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NEWS: Swiss Director to Remake DEAD HEAT UNDER THE SHRUBS Saturday 12th 2008f January 2008 23:15
Iran Daily 2005/04/20
--An Iranian feature film Kavir-e Marg / DEAD HEAT UNDER THE SHRUBS will be remaked by a Swiss film director, Denis Rabaglia.

Iranian filmmaker Esmael Barari produced the film four years ago in the deserts around Isfahan. Barari told IRNA that Rabaglia will shoot the film on the snowy mountains of his country.

The DEAD HEAT UNDER THE SHRUBS narrates the story of a young boy from rural area who is working in desert. He comes across a woman who wants to hide the body of a person she killed. The film develops the relations between the young boy and the criminal woman.

Barari said that he produced the film in cooperation with a team of non-professional artists and it was screened in 12 international film festivals worldwide with the most recent being the festival in Valladolid, Spain.
He said that the jury of the Valladolid International Film Festival and the audience welcomed the film and mentioned its soundtrack and plot.

NEWS: Iran cooperating with ECO members in film production Monday 07th 2008f January 2008 18:38
Click Here for Mehr News Agency official website


TEHRAN, Oct. 10 (MNA) -- Iran is cooperating with Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) members in film production.

The first contract was signed by Iran and the cultural officials of Kyrgyzstan, the Iranian advisor of the ECO Cultural Institute said on Tuesday.
Esmaeil Barari noted that Iran and ECO members have been cooperating in the field of cinema but Iranian officials have recently decided to enhance the collaboration with the new project.
Iran also plans to make deals to work together with Turkey, Pakistan, and Tajikistan in cinematic productions.

NEWS: Day of Rain in Paris Sunday 09th 2007f December 2007 12:25
Le Festival International du Film d'Environnement (November, 21-27, 2007)
  DAY OF RAIN was showed in the Environmental International Film Festival in Paris.
This competition was disposed with feature films of Russia, Iran, Australia, Philipine, Turkey and Spain.
Helen Dobronsky the manager of www.DIGITFILMS.com and www.FILMFESTIVALS.com said:

"Today I went to LA PAGODE to a cinema nearby in Paris and was amazed to see that they were your film DAY OF RAIN tonight at showing in the Festival of Environment.
The cinema director said the room was 3/4 full and nobody came to introduce the film as in other cases of answer questions about it. What a wasted opportunity !
Anyway, it is quite an honor for you to be selected in the feature film competition."

It's to be told that CMI (Organization of film distributing of Islamic Ripublic of Iran TV) didn't allow the filmmakers of the film for going to Paris.

NEWS: DEAD HEAT UNDER THE SHRUBS [Kavir-e Marg] on Indieflix Wednesday 25th 2007f July 2007 04:29
Buy the movie!

Greetings,
I'm very excited to announce that DEAD HEAT UNDER THE SHRUBS is now available on IndieFlix. To purchase it on DVD, go to 'IndieFlix' website

Esmael Barari
Director

NEWS: Esmael Barari in "Pilgrimage" Monday 25th 2007f June 2007 14:20
Official web site: http://www.filmfestivals.com
  Documentary, 28 min, 2008, Iran






"Imam Reza" was a spiritual leader, one of the descendants of the Islam holy prophet Mohammad. The Almighty God loved him. Iranian people have been gone lovely on pilgrimage to his shrine for about 1000 years. Any one makes a lovely spiritual relationship with him. This documentary film as a poem catapults you to the heart of this relationship.

NEWS: "Day of Rain" [Rooz-e Baran] can be worldwide hit: director Wednesday 18th 2007f April 2007 17:30
Saman Khallave in DAY OF RAIN (Rooz-e Baran) [Photo: B.Sadeqi]
The seventh movies of Esmael Barari is a story about the people who live in a desert land country "Sarayan" which is located in southern Khorasan, Iran. The content of this movie is spiritual.

Iranian director Esmael Barari believes that his movie Day of Rain will appeal to a world audience.
"The film can attract many viewers and I am planning for its world screening", he told Mehr News Agency on Friday.
"However I am surprised its sponsor, Iranian television, shows no reaction to my proposal that it should be screened in cinema halls. They are uninterested in the scheme and will not discuss the issue", he added.
Barari underlines that although the film has a video-form structure it was made for silver screens, "I wanted to make the film in 35mm format, but it was impossible at that time."
"Day of Rain" is Written by Mohammad-Saeed Bahmanpur, revised by Mohammed Rezaii-Rad, and produced by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) channel 2.

