. he sang as the lead vocalist in these productions and wrote the lyrics as well:
http://www.mystic-of-sound.de/visionearth_main.htm
for freedom and justice in Iran in front of the headquarters of the German Green Party in Berlin. He has boycott
ed the Berlin Film Festival and all other major film festivals in the world because they have shown government approved Iranian films.
Shokof is one of the few Iranian artists and filmmakers of International notability who has never made a movie with any financial support from any country. His films have been widely ignored for not representing a certain government and or country.He remains a stateless artist up to this date and continues working completely independent from any state run, controlled, and or funded organization.
Shokof started a second hunger strike
for the world governments not to recognize the legitimacy of Iranian Islamic Republic Regime and the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to obvious vote rigging in Iran presidential elections 2009, in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, Germany on Friday 26–29 June 2009. Shokof's reason to do so is coded by him in the interview in below that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
was the first statesman to have recognized the fake and openly manipulated presidential elections in Iran. Shokof continues in his interview with Deutsche Welle
in Germany that it would be a most shameful act for any world leader to shake hands with Ahmadinejad and still be able to look into the eyes of the Iranian nation after the Islamic Republic Regim's Barbaric crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations of Iranians against the election that resulted in many dead demonstrators, torturing of over thousands, and imprisoning of so many who still undergo horrendous situations for having participated in the demonstrations.
Shokof has said:
"We brought religions to the western societies for over 5000 years, but then, they brought the world democracy
and the values of their free societies, and democratic parliaments in only the last 200 years.if we praise and admire the great western societies of our time, it is then our duty to so unselfishly, and humbly admire and learn and yes, even "copy" their wonderful free structures to reach such advanced western world values regardless of many short-comings they still experience in completing their wishful standards and rid ourselves from dictators and inhumane regimes. The first learning of such a step is to respect, and tolerate the existence of free supporting political parties in the same parliaments be it the stands of the communist party to a capitalist party."
Shokof invites the freedom believers world-wide to join the crowd of people (Iranians and non-Iranians) going on a global Hunger Strike
to alert and seek support from the world leaders "not" to recognize the fradulant presidential elecections in Iran and its equally illegal president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on JUly 24th in Berlin
, Germany
.
Shokof has refused to submit his latest films, Heaven's Taxi
and Iran Zendan
, to the Berlin Film Festival. Iran Zendan is dedicated to the Iranian freedom movement portraying the true situation of current political prisoners in Iran. Iran Zendan was made to honor all those prisoners and brave protesters who died during the mass uprising against the Iranian presidential election, 2009
which was proved to have been rigged in favor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Shokof has written a global open-letter to boycott the Berlinale 2010 and has himself boycotted Berlin Film Festival for again having selected an Iranian film (a German-Iranian Co-Production) for the festival in 2010.In his open-letter Shokof writes that Berlinale has once again chosen to insult and undermine the struggle of Iranian nation for freedom from under the dictatorial regime of Islamic Republic of Iran.
A new protest is planned against the Cannes Film Festival
for repeatedly selecting works of an Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami
in a film co-produced by Iran and France
. Shokof argues the film is a shameful insult to the Iranians living through the darkest days of their history as thousands of protestors and political prisoners are tortured, or brutally killed by the thugs of the Iranian Islamic Republic Regime.
Shokof has already started a new wave of global protests with screenings of both his latest films Iran Zendan and Hitler's Grave against this inhumane acts committed by world first class film festivals that are screening and awarding the Iranian so called independent film directors and their films in the name of the arts and culture. He has repeatedly urged the global press to boycott the Cannes Film Festival this year and the screenings of both movies in Berlin on May 9, 2010. He believes that showing these Iranian films protected, produced, presented, and their directors are all propaganda plat forms for Iran's current Regime and a filthy slap against the face of the freedom loving Iranian nation in a true civilized, attempt in struggle to reach a free society in Iran.He calls the selection of all these films and their puppet directors are illegal undertakings as the Government of Ahmadinejad is an illegal one itself.
