- Daryush Shokof
-
Daryush Shokof (Persian: داریوش شکوف) (born Ali Reza Shokoufandeh on June 25, 1954) is an Iranian artist, film director, philosopher, writer, art director, and film producer, and singer. He was born in Tehran, Iran, but lives in Germany.
Contents
Background
Shokof left Iran in the 1970s to continue education in the United States where he studied physics and mathematics at Eastern New Mexico University and then industrial management at the University of Texas at Dallas. At the age of 22 he moved to New York City, became interested in, and began studying art and film at New York University. In 1985, Shokof moved to Germany, where he became a full-time artist and sculptor. He continued to simultaneously write film scripts and made his first feature film debut Seven Servants in Germany in 1995. Seven Servants was an impressive and daring first attempt on the big screen. Seven Servants is often mentioned as one of the most original movies ever made.[citation needed] Even though the fate of the movie was a most unfortunate one in which it never got released for over 13 years, it somehow paved the way for Shokof to continue making movies with his unique views of filmmaking and establishing his name as an original Auteur filmmaker.[1]
Beliefs
His obsession with the "unity" of mankind merged as a prime factor in all his later activities, in his art "Maximalism" (which gave way to his philosophy of Yekishim), in his movie Seven Servants, and in many of his paintings where the harmony and affection amongst people of all races appear to play a main role. In almost all of his films people of different races are the accomplishing force of leading the story.
Art and philosophy
Maximalism-Yekishim
He coined the term Maximalism,[2] Shokof used the term in connection with his artwork in Cologne, Germany in 1990, and his art was featured along with other artists in art exhibitions titled Maximalisten at the Schulze gallery in Cologne, and Maximalists at the Bess Cutler Gallery in New York, in 1991. Many one-man showsand group exhibitions took place under Maximalism and the movement was supported by many artists such as, Mark Kostabi, Milan Kunc, Jan Knapp, Luigi Ontani, Marcello Jori, Wainer Vaccari, Helgi Fridjohnsson, Jeff Koons and many others at the first Exhibition of Maximalists which was held in Gallery Schulze, Cologne, Germany in 1990, and Galleria Verlato in Italy during 1990-1992. Another group show of the works of the Maximalists was shown in the Kunsthaus in New York in 1995-1996. The works of these painters had similar characteristics; they were all figurative and had eroticism and nature as their prime theme, with humor and poetry playing a fundamental role. All the works were socially, politically, and philosophically conscious works of arts. Later Shokof stated that being a Maximalist does not mean being against Minimalism.° His first one-man exhibition was under the title Antenna which showed "antenna" sculptures of many colors and different sizes with fresh, ironic, and philosophically witty conceptual dialogues with God at the gallery Maerz in Cologne in 1989. The show was an instant success and got great reviews and paved the way for him to continue many more exhibitions coming his way in Europe. Shokof helped constructing the concept of New York KunstHall alongside Christian Leigh who was the originator of the concept in New York in 1992. In the first group show at the KunstHall in New York which was curated by Christian Leigh and under the title Psycho with works from great many notable names of the Modern Art scene of the world: Andy Warhol, Bruce Nauman, Chuck Close, Louise Bourgeois, Rodney Graham, John Chamberlain, Ed Ruscha, Roy Lichtenstein, Heim Steinbach, Richard Prince, Donald Judd , and many more. Shokof presented Maximalism with a work in this group show as well.
His last major exhibition took place in Berlin, Germany with the Galerie 360 Grad in the historic building known previously as the Koniglichen Direction in 2003. the show was a retrospective of more than 100 works by Shokof dating back to 1985 and was received well.
Shokof wrote a manifest about his thoughts on Maximalism, and said that it covers all creativities that promote harmony, and unity of mankind on Earth. He then continued that both Minimalism and Sufism can be a prime factor for creating works containing such merits, be it music, dance, painting or films. He stated that:
"Unbalancing the chaos = Balance = Life = Maximalism" and concluded that therefore a Maximalist is not a nationalist, or internationalist but a Cosmotionalist.
Cosmotionalist was the title of his one man show at the Galleria Verlato in Milano, Italy, in 1990. The thoughts of Maximalism gave way to many further philosophical theories by Shokof about mankind, Creation, God, his conviction and obsession about "unity of mankind" and Yekishim as the "only" reason for people to be on Earth. Yekishim or ("become one") is a word created by Shokof, mixing two Persian words; "yeki" meaning one, and "shim" meaning to become. In his thoughts about Yekishim he states that unity of mankind is the mere reason we live on earth, and explains the reasons with which mankind qualifies as the solution to questions revolving all mysteries about creation in visionary and original details:
God is the Eternal energy.there is God until someone proves there is no God.God is the scope of our creativity. the greater is one,s creativity, the more colorful would be that person,s God.
