During the 60’s and 70’s thousands of Israelis are living in Tehran, enjoying a special relationship with the Shah and his dictatorial rule.
Protected by large arms deals and complex financial ties, the Israeli community enjoy a wealthy and luxurious lifestyle; failing to note that the corrupt and despised ruling power to which they are connected, is collapsing.
By the time they understand that their ‘Iranian Paradise’ is turning into hell, it is almost too late, and they stand to find themselves in the middle of the Islamist revolution, due to take Iran by storm.
Using rare archive footage, interviews with diplomats, Mossad agents, businessmen and their families, the director – whose family had been part of the very same community – reveals a new perspective on the revolution that changed the world.
What starts as a nostalgic look at a lost era, becomes a thrilling story where huge dreams are shattered in a dark reality of greed, blindness and lust for power.
Dan Shadur, the films' director, will attend the screening to hold a Q&A session.
A film by Dan Shadur & Barak Heymann |
|
Director: | Dan Shadur |
Producer: | Barak Heymann |
Editor: | Nili Feller |
Artistic consultant: | Ran Tal |
Cinematography: | Itay Marom, Itai Neeman |
Original music: | Ishai Adar |
Researcher and co-producer: | Dan Shadur |
Production company: | Heymann Brothers Films |
The film was produced for yes Docu and was funded by Rabinovich Foundation, Gesher Multicultural Film Fund and Israel Lottery Council For Culture & Arts. |
|
Co-Produced with ITVS |
A graduate of the Film and Television Department in Tel Aviv University, Dan was a writer and editor in some of the main newspapers in Israel, before shifting into Film and TV making. Dan was the founder and chief editor of the cultural section of Globes - Israel's leading financial newspaper, and founder of Shadurian Publisher's – a publishing house for cutting edge literature from Israeli and international writers.
In the last couple of years he made a few shorts, video clips and various works for TV, including a 30 minutes fiction film - "Sunburn".
Barak Heymann joined the "Heymann Brothers Films" company in 2003 and has since directed and produced several documentary films and series. “Heymann Brothers Films” is an independent Israeli company dedicated to the release of documentaries on the social aspect of the Israeli/Jewish culture.
Selected Documentaries:
2014 - Producer - Almost Friends – Doc Aviv FF premiere
2013 - Producer - Do you believe in Love? – DOK Leipzig | Santa Barbara Int'l FF | Krakow FF
2013 – Producer – Before the Revolution – Official selection HOTDOCS.
2012 – Director & Producer – End of the Story (5 episodes documentary series).
2011 – Producer – Life in Stills - Ophir Academy award for Best Documentary (Israeli Oscar), Best Film Award and Best Editing Award - DocAviv Int'l Documentary Film festival, Talent Dove Award - DokLeipzig Int'l Film Festival, Hot Docs Top 5 films Audience favorite, Best Documentary Award of Shanghai TV Festival, Special Jury Mention Zagreb Film Festival, Moscow Int'l Film Festival)
2011 – Producer – The Queen Has No Crown (Berlinale premiere, Krakow Int'l FF, Frameline, San Francisco Jewish FF, NewFest, TLVFest and more).
2010 - Producer - I Shot My Love (Berlinale premiere, Best Documentary - HotDocs, Audience Award - Taiwan Documentary Int’l Film Festival, Best Documentary - Side By Side GLBT Film Festival, Best Director & Best Film - Madrid GLBT Film Festival, Special Jury mention - Queer Lisboa GLBT Film Festival, Grand Prix & Best Documentary - Warsaw Jewish Film Festival, Sheffield DOC/FEST. Co-produced with WDR/ARTE).
2010 – Director & Producer – Lone Samaritan (Golden Award – Shanghai Int'l TV Festival, Creative Documentary Award – Int'l Human Rights FF Paris, Best Documentary Award – Toronto Jewish Film Festival, Best Documentary Award – Israeli Documentary Competition, FIPA International Film Festival, Krakov Int'l FF, Corona Cork Int'l FF Ireland, Mediawave Int'l FF Hungary, Haifa Int'l FF).
2009– Producer – The Way Home (first prize Jerusalem FF, first prize Israeli documentary competition)
2009 – Producer - Sayed Kashua - Forever Scared (IDFA competition).
2008 - Producer- Lady Kul-El Arab (Special Jury Award – IDFA).