He argues that all these trades with such an illegal government (he refers to the world coverage of the facts about the fraud in the last presidential elections in Iran where Ahmadinejad has openly rigged the election results into their own advantage and in front of the whole world watchful eyes) is a shame for the world culture that needs to be against inhumanity, and dictatorships rather than promoting such events. Shokof has further argued that because of such so-called cultural communications Iran's government has become more popular, solidified, granted false merits, and even more established as a true center of civilization in the east. He further argues that such events and awards that are all "political" and not "artistic" at all are only destroying the world remaining free societies that still continue to help our world to progress and advance towards a more just, free and democratic societies. Both movies Iran Zendan and Hitler's Grave screened successfully and in full length and for the first time ever to a very limited crowd at Babylon Cinemas in Berlin on May 9, 2010. Iran Zendan showed to an over crowded screening of invited guests having had the very first chance to see this powerful ,courageous drama about the prisoner,s conditions in Iran's prisons under the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran Zendan is 70 minutes long and the first feature film portraying the brutality and inhumane treatments of the prisoners in the hands of Iran,s agents and interrogators inside the horrific prisons in Iran. Screening of both films will continue world-wide and should bring global awareness of the inhumane situation of political prisoners in Iran in the hope to support the opposition to reach freedom in Iran.the film Iran Zendan
is now on the web page of the stop the bomb and free of charge for global view:
Shokof wrote the following in support of the formation of Iran's future :
"the name of Iran's next leader would be Freedom
.
freedom and her partner Civilization
will have children by the names of Arts
, and Culture
.
Together this honorable,free-loving, peaceful Iranian family would join and connect Iran and Iranians to the advanced societies on Earth so that the Iranians could once again continue to serve Earth and its people with dignity and in support of making this a better world."
, Germany, in late May 2010 and was kept for over twelve days in the hands of four Arab speaking men who told him he will die for having made his recent two movies Hitler's Grave and Iran Zendan in which he had insulted Islam
, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Khamenei, and Khomeini. He was freed on one condition that he stops releasing of both movies. Ever since his freedom Shokof has placed the movie Iran Zendan on world wide nets for free global view so that the world can see under which inhumane conditions the political prisoners in Iran live under the Regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The film is over 70 minutes long and was first placed on the global net by the stop the Bomb organization and is free of charge:
Shokof lives under German police protection ever since he was freed from the captors who kidnapped him.
Daryush Shokof left Germany in 2010 and lives currently in France.
, France
in 2011, and thereafter in Venice
, Italy
, Doha
, Qatar
and the USA. The boats are each to be designed by a world ranked Artist or prominent Designers.100 Boats are to be designed by such artists in Cannes for the first ever such Cinema construction in 2011.
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, philosopher, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, art director
Art director
The art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
, and film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and singer. He was born in Tehran
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, but lives in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Background
Shokof left Iran in the 1970s to continue education in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he studied physics and mathematics at Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University
Eastern New Mexico University , frequently called Eastern, is a state university in Portales, Roosevelt County, New Mexico, USA...
and then industrial management at the University of Texas at Dallas
University of Texas at Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas, also referred to as UT Dallas or UTD, is a public research university in the University of Texas System. The main campus is in the heart of the Richardson, Texas, Telecom Corridor, north of downtown Dallas...
. At the age of 22 he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, became interested in, and began studying art and film at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. In 1985, Shokof moved to Germany, where he became a full-time artist and sculptor. He continued to simultaneously write film scripts and made his first feature film debut Seven Servants
Seven Servants
Seven Servants is a USA - Germany co-production 1996 German drama -comedy film made by Daryush Shokof. The movie is about a man who wants to unite and "connect" the races until his last breath.-Plot:...
in Germany in 1995. Seven Servants
Seven Servants
Seven Servants is a USA - Germany co-production 1996 German drama -comedy film made by Daryush Shokof. The movie is about a man who wants to unite and "connect" the races until his last breath.-Plot:...
was an impressive and daring first attempt on the big screen. Seven Servants is often mentioned as one of the most original movies ever made. Even though the fate of the movie was a most unfortunate one in which it never got released for over 13 years, it somehow paved the way for Shokof to continue making movies with his unique views of filmmaking and establishing his name as an original Auteur filmmaker.
