“This film holds a special place for the JBFC community and for me. It was part of an Iranian Cinema Series and was scheduled for September 12, 2001—well before we opened our doors that June. Confronted with the devastation of September 11, we closed our doors that day and reopened on the 12th. Who could have imagined that an Iranian film would be the exact right film to play then, but it undoubtedly was. People who were there spoke about it years afterward as a moment of healing and community. And now 25 years later, it is sadly all the more relevant. I’m especially excited that we’ll be joined by the renowned scholar of Iranian Studies and world cinema, Professor Hamid Dabashi.
And Life Goes On—one of Kiarostami’s greatest films and part of the Koker Trilogy—is filmed in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake in northern Iran. A filmmaker and his son drive through the rubble-strewn landscape searching for young actors from an earlier film. What unfolds is not rescue drama but quiet wonder—ordinary people clearing debris, rebuilding walls, preparing for weddings. Life, stubbornly, insists on continuing. In the shadow of unimaginable events, And Life Goes On is a meditation on resilience, on the human refusal to be undone by catastrophe.
Now as much as ever, we need these reminders and we need opportunities to come together and recognize our shared humanity. Come join me and Hamid Dabashi for this screening and conversation as we kick off this exciting series!”
-Stephen Apkon, Series Curator and JBFC Founder
