Lila Azam Zanganeh

Poor translation. I will give you two examples, where she fails as an interviewee and as a translator. The interviews were mainly done in Farsi language and were translated into English language in order to publish this book.

Page 82. Interview with Abbas Kiarostami: Abbas says, "Then I founded the film department of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, known as Kanun, and with the help of one of my friends (so typical not mentioning the friend's name and not giving him any credit). In this sentence, the verb "founded", which Kiarostami uses means he came across this institute, thanks to his "unknown" friend. He was not the "founder" of the institute. Misinformation.
Also, on the same page, the poor knowledge of the the interviewee/collector of this book presents itself, again. Abbas says, "In 1970, I made my first short film, called Bread and Alley, a twelve-minute feature about a young... ". "Feature" is a film that typically has a run time between 80 minutes and 180 minutes long. A 12 minute film is considered a "short".

Many errors scattered on the pages of this interviewing book.

I too have many connections and know a lot of people. Should I interview each and everyone of them and use their names to publish a book, and make a name for myself through other's achievement?!

On the same page, she even asks, WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST FILM FOR ADULTS?
Has she even watched his films?… (más)

My Sister, Guard Your Veil; My Brother, Guard Your Eyes, Uncensored Iranian Voices, edited by Lila Azam Zanganeh (pp 128). Published 2006. This collection of essays and interviews presents a wide variety of viewpoints on art, Iran, the 1979 Revolution, life, counter-culture, repression, freedom, and much more. It’s easy to mischaracterize this book as a collection of laments about post-revolutionary Iran, but while there is plenty of criticism, in my opinion it’s a celebration of Iran and Iranians. It was fun to read authors with which I am familiar, like Azar Nafisi (Reading Lolita in Tehran); Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis 1 and Persepolis 2), and Reza Azlan (No god but God). More importantly, is was nice to learn about other writers and artists: actress Shohreh, Aghdashloo, writer Gelareh Asayesh, filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, and others — fifteen in all. Most, but not all of the artists are or were expatriates at one point. It’s easy to say those who fled had fled Iran, but that isn’t accurate. Rather, they fled certain conditions, strictures, and people in Iran, but no matter where they landed, they all held tightly to their home country. My stay in Iran in, I think, 1974 was fleeting, but my memory of the country that dazzled and intrigued me came alive while reading these insightful essays and interviews. For anyone who “knows” about Iran only from what they read in the American press, and want a more accurate understanding of the country (at least from artists’ perspectives, please consider reading this collection. Given that many (most?) Americans’ first notice of Iran was the hostages from the American Embassy takeover in 1979, you might also want to read Guests of the Ayatollah, by Mark Bowden, but don’t read it first. Also, do read the other three books mentioned above. Great book!… (más)