29th Annual Festival of Films from Iran From February 2 through March 3, the Gene Siskel Film Center presents the "29 th Annual Festival of Fi

29th Annual Festival of Films from Iran

From February 2 through March 3, the Gene Siskel Film Center presents the "29 th Annual Festival of Films from Iran," presenting Chicago premieres of eight films by directors working within and outside of Iran. We open with the U.S. premiere of the documentary MOUTH HARP IN A MINOR KEY: HAMID NAFICY IN/ON EXILE by Maryam Sepehri. The film examines the experience of exile through the life and career of noted film historian and cultural critic Hamid Naficy, author of "A Social History of Iranian Cinema." On February 2, the audience is invited to a post-film reception sponsored by the Muslim American Leadership Alliance .

The films in this year’s series represent transgressive jabs at the status quo in many forms, from the goofy, scathing SLY, a thinly-disguised satire on a hardline former Iranian president, to PIG, which has rude comic fun with the plight of blacklisted Iranian filmmakers. SHEEPLE, a raucous action film, makes subjects including the underworld drug trade and a family honor killing fodder for black comedy