Iran film gains prominence with double Oscar nod

LOS ANGELES: Iran scored its first foreign language film Oscar nomination in 14 years on Tuesday dominating a field of movies with subjects ranging from Jewish refugees in wartime Poland to corruption in the Flemish beef industry.

“A Separation”, Iranian director’s Asghar Farhadi’s searing domestic drama, also scored a nod for best original screenplay, boosting the movie’s chances for Oscar gold to crown what already has been critically-acclaimed run at Western film festivals.

The foreign language film nominees were rounded out by Israeli film “Footnote”, “In Darkness” by Polish director Agniezska Holland, Canadian entry “Monsieur Lazhar” and “Bullhead” from Belgium.

But expected titles like Spanish director Pedro Almodovar’s “The Skin I Live In”, and Chinese film “Flowers of War” starring Christian Bale, were edged out of an often difficult to predict field of contenders.

“From a personal point of view, it means that being local and being universal are not opposite of each other,” “Separation” director Farhadi told Reuters about the nomination, speaking from Paris where he is working on his next film.

“For Iranian filmmakers in my country, it means that the power of cinema is still superior to that of political problems,” Farhadi told Reuters.

In recent years, the Iranian government has severely restricted some of its most acclaimed writers and directors, including film director Jafar Panahi, known for his gritty films that examine social issues in the Islamic Republic. He was jailed in 2010 and banned from making movies or traveling abroad by an Iranian court. Some of Hollywood’s most influential names, including Steven Spielberg, have called for Panahi’s release.

More recently in 2011, Iranian officials arrested four filmmakers on suspicion of selling their films to foreign broadcasters, and sentenced Iranian actress Marzieh Vafamehr, who appeared in “My Tehran for Sale,” to 90 lashes and a year in prison, which was later overturned by an appeals court.

“A Separation”, about an Iranian couple going through a divorce, won the top prize at Berlin’s film festival in February 2011, and a U.S. Golden Globe last week. It is the first Iranian film to be Oscar-nominated since 1998′s “Children of Heaven.”

THE THRILL OF A NOMINATION
Holland’s movie “In Darkness” chronicles the rescue of Jewish refugees in the Polish city of Lvov during World War II. It is Agniezska Holland’s second Oscar nomination following 1990′s “Europa Europa.”

Although she’s a veteran of awards ceremonies, Holland still felt a rush hearing her name announced.

“Every time is like the first time,” she gasped when reached in Warsaw. “And this film was more difficult than any of my movies in terms of the conditions, in terms of the ambition, in terms of the shooting.”

Joseph Cedar was in Jerusalem doing homework with his six-year-old son when he heard the title of his movie, “Footnote,” announced in Beverly Hills by Oscar organizers.

“We jumped up and down and screamed and mostly felt a great relief,” he told Reuters. “I’m still not sure it’s not a mistake.”

“Footnote” focuses on a father-son rivalry in Talmudic studies, but is not autobiographical. “I am a father and I am a son, but other than that it’s not directly linked to my own family,” said the director.

Filmmaker Philippe Falardeau was attending the Sundance Film Festival in Utah when his “Monsieur Lazhar,” the Canadian entry, was announced as a nominee on Tuesday.

“When I heard the word ‘Canada’ I started screaming. I didn’t even hear the name of my film,” he said.

“Monsieur Lazhar” tells of an Algerian immigrant who takes over a classroom full of elementary kids after their teacher commits suicide. It is the second year in a row a Quebecois film has been in competition after last year’s “Incendies”.

“It’s quite ironic to see an intimate film exist alongside a big Hollywood production,” Falardeau said.

The fifth nominee, Belgian entry “Bullhead,” directed by first-time filmmaker Michael R. Roskam, is a crime drama focusing on corruption in the Flemish beef industry.

The 84th Academy Awards, the world’s top film honors, will take place on February 26 in Hollywood. AGENCIES

CJCSC Gen. Khalid calls on Polish army chief in Warsaw

Staff Report

WARSAW: The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Khalid Shameem Wynne, HI (M) during his official visit to Poland, met General Mieczyslaw Cieniuch, Chief of General Staff of Polish Armed Forces in Warsaw.

According to an Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release, the CJCSC and Polish army chief discussed the evolving regional security situation with emphasis on developments in Afghanistan, bilateral relations between the two countries and other matters of mutual interest.

During the bilateral meeting, the CJCSC was briefed on the Polish engagement in ISAF’s operations and transformation of the Polish Armed Forces.