http://www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8411240267

Presence of DEAD HEAT UNDER THE SHRUBS<Kavir-e Marg> in Festivals: Wednesday 06th 2006f December 2006 23:58
GOLDEN MINBAR- Leila Boushehri in Dead Heat under the Shrubs (Kavir-e Marg) [Photo: B.Sadeghi]
 1- 7th Brooklyn, USA-New York/ Jun 3-12th 2004
2- Cinema Paradise, USA-Hawaii/ Sep 17-23rd 2004
3- 12th Raindance, UK- London/ Oct 1-20th 2004
4- 6th Panorama, Greece-Thessaloniki/ Sep 29-Oct 9th 2004
5- 49th Valladolid, Spain-Valladolid/ Oct 22 -30th 2004
6- 7th Rehoboth Beach, USA-Delaware/ Nov 10-14th 2004
7- 1st annual Turks & Caicos, USA- / Nov 13-20th 2004
8- 4th Anchorage Film Festival, USA-Alaska / Dec 2-12th 2004
9- 4th Tiburon International Film Festival, USA-California / March 11-17th 2005
10-Festival del Cine Pobre ,Cuba-Gibara /April 18th - 24 th 2005
11-Indianapolis International Film Festival, USA-IN /April 22-23, 2005
12-Int'l Fest. of Muslim Cinema"Golden Minbar", Russia-Kazan/ Sep 10-17th 2006


NEWS: The comments on Dead Heat at Indianapolis... Monday 25th 2005f April 2005 20:14
Monday, April 18 2005 @ 11:53 PM EST - Contributed by: Diana Lucy Rooks


The 2nd Annual Indianapolis International Film Festival runs April 21-24 at the Hollywood Bar and Filmworks. The opening night gala is only a week away, and Brian Owens, founder of the Indianapolis International Film Festival, has a lot to do. At regular intervals, boxes and cans of movies arrive at his desk in the lobby of the Hollywood Bar and Filmworks...

...but Iran is still turning heads. Working within the confines of a production code that restricts depictions of adult relationships, Iranian storytellers have produced some of the best films ever made about the lives of children. Dead Heat Under the Shrubs, by new director Esmael Barari, throws a seemingly innocent boy together with a sketchy older woman to produce a taut, 71-minute tale of suspense.


NEWS: Tehran Times , IRAN DOKHT, IRAN MANIA & PERSIAN JURNAL LATEST IRAN NEWS: Iranian movies in US film fest Monday 14th 2005f March 2005 13:14
Click Here for 4th Annual Tiburon International Film Festival official website


Four feature-length films as well as a number of short films from Iran are competing in the Fourth Tiburon International Film Festival (TIFF), which began on March 11 in the northern California town.

Mania Akbari's "20 Fingers", Ahmadreza Darvish's "Duel", Esmaeil Barari's "Dead Heat Under the Shrubs", and Amir-Shahab Razavian’s "Tehran at 7 a.m." are the feature-length films from Iran vying for prizes at TIFF.

A total of 270 films from 60 countries are being screened at the festival, which will continue until March 17.

This year's festival is paying tribute to Orson Welles, Sam Peckinpah, Malcolm McDowell, and a number motion picture stuntmen.

TIFF seeks to provide a greater understanding of the world and its many cultures through the artistic medium of film, and through the top quality films from around the world that would not be accessible without an event of this nature. The festival wishes to enhance tolerance between people of all backgrounds.

NEWS: 'Dead Heat under the Shrubs' at Indianopolis Festival ! Friday 11th 2005f March 2005 07:57
2005 INDIANAPOLIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL LINEUP


When the sun rises over the desert, a young man sets off on his daily routine - harvesting plants to sell in the local market. At the same time, an aging woman takes off in her aging car to dump an unwanted package where no one can see her (it is, after all, the body of her recently murdered lover). When the paths of the boy and woman intersect, it cannot be good for either of them.

Drenched in beautiful, naturally-lit cinematography, this unorthodox thriller is deceptively simple. As the boy's knowledge of the terrain, and the aging woman's disorientation become more apparent, the audience begins to question who is the hunter and who is the hunted - they may find themselves thinking that Barari is the unvarnished offspring of Kiarostami and Hitchcock. If you know what that means, you will enjoy this independent Persian offering.

7th Rehoboth Beach Independent Film Festival, 2004 Saturday 30th 2004f October 2004 01:19
Sneaking Suspicions [ Archives-- November 7-13, 2004 ]


Fritz Schranck:

Iranian Director Esmael Barari places Hitchcock-like chase movie among stark desert scenery.


[Kavir-e Marg / Dead Heat under the Shrubs]
Farsi, with English subtitles obviously created by non-native speaker. Very good!

