October 21, 2004 Film Recreating the Splendor of Persian Palaces to Be Shown on Oct. 22 at Library of Congress

Iranian filmmaker Farzin Rezaeian's new film "Persepolis Recreated," which captures the beauty and grandeur of the ancient Achaemenid palaces of Persepolis through striking footage and three-dimensional reconstruction, will be shown from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 27, in the Pickford Theater, third floor of the Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E. Admission is free and open to the general public, but seating is limited.

With the aid of computer graphics, Rezaeian's documentary features reproductions of the palaces of ancient Persia and chronicles their use during the Persian festival Nowruz. The film, which was produced for the Iranian Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, will be screened at the Library of Congress under the sponsorship of the Islamic Cities Program of the John W. Kluge Center and the Near East Section of the African and Middle Eastern Division.

Said Mina Marefat, the director of the Islamic Cities Program, "Like their contemporaries in Greece, the Persians knew the power and symbolism of architecture. The history of ancient Persia has often been overlooked, and this film brings to light the rich culture that was truly a bridge between East and West."

The film showing will be followed by a discussion with Rezaeian and architectural historian Marefat.

The Islamic Cities Program

The film screening is part of a larger initiative at the Library of Congress called the Islamic Cities Program, which looks at architecture as a universal prism through which broader cultural phenomena can be understood. The mission of the program is to promote public education about architecture and raise awareness of Islamic and Persian architecture and culture.

Through a generous endowment from John W. Kluge, the Library of Congress established the Kluge Center in 2000 to bring together the world's best thinkers to distill wisdom from the Library's rich resources and to stimulate and energize interaction with policymakers in Washington. For more information about the center and its programs, contact the Office of Scholarly Programs, Library of Congress, 101 Independence Avenue S.E., Washington, DC 20540-4860; telephone (202) 707?3302, fax (202) 707-3595, or visit the Web at www.loc.gov/kluge/.