Earlier, on the arrival at General Staff Headquarters, a smartly turned out tri services contingent presented Guard of Honor to the CJCSC.

The CJCSC also laid a wreath at the Tomb of the

World’s tallest Jesus statue unveiled in Poland

WARSAW: About 15,000 Christian pilgrims and tourists streamed into the western Polish town of Swiebodzin on Sunday for the unveiling of what has been billed as the world’s tallest statue of Jesus, police said.

Polish television stations showed throngs of worshippers marching in procession with religious banners and placards proclaiming “Christ the King of the Universe”.

“This monument is a visible sign of faith in Christ,” said Bishop Stefan Regmunt who blessed the statue at a ceremony presided over by Cardinal Henryk Gulbinowicz.

The brain child of retired local Roman Catholic priest Sylwester Zawadzki, the figure soars to a height of 33 metres (108 ft) which he said symbolised the 33 years Jesus lived on earth.

It is three metres taller than Brazil’s statue of Christ the Redeemer which stands on a mountain top overlooking Rio de

Seven Polish soldiers wounded in Afghanistan

WARSAW: Seven Polish soldiers were wounded in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday when a roadside bomb blew up as their armoured vehicle passed, the Polish defence ministry said.

“In the south of the province of Ghazni, the rebels attacked a Polish patrol with an explosive device planted on the side of the road,” the ministry said in a statement.

The soldiers were evacuated by helicopter to a hospital at a base in Ghazni. Two were in serious but stable condition.

Poland has 2,500 troops in the international force battling the Taliban in Afghanistan and is due to raise their number to 2,600 by the end of the year.

Nineteen Polish soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since Poland first sent troops there in March 2002, including three since June 12.

US deploys missiles to Poland

WARSAW: A U.S. official says scores of American soldiers and a battery of Patriot missiles have arrived in Poland for the training of the Polish military for two years.

The mission contains the largest deployment of U.S. forces to Poland, which once was behind the Iron Curtain but today is a member of NATO.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Andrew Paul said Monday that the battery arrived the day before at a base in Morag, in northern Poland.

Morag is 37 miles (60 kilometers) from the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, and Moscow has expressed anger at having U.S. missiles so close to its territory.

Paul said the missiles will be rotated in and out of Poland over the next two years for training in their use. Each rotation will be accompanied by 100 to 150 U.S. soldiers.

All Polish plane crash victims identified: Russia

MOSCOW: The remains of all victims in the plane crash that killed Poland”s president have been identified and will shortly be handed over to Warsaw, Russia”s health minister said Wednesday.

“Tatyana Golikova again expressed her condolences to the Polish people and said that all genetic identification work is complete and all remains are identified,” the minister”s spokeswoman said as quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency.

Russia was preparing to send the remaining 21 bodies back to Poland, the spokeswoman said.

President Lech Kaczynski”s Tu-154 jet crashed while trying to land near the city of Smolensk in western Russia on April 10, killing all 96 people aboard, including many high-ranking Polish officials.

Polish president”s funeral at risk from volcanic ash

WARSAW: Polish authorities warned Friday they could delay the weekend funeral of president Lech Kaczynski as a volcanic ash cloud threatened to disrupt the travel arrangements of dozens of world leaders.

The country closed most of its airspace and shut the airport in the southern city of Krakow, where US President Barack Obama and other heads of state are due to land on Sunday for the burial of the Polish leader and his wife.

“I think it”s a very serious alternative which must be taken into consideration,” presidential aide Jacek Sasin told Poland”s commercial radio when asked if the ceremony could be postponed.

He later backtracked, telling reporters that a delay was “a purely hypothetical scenario and unlikely. There”s no plan as such.”

Poland”s aviation agency said that the country”s airspace would be closed from 8:00 am (0600 GMT) until further notice. It initially said Krakow and Rzeszow airports, both in the south, would remain open.

Polish president burial row causes protests

WARSAW: Fresh protests erupted in Poland Wednesday over a decision to bury president Lech Kaczynski in a castle with Polish kings that has ruptured the national unity since his death in a plane crash.

The funeral of Kaczynski and his wife takes place Sunday in the cathedral of Krakow”s Wawel castle. US President Barack Obama, Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev and Britain”s Prince Charles are among foreign dignitaries attending.

But hundreds of people took to the streets for a second day and more than 38,000 joined a Facebook campaign against the couple”s burial in a spot where Polish royalty and historical figures are laid to rest.

“I”ve come here because the Wawel is a necropolis for Polish kings, for people of the stature of poets like Mickiewicz or Slowacki,” two iconic 19th century bards,” said Aleksandra Kozlowski, a protester in Warsaw.

