Mother keeps a look out for her son to return home from war. She knits him a pair of gloves remembering how her son rubbed his cold hands together on the wintry morning he left. The war goes on. Mother waits. She unravels the gloves and knits them over and over again. When their small home is bombed, the gloves burn into ashes. Mother sits atop the rubble, plucks her white hair one by one and knits the gloves with her hair. Finally spring arrives and the war ends. Mother hears the sound of military boots nearing. She gathers all the strength left in her and walks down the stairs with anticipation.
Empty View will be shown on Saturday, November the 10th, 10:30 AM at Borden Lumber and Hardware.
Director Biography – Ali Zare Ghanatnowi
Ali Zare Ghanatnowi, is an Iranian film director, screenwriter, photographer, translator, author, teacher, graphic designer, cameraman and producer. For the past two decades Ali, has been involved in making over twenty films, including animations, documentaries and short movies. He attained critical acclaim for directing Red Mind (2009) and Dad’s Fragile Doll (2013) which was awarded Best Animation at the International Open Film Festival (IOFF) and Best Animation at the Veterans Film Festival and Londan-X4. Ali’s films The Lights, and Sistan Itinerary, became nominees in CINEMA VERITE International Documentary Film Festival. His recent works, The Internationale, Essence and Empty View, are in animation format.
Ali’s first experience with film and media started at Iran’s National Broadcasting Company, in the state of Fars, where he worked as an editor, writer, and production assistant, when he was only sixteen. He not only continued working in the TV broadcasting field, but produced several shows for school and won his High School the country wide prestigious award for the Best School Show in 1997. Before starting his film studies at University of Tehran and continue on to Cinema School, Ali had already accumulated substantial experience in the field which helped further his university studies.
In directorial and cameraman capacity, Ali worked on a number of TV commercials and advertising campaigns from 2006 to 2016. In 2004 he founded, Cinema School, in Shiraz where he taught numerous workshops such as Principles of Pacing and Timing, Directing, Screenplay Writing, Film Theory and Criticism. He employed and invited prominent scholars like Saeed Aghighi, Farzad Motamen, Mohamadreza Aslani, Mahmoud Kalari, Mehri Shirazi, and Homayoon Asa’dian to teach various classes at his school.