Beliefs
His obsession with the "unity" of mankind merged as a prime factor in all his later activities, in his art "MaximalismMaximalism
The term maximalism is sometimes associated with post-modern novels, such as by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, where digression, reference, and elaboration of detail occupy a great fraction of the text....
" (which gave way to his philosophy of Yekishim), in his movie Seven Servants, and in many of his paintings where the harmony and affection amongst people of all races appear to play a main role. In almost all of his films people of different races are the accomplishing force of leading the story.
Maximalism-Yekishim
He coined the term Maximalism, Shokof used the term in connection with his artwork in Cologne, Germany in 1990, and his art was featured along with other artists in art exhibitions titled Maximalisten at the Schulze gallery in CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, and Maximalists at the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York, in 1991. Many one-man showsand group exhibitions took place under Maximalism and the movement was supported by many artists such as, Mark Kostabi
Mark Kostabi
Kalev Mark Kostabi is an American artist and composer.-Early life:Mark Kostabi was born in Los Angeles on November 27, 1960 to Estonian immigrants Kaljo and Rita Kostabi. He was raised in Whittier, California and studied drawing and painting at California State University, Fullerton...
, Milan Kunc, Jan Knapp, Luigi Ontani
Luigi Ontani
Luigi Ontani is an Italian painter and sculptor, a multifaceted artist who expresses himself through various artistic forms.-Biography and work:...
, Marcello Jori, Wainer Vaccari, Helgi Fridjohnsson, Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeffrey "Jeff" Koons is an American artist known for his reproductions of banal objects—such as balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror finish surfaces....
and many others at the first Exhibition of Maximalists which was held in Gallery Schulze, Cologne, Germany in 1990, and Galleria Verlato in Italy during 1990-1992. Another group show of the works of the Maximalists was shown in the Kunsthaus in New York in 1995-1996. The works of these painters had similar characteristics; they were all figurative and had eroticism
Eroticism
Eroticism is generally understood to refer to a state of sexual arousal or anticipation of such – an insistent sexual impulse, desire, or pattern of thoughts, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality and romantic love...
and nature as their prime theme, with humor and poetry playing a fundamental role. All the works were socially, politically, and philosophically conscious works of arts. Later Shokof stated that being a Maximalist does not mean being against Minimalism.° His first one-man exhibition was under the title Antenna
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
which showed "antenna" sculptures of many colors and different sizes with fresh, ironic, and philosophically witty conceptual dialogues with God at the gallery Maerz in Cologne in 1989. The show was an instant success and got great reviews and paved the way for him to continue many more exhibitions coming his way in Europe. Shokof helped constructing the concept of New York KunstHall alongside Christian Leigh who was the originator of the concept in New York in 1992. In the first group show at the KunstHall in New York which was curated by Christian Leigh and under the title Psycho
Psycho (1960 film)
Psycho is a 1960 American suspense/psychological horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins. The film is based on the screenplay by Joseph Stefano, who adapted it from the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch...
with works from great many notable names of the Modern Art scene of the world: Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman
Bruce Nauman is a contemporary American artist. His practice spans a broad range of media including sculpture, photography, neon, video, drawing, printmaking, and performance. Nauman lives in Galisteo, New Mexico....
, Chuck Close
Chuck Close
Charles Thomas "Chuck" Close is an American painter and photographer who achieved fame as a photorealist, through his massive-scale portraits...
, Louise Bourgeois
Louise Bourgeois
Louise Joséphine Bourgeois , was a renowned French-American artist and sculptor, best known for her contributions to both modern and contemporary art, and for her spider structures, titled Maman, which resulted in her being nicknamed the Spiderwoman...
, Rodney Graham
Rodney Graham
Rodney Graham is an artist and musician born in Abbotsford, British Columbia. He is most often associated with the Vancouver School...