Around 200 people rallied in central Warsaw and hundreds of demonstrators also turned out in the Baltic port of Gdansk, Poznan in the west, and in Krakow itself.

The rallies were in stark contrast to the thousands of mourners paying their respects to the Kaczynskis at the presidential palace following the air disaster in Russia on Saturday which killed them and 94 others.

Zardari condoles over death of Polish President

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday expressed his deep grief and shock over the tragic death of Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife in an air crash in Russia.

The President in a condolence message to the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk expressed his grief over the death of President’s wife Madam Maria Kaczynska, along with members of his entourage, consisting of high-ranking officials from the military and civil bureaucracy and members of the Polish Parliament in a plane crash.

“President Lech Kaczynski will be remembered for the democratic values he displayed and the sagacity and wisdom with which he led the people of Poland,” the President said.
He said, “We share the pain and the grief, which your great nation is passing through at this moment. The anguish caused by the catastrophe will take a long time to overcome”.

The President expressed his deep felt condolences on his own behalf and on behalf of the Government and the people of Pakistan, over this catastrophe and prayed to give courage to the bereaved families.

5 Afghan deminers killed in roadside bombing

KABUL: A bus carrying Afghans working for a U.S.-supported demining group was struck by a roadside bomb in Kandahar province Sunday, killing five workers and wounding 13 others.

Also Sunday, NATO said an Afghan soldier shot and lightly wounded a Polish soldier with whom he had been arguing. The Afghan soldier fled after the shooting and was being sought by Afghan and international forces.

Meanwhile, NATO reported a member of the international security force was killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. No other details were given in keeping with standard procedure.

The bus belonging to the Demining Agency for Afghanistan was struck early Sunday as it traveled through Kandahar province”s Daman district, according to Mohammed Ibrahim, chief of medicine at Kandahar Hospital.

Roadside bombs are a signature weapon of the Taliban in their struggle against foreign forces and the Afghan government, but more often kill Afghan civilians. It wasn”t clear if the blast was random or specifically targeted the demining agency, known as DAFA, which receives more than half its funding from the U.S. State Department, according to its Web site.

The group clears mines across southern Afghanistan that are a legacy of 25 years of near-continuous warfare and continue to kill scores of Afghans each year.

The unidentified Pole shot Saturday night at a joint command center in the eastern province of Ghazni was transferred to a medical facility for treatment, according to a NATO spokesman in Kabul, speaking on routine condition of anonymity.

The Ghazni base is headquarters of the 2,600 Polish troops stationed in Afghanistan as part of the NATO effort to root out Taliban remnants and extend the central government”s remit into rural areas.

While rare, Afghan troop attacks on international forces risk damaging the trust between Afghan police and soldiers who work side-by-side with their foreign mentors on training and combat missions. An Afghan soldier killed a U.S. service member and wounded two Italian soldiers in December in the western province of Badghis, about one month after a rogue policeman in Helmand province shot and killed five British soldiers.

Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the shooting resulted from an argument between the two men, but details weren”t immediately known. He said both had pulled weapons and fired, but only the Polish soldier was wounded. The whereabouts of the Afghan soldier weren”t known, and it was possible he was hiding somewhere on the base, Azimi said.

“It seems to have been a fight and the soldier was operating on his own,” Azimi said.

Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said the Afghan soldier had escaped, killing four Afghan soldiers in the process, and was now with the insurgents. The claim could not be verified, and the Taliban has a history of making false and exaggerated claims.

Also Sunday, Interior Ministry spokesman Zemari Bashary said investigators were questioning three Italian medical workers detained the day before as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to kill the governor of Helmand province. They were among nine people held after suicide bomb vests, hand grenades, pistols and explosives were discovered in a hospital storeroom in Helmand”s capital Lashkar Gah.

“We need to question a number of people to find out who brought the materials to the hospital and for what purpose,” Bashary said.

Emergency, the Milan-based organization that runs the hospital, has denied involvement in any plot.

Bashary said the investigation would proceed cautiously in recognition of the work done by Emergency, which has operated in Afghanistan since 1999 and runs three operating theaters, a maternity hospital and 28 health centers.

Emergency has had a tense relationship with local authorities in violence-wracked Helmand, due in part to its policy of treating all patients, including those who may be Taliban.

Helmand”s governor, Gulab Mangul, alleged Saturday that Taliban insurgents had paid hospital authorities $500,000 to kill him, but Bashary said the ministry could not confirm that charge.

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