The success of a film made by a UT Professor in an international film festival

The success of Hafez and Goethe's film (made by a professor at the University of Tehran) at the 2020

American Archaeological Film Festival The Iranian documentary film “Hafez and Goethe” was honored at the Archaeology Channel International Film Festival in the United States.“Hafez and Goethe” by director Farshad Fereshteh-Hekmat won the award for best music,while it also received two honorable mentions for cinematography and animation and special effects.

Dr. Farshad Fereshteh Hekmat (Professor of Cinema, Film Director, Poet and Writer) is a faculty member of the Department of Performing Arts, Faculty of Performing Arts and Music, University of Tehran. Produced at Iran’s Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC), “Hafez and Goethe” explores the impacts of Hafez and Goethe, two of the most prominent poets of all time.

It takes a closer look at how Hafez, a Persian poet writing in the 14th century, came to have a strong impact and influence on Goethe, a German poet writing in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hafez’s influence is best explored through Goethe’s invaluable collection of poems called “West-Eastern Diwan.” This collection can be seen as an early example of the blending of Western and Eastern cultures in art. Due to complications from the COVID-19 outbreak in Oregon, the festival’s playlist was available from May 13 to help viewers around the world see the films selected for screening.

The festival intended to showcase the wonderful diversity of human cultures past and present in the exploration of our place in history and in our world, as well as to promote the genre and the makers of films and video productions about cultural heritage