, John Chamberlain, Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
, Heim Steinbach, Richard Prince
Richard Prince
Richard Prince is an American painter and photographer. Prince began appropriating photographs in 1975...
, Donald Judd
Donald Judd
Donald Clarence Judd was an American artist associated with minimalism . In his work, Judd sought autonomy and clarity for the constructed object and the space created by it, ultimately achieving a rigorously democratic presentation without compositional hierarchy...
, and many more. Shokof presented Maximalism with a work in this group show as well.
His last major exhibition took place in Berlin, Germany with the Galerie 360 Grad in the historic building known previously as the Koniglichen Direction in 2003. the show was a retrospective of more than 100 works by Shokof dating back to 1985 and was received well.
Shokof wrote a manifest about his thoughts on Maximalism
Maximalism
The term maximalism is sometimes associated with post-modern novels, such as by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, where digression, reference, and elaboration of detail occupy a great fraction of the text....
, and said that it covers all creativities that promote harmony, and unity of mankind on Earth. He then continued that both Minimalism
Minimalism
Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...
and Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
can be a prime factor for creating works containing such merits, be it music, dance, painting or films. He stated that:
"Unbalancing the chaos = Balance = Life = Maximalism" and concluded that therefore a Maximalist is not a nationalist, or internationalist
Internationalist
Internationalist may refer to:* Internationalism , a movement to increase cooperation across national borders* Internationalist, socialists opposed to World War I* The Internationalist Review, an e-journal founded in Maastricht...
but a Cosmotionalist.
Cosmotionalist was the title of his one man show
One man show
The term one-man show often referred to comedian, who would stand on stage and entertain an audience. With the advent of feminism, words and phrases such as one-woman show and comedienne have entered the modern-day lexicon....
at the Galleria Verlato in Milano, Italy, in 1990. The thoughts of Maximalism gave way to many further philosophical theories by Shokof about mankind, Creation, God, his conviction and obsession about "unity of mankind" and Yekishim as the "only" reason for people to be on Earth. Yekishim or ("become one") is a word created by Shokof, mixing two Persian words; "yeki" meaning one, and "shim" meaning to become. In his thoughts about Yekishim he states that unity of mankind is the mere reason we live on earth, and explains the reasons with which mankind qualifies as the solution to questions revolving all mysteries about creation in visionary and original details:
God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
is the Eternal
Eternity
While in the popular mind, eternity often simply means existence for a limitless amount of time, many have used it to refer to a timeless existence altogether outside time. By contrast, infinite temporal existence is then called sempiternity. Something eternal exists outside time; by contrast,...
energy.there is God until someone proves there is no God.God is the scope of our creativity. the greater is one,s creativity, the more colorful would be that person,s God.
Human Beings are of 4 types:
Those who are of Godly natures.
Those who are of Satanic natures.
Those who are of Godly and Satanic Natures.
Those who do all to make peace between God and Satan by uniting mankind on Earth.
This last type of Human Beings will lead the way to Yekishim on Earth.
"Religions have only prevented and made it more difficult for people to reach God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
directly. Every human-being, (even the Atheist) feels God and has constant direct contact to the creator throughout one's life without the pointing fingers of all religions showing the man-kind how to reach or believe in God on Earth. Heaven is not the Final or the highest phase to reach. all those in the heavens do not necessarily know the story of the Creation
Creation according to Genesis
The Genesis creation narrative describes the divine creation of the world including the first man and woman...
. If according to all religions Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
exists , then, it is just a place of rest for all the good deeds on earth. we will only find the "Truth" about the Creation when we Unite Yekishim... Love is only a program planned for us human beings to remain connected to earth, not to commit suicide, not to ask constantly why we are here, and it is elevated as a program to the next phase with having children to solidify our roots and interest to remain further on earth. the true "love" is when we all feel the urge to become "united" and "one" on earth. to reach "yekishim"...."
Atomic or Nuclear Energy is the safest and the most advanced type of all energies human being can use to advance to the upper levels of thoughts and movement. however, we human beings are only in early infant stages of technology comprehension and much too immature to fully understand and or use Atomic Energy properly yet. one day soon, all cars and or vehicles would use Nuclear Energy to move about without using a drop of oil, and with a speed much faster than that of the light.