Human Beings are of 4 types: Those who are of Godly natures. Those who are of Satanic natures. Those who are of Godly and Satanic Natures. Those who do all to make peace between God and Satan by uniting mankind on Earth. This last type of Human Beings will lead the way to Yekishim on Earth.
"Religions have only prevented and made it more difficult for people to reach God directly. Every human-being, (even the Atheist) feels God and has constant direct contact to the creator throughout one's life without the pointing fingers of all religions showing the man-kind how to reach or believe in God on Earth. Heaven is not the Final or the highest phase to reach. all those in the heavens do not necessarily know the story of the Creation. If according to all religions Heaven exists , then, it is just a place of rest for all the good deeds on earth. we will only find the "Truth" about the Creation when we Unite Yekishim... Love is only a program planned for us human beings to remain connected to earth, not to commit suicide, not to ask constantly why we are here, and it is elevated as a program to the next phase with having children to solidify our roots and interest to remain further on earth. the true "love" is when we all feel the urge to become "united" and "one" on earth. to reach "yekishim"...."
Atomic or Nuclear Energy is the safest and the most advanced type of all energies human being can use to advance to the upper levels of thoughts and movement. however, we human beings are only in early infant stages of technology comprehension and much too immature to fully understand and or use Atomic Energy properly yet. one day soon, all cars and or vehicles would use Nuclear Energy to move about without using a drop of oil, and with a speed much faster than that of the light.
His further activities in film, arts and political stands separated him from the rest of the artists and also stopped further exhibitions of the Maximalists and he ended up as the sole person in pursuit of completing more comprehensive thoughts of Maximalism in the years to come. His thoughts and philosophy about life and creation under Maximalism are published in the art books of his one-man shows in Germany, Italy, and the USA.
Films
Shokof made his first movie, a short experimental film called Angels Are Wired, in 1991. Since then he has made over 25 short and feature length films and has written over 50 film scripts, some of which he made into movies himself. He has a recognizable and independent style and does the complete "Mise en scène" of every film he has made so far. He has never made a mainstream movie. Even his best known film, Seven Servants (1995), starring Anthony Quinn, was not screened publicly or distributed for 12 years after its release (Seven Servants is just now finally released through Pathfinder Distribution, New York, USA). Other actors who have worked with Shokof include David Warner and Jack Taylor.
Shokof's films express his own philosophy, thoughts, politics and world-view, and have all been made independent of any studio contract. Many of his films share unconventional characteristics, including varying screen perspectives. In his first film, Angels are Wired, the film is shown in two frames, each hanging from one side of a set of scales. The story is played out simultaneously in both frames and they collide both conceptually and visually. His film Venussian Tabutasco was shot entirely in a glass elevator and Tenussian Vaccuvasco was shot through the windows of an apartment block. The titles of his films are often taken from works of art he has created.
His most recent film, Breathful, a gangster-comedy film with an all-woman cast, is dedicated to the rights of women worldwide and more specifically to the freedom and rights of women in his own homeland Iran. The film reflects Shokof's belief that Iran is ruled by a brutal dictatorial Islamic republic regime which ignores the many basic rights of Iranian women.
SHIF Productions, USA, is producing Shokof's latest film Hitler's Grave in Berlin, Germany. Hitler's Grave]] is a semi-documentary story about a young girl who visits her dying brother seconds before he dies (the brother has suffered lethal blows under torture by thugs of Iranian Islamic Republic Regime in prison for having participated in the protests against the fraudulent results of the presidential elections in Iran in 2009). This Political-Romantic story is written by Shokof himself.
Music
Shokof made several music arrangements for his own movies in addition to have recorded several songs in Germany with the Music group Dissidenten, Vision Earth, and Geheimbund between 1997 and 2000. he sang as the lead vocalist in these productions and wrote the lyrics as well:
http://www.mystic-of-sound.de/visionearth_main.htm
Political activities
Daryush Shokof has long been a voice and an activist against the Islamic Republic of Iran. He believes this establishment is a dictatorial Regime which has brutally and inhumanely trashed all civilized values, freedom and human rights in Iran for the last 30 years. In August 2005, he went on a seven-day hunger strike for freedom and justice in Iran in front of the headquarters of the German Green Party in Berlin.[citation needed] He has boycotted the Berlin Film Festival and all other major film festivals in the world because they have shown government approved Iranian films.[citation needed]
Shokof is one of the few Iranian artists and filmmakers of International notability who has never made a movie with any financial support from any country. His films have been widely ignored for not representing a certain government and or country.He remains a stateless artist up to this date and continues working completely independent from any state run, controlled, and or funded organization.
