Even/Odd and Kiarostami Foundation Collaborate on Limited Collection
Celebrating the master of Iranian cinema.
To celebrate the Iranian New Year, also known as Nowruz, San Francisco-based creative studio Even/Odd has worked with the Kiarostami Foundation on a special range of products celebrating the late filmmaker’s impact on the world cinema. For those unfamiliar, Abbas Kiarostami created films that straddled the line between fiction and reality. Having passed away in Paris at age 76, Kiarostami had an uncanny ability to illuminate the hopes and fears of humanity, such as in his seminal film, Where is the Friend’s House? and his Palm D’Or winning Taste of Cherry.
The project was helmed by Even/Odd founder Mohammad Gorjestani alongside creative director Omid Fatemi, both of whom looked to capture the artistic complexity of Kiarostami’s films through a graphic novel, activity book, jam and poster prints. “As someone who was born in Iran, but grew up in the United States, Kiarostami’s allegories filled the spiritual void of existing in diaspora and led me to filmmaking,” noted Gorjestani in a statement. “His films are escapes to familiar places in other dimensions where the sensitivity of the world is so rich it has to be savored slowly with a child-like curiosity. These projects try to extrapolate that warm feeling and place products into the world that continue the legacy of the simple genius and poetry of Kiarostami’s cinematic world.”
“A significant part of the Kiarostami Foundation’s mission is to introduce Abbas Kiarostami’s work to new audiences and new generations,” said the filmmaker’s son, Ahmad Kiarostami, in a statement. “Projects like this help fulfill this mission and keep the legacy of Abbas Kiarostami vibrant for years to come.”
Highlights of the collection include a small-batch of mulberry jam inspired by a scene from Taste of Cherry, which features a hand-lettered and screen-printed jar designed by Iranian graphic designer, Ghazal Foroutan. Additionally, the Kiarostami Foundation has reopened its poster archives to release new prints related to his films Certified Copy, Where is the Friend’s House?, and A Wedding Suit, as well as a new print Kiarostami designed for the film Black & White by Sohrab Shahid-Saless.
Browse the full collection at Even/Odd.
In related news, Hypeart recently spoke with Mohammad Gorjestani for Through the Lens.