His further activities in film, arts and political stands separated him from the rest of the artists and also stopped further exhibitions of the Maximalists and he ended up as the sole person in pursuit of completing more comprehensive thoughts of Maximalism in the years to come. His thoughts and philosophy about life and creation under Maximalism
Maximalism
The term maximalism is sometimes associated with post-modern novels, such as by David Foster Wallace and Thomas Pynchon, where digression, reference, and elaboration of detail occupy a great fraction of the text....
are published in the art books of his one-man shows in Germany, Italy, and the USA.
Films
Shokof made his first movie, a short experimental filmExperimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
called Angels Are Wired, in 1991. Since then he has made over 25 short
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
and feature length
Feature length
Feature length is motion picture terminology referring to the length of a feature film. According to the rules of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a feature length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes to be eligible for an Academy Award.The term may also...
films and has written over 50 film scripts, some of which he made into movies himself. He has a recognizable and independent style and does the complete "Mise en scène
Mise en scène
Mise-en-scène is an expression used to describe the design aspects of a theatre or film production, which essentially means "visual theme" or "telling a story"—both in visually artful ways through storyboarding, cinematography and stage design, and in poetically artful ways through direction...
" of every film he has made so far. He has never made a mainstream movie. Even his best known film, Seven Servants
Seven Servants
Seven Servants is a USA - Germany co-production 1996 German drama -comedy film made by Daryush Shokof. The movie is about a man who wants to unite and "connect" the races until his last breath.-Plot:...
(1995), starring Anthony Quinn
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
, was not screened publicly or distributed for 12 years after its release (Seven Servants is just now finally released through Pathfinder Distribution, New York, USA). Other actors who have worked with Shokof include David Warner
David Warner (actor)
David Warner is an English actor who is known for playing both romantic leads and sinister or villainous characters, both in film and animation...
and Jack Taylor
Jack Taylor (actor)
Jack Taylor is an American actor. He first relocated to Mexico in the late 1950s/early 1960s, and later to Spain, where he has appeared in many films, mostly horror and cheesy exploitation pictures...
.
Shokof's films express his own philosophy, thoughts, politics and world-view, and have all been made independent of any studio contract. Many of his films share unconventional characteristics, including varying screen perspectives. In his first film, Angels are Wired, the film is shown in two frames, each hanging from one side of a set of scales
Weighing scale
A weighing scale is a measuring instrument for determining the weight or mass of an object. A spring scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load...
. The story is played out simultaneously in both frames and they collide both conceptually and visually. His film Venussian Tabutasco
Venussian tabutasco
Venussian Tabutasco Is a 2004 experimental film produced, written and directed by Daryush Shokof. The title is made up by Shokof, similar to many other titles of works. It is an original conceptual film about the residents of different stories in a building viewed completely through a glass elevator...
was shot entirely in a glass elevator and Tenussian Vaccuvasco was shot through the windows of an apartment block. The titles of his films are often taken from works of art he has created.
His most recent film, Breathful
Breathful
Breathful is a gangster-comedy film with an all-woman cast made by Daryush Shokof in 2007 in Berlin, Germany.The title was used previously by Shokof for another movie in 1990 in New York, called:...
, a gangster-comedy film with an all-woman cast, is dedicated to the rights of women worldwide and more specifically to the freedom and rights of women in his own homeland Iran. The film reflects Shokof's belief that Iran is ruled by a brutal dictatorial Islamic republic regime which ignores the many basic rights of Iranian women.
SHIF Productions, USA, is producing Shokof's latest film Hitler's Grave in Berlin, Germany. Hitler's Grave]] is a semi-documentary story about a young girl who visits her dying brother seconds before he dies (the brother has suffered lethal blows under torture by thugs of Iranian Islamic Republic Regime in prison for having participated in the protests against the fraudulent results of the presidential elections in Iran in 2009). This Political-Romantic story is written by Shokof himself.