Shokof started a second hunger strike for the world governments not to recognize the legitimacy of Iranian Islamic Republic Regime and the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad due to obvious vote rigging in Iran presidential elections 2009, in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin, Germany on Friday 26–29 June 2009. Shokof's reason to do so is coded by him in the interview in below that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was the first statesman to have recognized the fake and openly manipulated presidential elections in Iran. Shokof continues in his interview with Deutsche Welle in Germany that it would be a most shameful act for any world leader to shake hands with Ahmadinejad and still be able to look into the eyes of the Iranian nation after the Islamic Republic Regim's Barbaric crackdown on the peaceful demonstrations of Iranians against the election that resulted in many dead demonstrators, torturing of over thousands, and imprisoning of so many who still undergo horrendous situations for having participated in the demonstrations.
Shokof has said: "We brought religions to the western societies for over 5000 years, but then, they brought the world democracy and the values of their free societies, and democratic parliaments in only the last 200 years.if we praise and admire the great western societies of our time, it is then our duty to so unselfishly, and humbly admire and learn and yes, even "copy" their wonderful free structures to reach such advanced western world values regardless of many short-comings they still experience in completing their wishful standards and rid ourselves from dictators and inhumane regimes. The first learning of such a step is to respect, and tolerate the existence of free supporting political parties in the same parliaments be it the stands of the communist party to a capitalist party."
Shokof invites the freedom believers world-wide to join the crowd of people (Iranians and non-Iranians) going on a global Hunger Strike to alert and seek support from the world leaders "not" to recognize the fradulant presidential elecections in Iran and its equally illegal president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on JUly 24th in Berlin, Germany.
Shokof has refused to submit his latest films, Heaven's Taxi and Iran Zendan, to the Berlin Film Festival. Iran Zendan is dedicated to the Iranian freedom movement portraying the true situation of current political prisoners in Iran. Iran Zendan was made to honor all those prisoners and brave protesters who died during the mass uprising against the Iranian presidential election, 2009 which was proved to have been rigged in favor of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Shokof has written a global open-letter to boycott the Berlinale 2010 and has himself boycotted Berlin Film Festival for again having selected an Iranian film (a German-Iranian Co-Production) for the festival in 2010.In his open-letter Shokof writes that Berlinale has once again chosen to insult and undermine the struggle of Iranian nation for freedom from under the dictatorial regime of Islamic Republic of Iran.
A new protest is planned against the Cannes Film Festival for repeatedly selecting works of an Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami in a film co-produced by Iran and France. Shokof argues the film is a shameful insult to the Iranians living through the darkest days of their history as thousands of protestors and political prisoners are tortured, or brutally killed by the thugs of the Iranian Islamic Republic Regime.
Shokof has already started a new wave of global protests with screenings of both his latest films Iran Zendan and Hitler's Grave against this inhumane acts committed by world first class film festivals that are screening and awarding the Iranian so called independent film directors and their films in the name of the arts and culture. He has repeatedly urged the global press to boycott the Cannes Film Festival this year and the screenings of both movies in Berlin on May 9, 2010. He believes that showing these Iranian films protected, produced, presented, and their directors are all propaganda plat forms for Iran's current Regime and a filthy slap against the face of the freedom loving Iranian nation in a true civilized, attempt in struggle to reach a free society in Iran.He calls the selection of all these films and their puppet directors are illegal undertakings as the Government of Ahmadinejad is an illegal one itself.