Spain News: Seminci. - The young people made mentions to the cortometraje ' Ryan' and the film 'Calor mortal bajo la maleza' [Dead Heat under the Shrubs] Friday 29th 2004f October 2004 20:14
49th Valladolid international Film Festival web site

VALLADOLID, 29 (EUROPE PRESS)

La pelيcula 'Bin-Jip' ('Hierro 3'), de Kim Ki-Duk, en la Secciَn Oficial, y 'Habana, Havana', de Alberto Arvelo, en Punto de Encuentro, fueron los largometrajes galardonados hoy con el Premio de la Juventud que otorga el Consejo Local en la 49 ediciَn de la Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid (Seminci).
También se hizo una menciَn a la pelيcula iranي 'Calor mortal bajo la maleza', de Esmael Barari, "en dura pugna con la pelيcula ganadora por las preferencias del jurado joven". De este largometraje destacaron su extraordinario ritmo, la brillantez de su puesta en escena y el acierto en subvertir un argumento ya visto para enfocarlo desde un prisma totalmente diferente.

In English
Also a mention to the Iranian film was made "Dead Heat under the Shrubs"[Calor mortal bajo la maleza] , of Esmael Barari, "in hard struggle with the winning film by the preferences of the young jury". Of this largometraje they emphasized its extraordinary rate, the brilliance of its putting in scene and the success in subvertir an argument already seen to focus it from a totally different prism.


http://www.lukor.com/cine/noticias/0410/29201413.htm
http://www.porlared.com/cinered/noticias/n_act04110201.html
http://es.news.yahoo.com/041029/4/3pzrn.html

Kavir-E Marg reviewed at Starbulletin.com Thursday 28th 2004f October 2004 09:34
Iranian filmmaker parlays Hitchcockian pursuit. By Tim Ryan

Iranian filmmaker Esmael Barari's "Dead Heat Under the Shrubs" is a "Lawrence of Arabia" meets "North By Northwest."



"Dead ..." has the simplest of plots, so the magic isn't found in the story but the sheer tension and the stark vistas of the desert. Barari's cinematography bathes the dawning desert in a gentle mystery entirely at odds with the frantic chase being played out.



Click the above link to read more ...

News: 12th RAINDANCE Film Festival's comment about "Dead Heat..." Friday 01st 2004f October 2004 18:15
*THE GUARDIAN: Raindance is Britain's largest and most exciting independent film festival
The latest product of Iran's film industry is Lawrence of Arabia meets North By Northwest with more than a little Wacky Races thrown in.

As the sun rises over the Iranian desert on a morning like any other, a boy leaves his home to collect shrubs to sell at the market. At the same time, a desperate woman sets out in her battered jalopy to dump the body of her lover into the well. He is the only witness to her crime and he must die.

She guns the engine and sets off after him; he runs for his life, using the textures and secrets of the undulating desert to evade her. This Hitchcockian pursuit leads us through ancient ruins, goatherds' cottages, underground aqueducts and finally to the boy's house and a gory, sudden end.

The boy's rising desire for revenge and the woman's deteriorating health and increasing disorientation mean that the original reason for the chase is quickly forgotten, as is the distinction between pursuer and pursued. This is a film with the simplest of plots, but the magic is not to be found in the story, but in the rhythms of the sheer butt-clenching tension, as well as the stark vistas of the serene and silent sands. Experienced filmmaker Esmael Barari's beautiful cinematography bathes the dawning desert in a gentle mystery entirely at odds with the frantic chase being played out on its canvas. In short, it's a minor gem of a film. NS

NEWS : CINEMA PARADISE Film Fest 04 Wednesday 15th 2004f September 2004 16:52
Click Here for Cinema Paradise Film Festival official website




A lesson in filmmaking by director Esmael Barari and a great performance by Leila Booshehri.




On just an ordinary day, a teenage boy happens to witness a woman dumping a dead body down a well near his village on the outskirts of the desert. Noticing his presence, the murderess decides to kill him, starting a deadly marathon.

Esmael Barari in SKY CENTER [Documentary Film] Friday 13th 2004f August 2004 03:13
Click Here for Morteza Avini official web site

The word "Sky Center" is derived from "Morteza Avini " scripts.

Since 1400 years, "Shiah Muslims" the world over, mourn the anniversary date of the martyrdom of Hussain, great son of the holy Islam prophet "Muhammad" .
Each city celebrates this ceremony in its own distintive way. Different regions reflect in their mourning celebrations, their own regional folk.
This time, we decided to picture the mourning ceremony in a place where its people are lost !!
This means they are no longer among us ! For they are martyrs of the war waged by Iraq against Iran.
This led us to one of the last battlefields named "FAKKEH".
An area full of strange energies and a mysterious environment....