Music
Shokof made several music arrangements for his own movies in addition to have recorded several songs in Germany with the Music group DissidentenDissidenten
Dissidenten are a German rock band known for their collaborations with Middle Eastern, African and Indian musicians and the main protagonists of what the New York Times described in the 1980s as "world beat movement, led by groups like Dissidenten...."...
, Vision Earth, and Geheimbund between 1997 and 2000. he sang as the lead vocalist in these productions and wrote the lyrics as well:
http://www.mystic-of-sound.de/visionearth_main.htm
Political activities
Daryush Shokof has long been a voice and an activist against the Islamic Republic of Iran. He believes this establishment is a dictatorial Regime which has brutally and inhumanely trashed all civilized values, freedom and human rights in Iran for the last 30 years. In August 2005, he went on a seven-day hunger strikeHunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
for freedom and justice in Iran in front of the headquarters of the German Green Party in Berlin. He has boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
ed the Berlin Film Festival and all other major film festivals in the world because they have shown government approved Iranian films.
Shokof is one of the few Iranian artists and filmmakers of International notability who has never made a movie with any financial support from any country. His films have been widely ignored for not representing a certain government and or country.He remains a stateless artist up to this date and continues working completely independent from any state run, controlled, and or funded organization.
Shokof started a second hunger strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
for the world governments not to recognize the legitimacy of Iranian Islamic Republic Regime and the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to obvious vote rigging in Iran presidential elections 2009, in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, Germany on Friday 26–29 June 2009. Shokof's reason to do so is coded by him in the interview in below that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
was the first statesman to have recognized the fake and openly manipulated presidential elections in Iran. Shokof continues in his interview with Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
in Germany that it would be a most shameful act for any world leader to shake hands with Ahmadinejad and still be able to look into the eyes of the Iranian nation after the Islamic Republic Regim's Barbaric crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations of Iranians against the election that resulted in many dead demonstrators, torturing of over thousands, and imprisoning of so many who still undergo horrendous situations for having participated in the demonstrations.
- http://www.crew-united.com
Shokof has said:
"We brought religions to the western societies for over 5000 years, but then, they brought the world democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
and the values of their free societies, and democratic parliaments in only the last 200 years.if we praise and admire the great western societies of our time, it is then our duty to so unselfishly, and humbly admire and learn and yes, even "copy" their wonderful free structures to reach such advanced western world values regardless of many short-comings they still experience in completing their wishful standards and rid ourselves from dictators and inhumane regimes. The first learning of such a step is to respect, and tolerate the existence of free supporting political parties in the same parliaments be it the stands of the communist party to a capitalist party."
- http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,4437648,00.html
Shokof invites the freedom believers world-wide to join the crowd of people (Iranians and non-Iranians) going on a global Hunger Strike
Hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most hunger strikers will take liquids but not...
to alert and seek support from the world leaders "not" to recognize the fradulant presidential elecections in Iran and its equally illegal president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on JUly 24th in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Shokof has refused to submit his latest films, Heaven's Taxi
Heaven's Taxi
Hitler's Grave, also known as Heavens Taxi, is a film by Daryush Shokof. The film is about an Iranian girl played by Taies Farzan who leaves Iran in order to fulfill two promises she makes to her dying brother just moments before he dies...
and Iran Zendan
Iran Zendan
Iran Zendan is a feature film by Daryush Shokof about the situations of political prisoners currently in Iran. The film is a semi-documentary picture with images taken from the actual events during the mass protests of the 2009 Iranian presidential election and what happens to some of protesters...
, to the Berlin Film Festival. Iran Zendan is dedicated to the Iranian freedom movement portraying the true situation of current political prisoners in Iran. Iran Zendan was made to honor all those prisoners and brave protesters who died during the mass uprising against the Iranian presidential election, 2009
Iranian presidential election, 2009
Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election...
which was proved to have been rigged in favor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Shokof has written a global open-letter to boycott the Berlinale 2010 and has himself boycotted Berlin Film Festival for again having selected an Iranian film (a German-Iranian Co-Production) for the festival in 2010.In his open-letter Shokof writes that Berlinale has once again chosen to insult and undermine the struggle of Iranian nation for freedom from under the dictatorial regime of Islamic Republic of Iran.