He argues that all these trades with such an illegal government (he refers to the world coverage of the facts about the fraud in the last presidential elections in Iran where Ahmadinejad has openly rigged the election results into their own advantage and in front of the whole world watchful eyes) is a shame for the world culture that needs to be against inhumanity, and dictatorships rather than promoting such events. Shokof has further argued that because of such so-called cultural communications Iran's government has become more popular, solidified, granted false merits, and even more established as a true center of civilization in the east. He further argues that such events and awards that are all "political" and not "artistic" at all are only destroying the world remaining free societies that still continue to help our world to progress and advance towards a more just, free and democratic societies. Both movies Iran Zendan and Hitler's Grave screened successfully and in full length and for the first time ever to a very limited crowd at Babylon Cinemas in Berlin on May 9, 2010. Iran Zendan showed to an over crowded screening of invited guests having had the very first chance to see this powerful ,courageous drama about the prisoner,s conditions in Iran's prisons under the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran Zendan is 70 minutes long and the first feature film portraying the brutality and inhumane treatments of the prisoners in the hands of Iran,s agents and interrogators inside the horrific prisons in Iran. Screening of both films will continue world-wide and should bring global awareness of the inhumane situation of political prisoners in Iran in the hope to support the opposition to reach freedom in Iran.the film Iran Zendan is now on the web page of the stop the bomb and free of charge for global view:
Shokof wrote the following in support of the formation of Iran's future :
"the name of Iran's next leader would be Freedom. freedom and her partner Civilization will have children by the names of Arts, and Culture. Together this honorable,free-loving, peaceful Iranian family would join and connect Iran and Iranians to the advanced societies on Earth so that the Iranians could once again continue to serve Earth and its people with dignity and in support of making this a better world."
Kidnapping
Shokof was kidnapped by four terrorists in the city of Cologne, Germany, in late May 2010 and was kept for over twelve days in the hands of four Arab speaking men who told him he will die for having made his recent two movies Hitler's Grave and Iran Zendan in which he had insulted Islam, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Khamenei, and Khomeini. He was freed on one condition that he stops releasing of both movies.[citation needed] Ever since his freedom Shokof has placed the movie Iran Zendan on world wide nets for free global view so that the world can see under which inhumane conditions the political prisoners in Iran live under the Regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The film is over 70 minutes long and was first placed on the global net by the stop the Bomb organization and is free of charge:
Shokof lives under German police protection ever since he was freed from the captors who kidnapped him.[citation needed] Daryush Shokof left Germany in 2010 and lives currently in France.
Boat-In Cinema
Daryush Shokof created a new construction for viewing films inside boats in Germany in 2000. The concept was registered under the title Boat In Cinema in Berlin. the first such Cinema construction is set to be built in Cannes, France in 2011, and thereafter in Venice, Italy, Doha, Qatar and the USA. The boats are each to be designed by a world ranked Artist or prominent Designers.100 Boats are to be designed by such artists in Cannes for the first ever such Cinema construction in 2011.
Filmography
This filmography includes only films listed in IMDB.[3]
Year Film 1990 Angels are Wired 1991 Dogs are not allowed 1996 Seven Servants 1997 Magass 2000 Tenussian Vaccuvasco 2003 She Would... 2003 Kiss, Long and Close 2004 Venussian Tabutasco 2005 A2Z 2006 Asudem 2007 Breathful 2007 Smoqing 2010 Heaven's Taxi 2010 Iran Zendan 2011 Angie,s 100 Awards
- New York International Independent Film & Video Festival 2007 (L.A. festival)
- New York International Independent Film & Video Festival 2000 (Winter)
- Feature Film Award for Best Experimental Film - Tenussian Vacuvasco (2000)[6]
- Locarno International Film Festival 1996
- Nominated for Golden Leopard for: Seven Servants (1996)[7]
References
- ^ "Resume at Shokof.com". http://www.shokof.com/. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ Benza, A.J.; Michael Lewittes (1995-05-11). "BRIGGS A CHAMP IN COURT". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/gossip/1995/05/11/1995-05-11_briggs_a_champ_in_court.html. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ Daryush Shokof at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/New_York_International_Independent_Film_And_Video_Festival/2007-1
- ^ a b http://www.nyfilmvideo.com/2007/la-march/awards/la-march-2007-awards.htm
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/New_York_International_Independent_Film_And_Video_Festival/2000-4
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Awards/Locarno_International_Film_Festival/1996
8. * http://www.international.ucla.edu 9. * http://www.columbia.edu
External links
- Daryush Shokof at the Internet Movie Database
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- [3]
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- [6]
- [7]
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- Galerie Saraie
- Official site
- Beyond Persia
- ITN Distribution
- German Films
- International Film and Video Center
- Locarno Film Festival
- Seven Servants
- Ikwihet.nu
- http://en.inforapid.org/index.php5?search=Cinema%20of%20Iran
Categories:- 1954 births
- Living people
- Iranian film directors
- German film directors
- German people of Iranian descent
- People from Tehran
- Iranian exiles
- Kidnapped Iranian people
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