For the course

I am writing this assignment with the dea that the film would be shown at our cinema in Newcastle – the volunteer run cinema where I work, the Star and Shadow Cinema.

 

It is a small cinema with a maximum of 75 seats.

 

For the review: our programmes are long because we print them every 2 months, so we try to keep the text to about 70 words max for each item. It is very hard to write something interesting in such few words.

 

Review

 

Persepolis

(Animation, 2007, Dir Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, France)

 

The Iranian government protested against this film being shown at the Cannes Film Festival, because it “presented an unrealistic face of the achievements and results of the glorious Islamic Revolution in some of its parts." The film still won a the prestigious Jury Prize at the aforementionned festival. An animated film, written and directed by Iranian born Marjane Satrapi, it is directly inspired from her youth and tells us what it is like it be coming of age under the Iranian Revolution.

 

If I programmed the film in our cinema, it would have to be after the film had already been released at the Tyneside cinema in Newcastle. Considering the interest that the film has attracted, I would think that my main problem would be that the main audience for this film in Newcastle (university people I would have thought), would already have seen the film.

 

Also, we only ever show a film once or twice. This means that showing the film can be more of an event rather than just a film showing. For all these reasons, if I showed the film at our cinema I would definitely try to have a lecturer from university give a talk/ have a discussion about the film afterwards.

I think that would make the film more interesting and would appeal to people who maybe had already seen the film, but also people who had not heard about the film itself. It would also mean that the lecturer involved would talk about it in his circles, and would in this way promote the film in a way as well.

 

For the lecturer, I would have to decide whether to contact a politics person or a film person. They are not easily available so I would contact both and see who can make it. However, I think my preference would go toward a politics/history person, as I think the content of the film is really what makes it, more than the formal/technical aspects of it.

 

Our cinema has a capacity of a maximum of 75 seats, and when we have 40 people it is great for us. So if I managed that I would be very happy (for one of the showings at least).

 

1.Target audience: eductated older people.

As mentionned earlier, I think University people would be the main target audience but they would already have seen the film. I would therefore target them anyway by putting posters up at Uni and sending them emails.

For the politics/history lecturers, I could also suggest that they tell their students about the film.

But I would try to attract probably educated older people/and younger educated people as well to a lesser extent by having an event around the film.

 

2.The story follows a young girl as she comes of age against the backdrop of the Iranian Revolution, the political situation severely affecting her life: arrestation and death of members of her family, curtailing of social liberties, her having to leave her family to go and study abroad.

 

3.Coming of age under the Iranian Revolution

 

4.There are many buzz words that could be used. In my case, the review would have to be very short so there are many of these words that I could not use.

Ideally, the words I woul try to use are the following: Iranian revolution; Iranian government; teenager; Metallica; rock music.

 

5. Other films you would refer to: that is a tough one. For me the film

6.