Tabaki

Directed by Bahman Kiarostami

To Have or Have Not

Directed by Niki Karimi
Director in Person
  • Tabaki

    Directed by Bahman Kiarostami.
    Iran, 2001, video, color, 27 min.
    Farsi with English subtitles.

After a promising debut with A Trip to the Traveler’s Land (1994)—about the child actor from his father’s film Traveler, seen some twenty years later—Bahman Kiarostami returns with this charming documentary about professional mourners in Iran. With an understated documentary style, Tabaki presents not only an uncanny view of a peculiar profession within a religious society but an insightful portrait of that society itself.

  • To Have or Have Not (Dashtan va nadashtan)

    Directed by Niki Karimi.
    Iran, 2001, video, color, 45 min.
    Farsi with English subtitles.

With Abbas Kiarostami serving as producer, this documentary marks the directorial debut of the acclaimed Iranian actress Niki Karimi. While its title is evocative of a classic drama, To Have or Have Not examines the problems of childless couples in a traditional society like Iran’s, where infertility can be a serious threat to marriage.

Part of film series

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Iranian Cinema:
New Directors, New Directions

Current and upcoming film series

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Harvard Undergraduate Cinematheque

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Albert Serra, or Cinematic Time Regained

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Wang Bing’s Youth Trilogy

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The Shochiku Centennial Collection

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Planet at 50

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The Yugoslav Junction Continues!

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Theo Anthony, Subject to Review

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The Ideal Cinematheque of the Outskirts of the World

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From the collection – Satyajit Ray