Dariush Mehrjui's "Mama's Guest" makes debut in Wood Green, London

Following the launch of the project of screening Iranian films in the UK, which was coincided with the opening of The Duel with the presence of its director and a number of cast, Behnegar company in London is delighted to announce the release of Mama’s Guest (Mehman-e Maman) in Cineworld Wood Green to the North of London from Friday 18 February.

Mama’s Guest is another work of a great Iranian director, Dariush Mehrjui, who some critic believe that his first major film The Cow (or gav) has inspired many contemporary Iranian directors.

Mama’s Guest Synopsis:

The “mama” receives two dear guests: her recently married nephew and his wife are visiting her house for the first time. Her husband, who is a film buff and theatre movie projectionist, is coming home empty handed with no money while informing the rest of the family about the closing down of the theatre. Mama, who is suffering from a heart disease, is desperate because their financial situation is not allowing her to receive her guests properly and serve them in a traditional Iranian manner. The neighbours, in this old fashioned housing complex, who are even in worse financial stress, wholeheartedly come to rescue and help her to create a wonderful dinner feast.

Director: Dariush Mehrjui
Screenwriters: Dariush Mehrjui and Hooshang M Kermani and Vahideh Mohammadifar
35mm, Color, PG, 104mins, 2004, Persian with English subtitle

Cast:
Ms Golab Adineh
Mr. Amin Hayaee
Mr Parsa Piroozfar
Mr Hassan Poorshirazi

Producer: Dariush Mehrjui
Production: Cima Film Centre
Distributer: Behnegar

Director of photography: Tooraj Mansoori
Sound: Jahangir Mirshekari
Editor: Mehdi Hosseinivand
Music: Emad Bonakdar
Website: www.behnegar.com

Some reviews:

Washington City Paper
Iranian New Wave cinema icon Dariush Mehrjui crafts an apparently artless tale with beguiling skill and mastery. The arrival of her nephew and his new bride throws poor Mrs. Effat into a crisis. Her larder is too meagre to do them honour and she is too proud to lose face. Through self-pity and manipulation, she eventually involves her entire bickering apartment complex in her dilemma. But what begins as comedic farce evolves into something more compassionate: We come to understand each neighbour's struggle and means for coping. All may be poor and even wilfully self-deluded, but for one night at least, they create a small miracle of food and happiness on behalf of Mrs. Effat's guest.

The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
Florida Premiere
Iranian New Wave cinema icon Dariush Mehrjui crafts an apparently artless tale with beguiling skill and mastery. The arrival of her nephew and his new bride throws poor Mrs. Effat into a crisis. Her larder is too meager to do them honor and she is too proud to lose face. Through self-pity and manipulation, she eventually involves her entire bickering apartment complex in her dilemma. But what begins as comedic farce evolves into something more compassionate: We come to understand each neighbor's struggle and means for coping. All may be poor and even willfully self-deluded, but for one night at least, they create a small miracle of food and happiness on behalf of Mrs. Effat's guest.


Asia Society
Mama's Guest/Mehman-e-Maman
Veteran director Mehrjui (The Cow, Leila) proves to be a master of the ensemble comedy in this story of one of family's attempt to throw an impromptu banquet for a newly married nephew, which evolves into a chaotic operation involving the whole neighbourhood. The mother in question is anxious to receive her guests in a proper Iranian fashion, while her husband, a film buff who has recently been laid off from his work, raises mischief at every turn and almost bungles her plans. With its heart-warming slapstick and cast of charming characters.


FOCUS ON ASIA FUKUOKA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Receiving a visit from your newly wed, successful nephew and his bride must be a great joy, but it turns out to be a disaster if you do not have spare food plus your just laid-off, film buff husband and naughty son repeatedly raise mischief. Now, eccentric but kind neighbours come to the family's rescue to treat the guests!
Set in an old-fashioned housing complex, Iranian film master Dariush Mehrjui presents a heartwarming slapstick comedy full of charming characters.


Mama's Guest" has won the prize for `best film' in the 2004 Fajr Film Festival.
The film was presented in several festivals including The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Fukuoka International Film Festival and Freer Gallery of Art Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

About the director:
Dariush Mehrjui is born in Tehran in 1940 and graduated in philosophy and filmmaking from UCLA in 1964. His works have been awarded numerous prizes at local and international film festivals. His major works are:
The Cow (1970)
Mr Simpleton (1971)
Postman (1973)
The cycle (1976-79)
The School we went to (1981)
Journey to the land of Rimbaud (1984, france)
Lodgers (1987)
Shirak (1989)
Hamoon (1990)
Banoo (1992)
Sara (1993)
Pari (1995)
Leila (1996)
The Pear Tree (1998)
Mix (2000)
Bemani (2002)

Behnegar is one of the leading Iranian companies in the field of producing and distributing film. The UK representative of this company in co-operation with Cine-UK (the owner of Cineworld Cinemas) has started their new project to showcase Iranian films in the UK. In this scheme many Iranian films, for the first time, will be premiered in the UK soon after their first release in Iran The screening of the films in other cities that have mainly large number of Persian speaking population will then follow the scheme.

Following “Mama’s Guest”, “Girls Dormitory” (Khabgaheh Dokhtaran) a film currently on screens in Tehran.will then be showed in London.

In terms of quantity, Iranian cinema is quite productive, with its output in recent years standing at average annually 70 feature films. In terms of quality though, Iranian cinema has already shown its strength in many international film festivals. However, these festivals alongside few screenings of Iranian films in art house theatres have been the main windows to discover Iranian cinema outside Iran. Lack of a proper space for regular screening of Iranian films in mainstream cinemas in the West has resulted in art house and especially popular Iranian films stay concealed from the public view in countries like Britain.

The main challenge is to tackle this weakness while promoting better cultural understandings.