2007 – Director & co-producer - Dancing Alfonso (Silver Award - Shanghai Int’l TV festival, Best Director Award - Cronograf International Documentary Film Festival, Moldova International Documentary Film Festival Chronograph , South by Southwest Film Festival, UK Jewish Film Festival)
2007- Director & co-producer - Debut (First prize - Israeli Documentary Competition)
2007 - Producer - Stalags- Holocaust and Pornography in Israel (HotDocs, Miami International Film Festival, It's All True Documentary Film Festival, Viennale International Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival. First Camera Award – RIDM FF)
2006 - Director & Producer - Bridge Over the Wadi (IDFA, Sylverdocs, Golden Award – Shanghai Int'l TV Festival, Audience award One World Film Festival Prague, first prize Kiev Contact - International Documentary Film Festival , Audience Award - WatchDocs Human Rights FF and many more. Co-produced with ITVS)
Heymann Brothers Films has been operating for over a decade and specializes in long term documentary projects with a social and political orientation, as well as very personal ones. The company was founded by Tomer Heymann, one of the leading documentary directors in Israel. In
2001 he created “It Kinda Scares Me” which won the Academy Award in Israel, and other awards in Torino, Milan, New York, Taipei and Melbourne.
In 2003 his film "Aviv - Fucked Up Generation" came out commercially and brought a vast amount of viewers to the cinemas, as it correspondingly participated in many festivals worldwide.
In 2006 his film "Paper Dolls" won three awards at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival and other awards in Torino, Manila, Zurich, Los Angeles, Copenhagen and more. In 2007 both of his new films "Out of Focus" and "Black over White" came out and participated in many different International Film Festivals ever since. During 2007 Tomer also directed a 4-part TV series called "Cinderellas" for the Israeli Channel 2.
In 2003 Barak Heymann, Tomer’s younger brother, joined the company and has since directed and produced an impressive number of documentary films for television and cinema: In 2005, together with Tomer, he created the TV series "Bridge over the Wadi" for the Yes Doco channel in Israel. The series won first place in the Israeli Documentary Competition and praising reviews. About a year later the Heymann brothers created a one-hour version of "Bridge over the Wadi". The film, co-produced with the American ITVS, participated in IDFA Festival's prestigious competition and won many awards around the world. Their mutual TV series "Debut" (2007) won the Israeli Documentary competition and was screened by Yes Doco channel.
Barak's film "Dancing Alfonso" (2007) was screened at the 2008 SXSW festival, won the silver award in the Shanghai TV festival, and the best directing award in Cronograf Documentary Film Festival in Moldova. His latest film “Lone Samaritan” (2010) was screened at the FIPA Film Festival, Krakow Film Festival, The Human Rights Film Festivals in Paris and Bucharest and won the Best Documentary Award at the Jewish Film Festival in Toronto as well as the Best Documentary award at the Israeli Documentary competition.
Among Barak’s outstanding work as a producer is the film "Lady Kul el Arab" (2008) by the award winning Palestinian director Ibtisam Mara'ana, which won a special jury award in IDFA and many other awards worldwide, "Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel" (2007) by director Ari Libsker was screened at the Film Forum in New York, in Hot-Docs and many other festivals throughout the world and won the first camera award at RIDM Festival in Montreal, and "Sayed Kashua - Forever Scared" (2009) by director Dorit Zimbalist which was screened at the IDFA Film Festival.
During 2008 four retrospective events for the Heymann Brothers filmmaking work were held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Tel Aviv.
The Heymann Brothers latest 8-part TV series “The Way Home” (2009), directed by Tomer, was broadcast on Yes Doco channel in Israel and won the Best Documentary Series Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival, as well as the best documentary series award at the Israeli documentary competition.
“I Shot My Love” (2010, co-produced with WDR/ARTE) by Tomer Heymann had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, has participated in many prestigious film festivals around the world, and has won many awards including the best mid-length documentary in HOTDOCS, the Audience award at the Taiwan Int’l film festival, the best film & best director at the Warsaw Jewish Film Festival, special jury mention in Queer Lisboa, best documentary award at Side by Side Film Festival and more. The film is going to be screened in 20 different cities in Germany throughout 2011.
Those days the Heymann Brothers are working on a number of different new projects (documentary films and series), and are teaching documentary filmmaking in different film schools around Israel. The latest production by Heymann Brothers – “The Queen Has No Crown” (2011, by Tomer Heymann) is having its world premiere in the Berlinale on February 12th..
Heymann Brothers Films
2 Barzilay street
Tel-Aviv 65113
Israel
Office: 972-3-5602701
Fax: 972-3-5604082
Barak: 972-52-2742445
Ranit: 972-52-6202068
E-mail: info@heymannfilms.com