Live Music to Shatter Silence in Classical Iranian Film

Mehr News Agency, Iran
June 19 2004

TEHRAN, June 19 (MNA) — One of the earliest Iranian silent movies,
“Haj Aqa, the Film Actor” directed by the late filmmaker Avaness
Oganians, will be screened July 7 at the Film Museum of Iran. A
musical ensemble conducted by the renowned Iranian Armenian musician
Loris Tjeknavorian will play the background music. The screening is
being held as part of the seasonal exhibition of the museum entitled
“Christians in Iranian Cinema” and an Armenian pianist will also
perform during the program.

Produced in 1933, “Haj Aqa, the Film Actor” was the second film by
Oganians, who was an Armenian-Russian immigrant who later converted to
Islam. “Aabi & Rabi” starring Mohammad Zarrabi and Gholamali Sohrabi
was his first movie.

“Haj Aqa, the Film Actor” is the only film that has survived from the
early period of Iranian cinema. It was copied in 1977 by the director
of the Film Museum of Iran Jamal Omid. A screenplay of the film was
published on the centenary anniversary of Iranian cinema in 2000.
From: Baghdasarian