'Coup 53' Selected as Most Popular Doc at Cinéma Vérité
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – “Coup 53” by Taqi Amirani took first place on the list of the 15 most popular documentaries selected by polls taken during the 14th Cinéma Vérité, the organizers of the major Iranian documentary film festival announced.
The film was an entry to the Special Screenings category of the festival.
Amirani and editor Walter Murch find an extraordinary and never before seen archive while making a documentary about the Anglo-American coup in Iran in 1953. Documents and 16mm footage recount this story in unprecedented detail, with explosive revelations about secrets hidden for 66 years. From a historical documentary about four days in August 1953, the film becomes a living investigation that exposes the roots of Iran’s volatile relationship with the United Kingdom and the USA.
“Houbara” by Fathollah Amiri and Nima Askari was the second film on the list.
The documentary warns about the illegal hunting of a specific species of birds, which are then smuggled into the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
These birds, the houbara bustards that live in certain regions of Iran, are being killed so that rich men in Arab countries can improve their sex lives. According to a widespread myth, the meat of these birds has aphrodisiac qualities, although this folk belief is not supported by any valid scientific research.
