BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:adamgibbons/ics METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VEVENT UID:22492@offbeat.amsterdam SUMMARY:Holding the Light DTSTAMP:20260519T032830Z DTSTART:20260615T180000Z DESCRIPTION:Dreaming despite darkness: exploring life through pressure & un certainty.\n\nWhat kind of images survive in times of darkness? What does it mean to keep\ndreaming when exhaustion becomes part of everyday life? T his programme brings\ntogether five Iranian short films that explore life in moments of pressure\,\nuncertainty and fragile connection. The films mo ve through spaces shaped by\nfear\, distance\, intimacy and tenderness\, s howing how political realities are\nfelt in everyday gestures\, silences a nd relationships. Borrowing its title from\nHome Work: Holding the Light\, the programme understands light not as a simple\nsymbol of hope or rescue \, but as something people pass to one another. It\nappears in small momen ts: a face briefly visible in the dark\, a voice reaching\nacross distance \, a gesture that keeps someone from disappearing. Across the five\nfilms\ , dreaming is not an escape from reality. It becomes a way of staying huma n\nwithin it. Moving between memory and the present\, darkness and illumin ation\,\nthese films look not for heroes\, but for the quiet ways people s upport one\nanother through difficult times.\n\nFilmmakers: Sahand Sarhadd i [https://www.instagram.com/sahand.sarhaddi/?hl=en]\nMajid Fakhrian Ali J amshidi Film Critic Amin Pakparvar Mehraneh Salimian Mahyar\nMandegar Pars a Ansari\n\n\nHOMEWORK: HOLDING THE LIGHT | WRITER & DIRECTOR: MAJID FAKHR IAN\n\nIn a night class in a palm grove\, the students\, with the help of their teacher\,\nexperiment with different types of light and observing ob jects. Meanwhile\, a\nblind child is searching for a classmate whose name is unfamiliar to all the\nstudents.\n\n\nMEMORIES OF A WINDOW | WRITERS AN D DIRECTORS: MEHRANEH SALIMIAN AND AMIN\nPAKPARVAR\n\nFollowing crackdowns on protests in Iran\, civilians begin documenting the unrest\nfrom behind windows. When a woman is shot while recording\, a film student writes\nhe r a letter raising the question: Can revolution emerge from behind windows ?\n\n\nSLAUGHTER | WRITER & DIRECTOR: SAHAND SARHADDI\n\n“Besmel/Slaughter ” is an experimental short film that delves into the archival\nand histori cal footage of the Iranian Revolution in 1979\, depicting a symbolic\nnarr ative surrounding the ritualistic act of animal sacrifice\, known as\n“Bes mel”. It serves as an allegorical representation of a nation’s sacrifice\n amidst the backdrop of political transformations.\n\n\nTAHA | WRITER AND D IRECTOR: MAHYAR MANDEGAR\n\nIn a rundown Iranian circus in Los Angeles\, 7 0-year-old groundskeeper decides to\nparticipate in the show in order to s ee what the trapeze dancer sees every\nnight\, up in the sky.\n\n\nTHE VIL LAIN- DIRECTOR: PARSA ANSARI / WRITERS: MOBARAKEH MORTAZAVI\, PARSA ANSARI \n\nAn aging man who plays the villain in an Iranian Passion Play is haunt ed by\nmemories of his past and the woman he wronged many years ago. URL:https://offbeat.amsterdam/event/holding-the-light GEO:52.376857;4.9220756 LOCATION:Pakhuis de Zwijger - Piet Heinkade 179\, 1019 HC Amsterdam STATUS:CONFIRMED CATEGORIES:amsterdam-centrum,classes,eastern docklands,experimental,film,so cial X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html:Dreaming despite darkness: exploring life thro ugh pressure & uncertainty.

What kind of images survive in times of darkness? What does it mean to keep dreaming when exhaustion becomes part of everyday life? This programme brings together five Iranian short films that explore life in moments of pressure, uncertainty and fragile connect ion. The films move through spaces shaped by fear, distance, intimacy and tenderness, showing how political realities are felt in everyday gestures, silences and relationships. Borrowing its title from Home Work: Holdi ng the Light, the programme understands light not as a simple symbol of hope or rescue, but as something people pass to one another. It appears in small moments: a face briefly visible in the dark, a voice reaching ac ross distance, a gesture that keeps someone from disappearing. Across the five films, dreaming is not an escape from reality. It becomes a way of st aying human within it. Moving between memory and the present, darkness and illumination, these films look not for heroes, but for the quiet ways peo ple support one another through difficult times.

Filmmakers: Sa hand Sarhaddi Majid Fakhrian Ali Jamshidi Film Critic Amin Pakparvar Mehraneh Salimian Mahyar Mandegar Parsa Ansari

Homework: Holding the Light | Writer & Director : Majid Fakhrian

In a night class in a palm grove, the students, w ith the help of their teacher, experiment with different types of light an d observing objects. Meanwhile, a blind child is searching for a classmate whose name is unfamiliar to all the students.

Memories of a Window | Writers and Directors: Mehraneh Salimian and Amin Pakparvar

Following crackdowns on protests in Iran, civilians begin documenting the unrest from behind windows. When a woman i s shot while recording, a film student writes her a letter raising the que stion: Can revolution emerge from behind windows?

Slaughte r | Writer & Director: Sahand Sarhaddi

“Besmel/Slaugh ter” is an experimental short film that delves into the archival and histo rical footage of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, depicting a symbolic narr ative surrounding the ritualistic act of animal sacrifice, known as “Besme l”. It serves as an allegorical representation of a nation’s sacrifice ami dst the backdrop of political transformations.

Taha | Writer and Director: Mahyar Mandegar

In a rundown Iranian cir cus in Los Angeles, 70-year-old groundskeeper decides to participate in th e show in order to see what the trapeze dancer sees every night, up in the sky.

The Villain- Director: Parsa Ansari / Writers: Mobarakeh Mortazavi, Parsa Ansari

An aging ma n who plays the villain in an Iranian Passion Play is haunted by memories of his past and the woman he wronged many years ago.

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