A new protest is planned against the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
for repeatedly selecting works of an Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami
Abbas Kiarostami is an internationally acclaimed Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1970, Kiarostami has been involved in over forty films, including shorts and documentaries...
in a film co-produced by Iran and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Shokof argues the film is a shameful insult to the Iranians living through the darkest days of their history as thousands of protestors and political prisoners are tortured, or brutally killed by the thugs of the Iranian Islamic Republic Regime.
Shokof has already started a new wave of global protests with screenings of both his latest films Iran Zendan and Hitler's Grave against this inhumane acts committed by world first class film festivals that are screening and awarding the Iranian so called independent film directors and their films in the name of the arts and culture. He has repeatedly urged the global press to boycott the Cannes Film Festival this year and the screenings of both movies in Berlin on May 9, 2010. He believes that showing these Iranian films protected, produced, presented, and their directors are all propaganda plat forms for Iran's current Regime and a filthy slap against the face of the freedom loving Iranian nation in a true civilized, attempt in struggle to reach a free society in Iran.He calls the selection of all these films and their puppet directors are illegal undertakings as the Government of Ahmadinejad is an illegal one itself.
He argues that all these trades with such an illegal government (he refers to the world coverage of the facts about the fraud in the last presidential elections in Iran where Ahmadinejad has openly rigged the election results into their own advantage and in front of the whole world watchful eyes) is a shame for the world culture that needs to be against inhumanity, and dictatorships rather than promoting such events. Shokof has further argued that because of such so-called cultural communications Iran's government has become more popular, solidified, granted false merits, and even more established as a true center of civilization in the east. He further argues that such events and awards that are all "political" and not "artistic" at all are only destroying the world remaining free societies that still continue to help our world to progress and advance towards a more just, free and democratic societies. Both movies Iran Zendan and Hitler's Grave screened successfully and in full length and for the first time ever to a very limited crowd at Babylon Cinemas in Berlin on May 9, 2010. Iran Zendan showed to an over crowded screening of invited guests having had the very first chance to see this powerful ,courageous drama about the prisoner,s conditions in Iran's prisons under the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran Zendan is 70 minutes long and the first feature film portraying the brutality and inhumane treatments of the prisoners in the hands of Iran,s agents and interrogators inside the horrific prisons in Iran. Screening of both films will continue world-wide and should bring global awareness of the inhumane situation of political prisoners in Iran in the hope to support the opposition to reach freedom in Iran.the film Iran Zendan
Iran Zendan
Iran Zendan is a feature film by Daryush Shokof about the situations of political prisoners currently in Iran. The film is a semi-documentary picture with images taken from the actual events during the mass protests of the 2009 Iranian presidential election and what happens to some of protesters...
is now on the web page of the stop the bomb and free of charge for global view:
- http://www.stopthebomb.net
Shokof wrote the following in support of the formation of Iran's future :
"the name of Iran's next leader would be Freedom
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
.
freedom and her partner Civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
will have children by the names of Arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
, and Culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
.
Together this honorable,free-loving, peaceful Iranian family would join and connect Iran and Iranians to the advanced societies on Earth so that the Iranians could once again continue to serve Earth and its people with dignity and in support of making this a better world."
Kidnapping
Shokof was kidnapped by four terrorists in the city of CologneCologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, Germany, in late May 2010 and was kept for over twelve days in the hands of four Arab speaking men who told him he will die for having made his recent two movies Hitler's Grave and Iran Zendan in which he had insulted Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Khamenei, and Khomeini. He was freed on one condition that he stops releasing of both movies. Ever since his freedom Shokof has placed the movie Iran Zendan on world wide nets for free global view so that the world can see under which inhumane conditions the political prisoners in Iran live under the Regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The film is over 70 minutes long and was first placed on the global net by the stop the Bomb organization and is free of charge:
- http://www.stopthebomb.net
Shokof lives under German police protection ever since he was freed from the captors who kidnapped him.
