Charity society honors Rakhshan Bani-Etemad
TEHRAN -- Filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, famous for the depiction of social problems, was presented with a statuette from Iran’s Mehrafarin Charity Society during a ceremony held on Friday at the Arikeh Iranian Complex.
A group of Iranian philanthropists were honored during a ceremony arranged by the society, where the statutes were presented by a group of celebrities that included Fariborz Arabnia, Merila Zarei, Shabnam Qolikhani, Jahangir Kowsari and many others.
The crowd overwhelmed the filmmaker, showering her with applause. When she was called on stage to receive her statuette, she stated that she wished there would be an end to social problems and poverty.
“Canary Yellow”, “Foreign Currency”, “Nargess”, “The Blue-Veiled”, “The May Lady”, “Under the Skin of the City” and “Mainline” are among Bani-Etemad’s noteworthy credits.
“The little things I have done are nothing compared to what the other philanthropists have done. As I am growing older, I see the pain of the low-income families. This pain is increasing dramatically.
“I have once said I wish there would come a day when I can’t find a topic for my movies. The characters in my movie are real, these are the people I meet here and there every day in the society,” she added.
Bani-Etemad was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of London in July 2009. She also received the Prix Henri Langlois at the French festival for her collection of cinematic productions last month.
Actor of stage and screen Ezzatollah Entezami, also present at the ceremony, expressed his thanks to the audience and said, “I am here to say we are in need of kindness, love and affection. We don’t have love and we show less affection; we were better in older times. I don’t know what has happened. Let us encourage these types of charity societies to go on with their work.”
Merlia Zarei as one of the ambassadors of the society followed, saying, “Let us help those who are getting weaker and older day by day. They have many concerns but we, as generous hosts, can contribute a little share toward their happiness. I ask God to help the benefactors.”
Actor Arabnia regarded the activities of the philanthropists as a major element in making life more pleasant in the world today.
The ceremony was followed by handing the statutes to the philanthropists, among them were representatives from the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation.
Live music performances by pop singers Reza Yazdani and Mani Rahnama added more excitement to the program, whose performance was followed by prolonged applause from the audience.
Source: tehrantimes.com