Daryush Shokof left Germany in 2010 and lives currently in France.
Boat-In Cinema
Daryush Shokof created a new construction for viewing films inside boats in Germany in 2000. The concept was registered under the title Boat In Cinema in Berlin. the first such Cinema construction is set to be built in CannesCannes
Cannes is one of the best-known cities of the French Riviera, a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a Commune of France in the Alpes-Maritimes department....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in 2011, and thereafter in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
and the USA. The boats are each to be designed by a world ranked Artist or prominent Designers.100 Boats are to be designed by such artists in Cannes for the first ever such Cinema construction in 2011.
Filmography
This filmography includes only films listed in IMDB.| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Angels are Wired |
| 1991 | Dogs are not allowed |
| 1996 | Seven Servants Seven Servants Seven Servants is a USA - Germany co-production 1996 German drama -comedy film made by Daryush Shokof. The movie is about a man who wants to unite and "connect" the races until his last breath.-Plot:... |
| 1997 | Magass |
| 2000 | Tenussian Vaccuvasco |
| 2003 | She Would... |
| 2003 | Kiss, Long and Close |
| 2004 | Venussian Tabutasco Venussian tabutasco Venussian Tabutasco Is a 2004 experimental film produced, written and directed by Daryush Shokof. The title is made up by Shokof, similar to many other titles of works. It is an original conceptual film about the residents of different stories in a building viewed completely through a glass elevator... |
| 2005 | A2Z A2Z A2Z is a 2006 USA-German drama film by Daryush Shokof. The film is shot entirely in Berlin, Germany in 2004.-Plot:The old man and his lolita are lovers. They have decided to end it all by a dramatic "shoot-out" finale this very day... |
| 2006 | Asudem Asudem Asudem is an American horror film written and directed by Daryush Shokof. Asudem is the reverse writing of medusa indicates a surreal story of a woman Yangzom Brauen in the woods, where she meets Satan experiencing a heavenly vision after consuming hallucinogenic mushrooms... |
| 2007 | Breathful Breathful Breathful is a gangster-comedy film with an all-woman cast made by Daryush Shokof in 2007 in Berlin, Germany.The title was used previously by Shokof for another movie in 1990 in New York, called:... |
| 2007 | Smoqing |
| 2010 | Heaven's Taxi Heaven's Taxi Hitler's Grave, also known as Heavens Taxi, is a film by Daryush Shokof. The film is about an Iranian girl played by Taies Farzan who leaves Iran in order to fulfill two promises she makes to her dying brother just moments before he dies... |
| 2010 | Iran Zendan Iran Zendan Iran Zendan is a feature film by Daryush Shokof about the situations of political prisoners currently in Iran. The film is a semi-documentary picture with images taken from the actual events during the mass protests of the 2009 Iranian presidential election and what happens to some of protesters... |
| 2011 | Angie,s 100 |
Awards
- New York International Independent Film & Video Festival 2007 (L.A. festival)
- Genre Award for Best Feature Film - category Horror Asudem (2006)
- International Film Award for Best Director - category feature for: Breathful (2007)
- New York International Independent Film & Video Festival 2000 (Winter)
- Feature Film Award for Best Experimental Film - Tenussian Vacuvasco (2000)
- Locarno International Film FestivalLocarno International Film FestivalThe Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...
1996- Nominated for Golden Leopard for: Seven Servants (1996)
External links
- http://www.yekishim.com
- http://www.stopthebomb.net
- http://www.shifproductions.com
- http://www.heavenstaxithemovie.com
- http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4437648,00.html
- http://www.longtale.com
- http://www.galerie-360grad.de
- http://www.hitlersgrave.com
- http://www.l-artvisit.de
- http://www.mystic-of-sound.de/visionearth_main.htm
- Galerie Saraie
- Official site
- Beyond Persia
- ITN Distribution
- German Films
- International Film and Video Center
- Locarno Film Festival
- Seven Servants
- Ikwihet.nu
- http://en.inforapid.org/index.php5?search=Cinema%20of%20Iran