As we promised, we finalize "Iranian Cinema Through the Ages", the first program for our monthly digital screening sessions at "Café Cinema" with SHIRIN, an extraordinary different movie from Abbas Kiarostami! In recent decades Iranian cinema has achieved a global reputation for its poetic qualities, mystical thoughts and novel experimentation in form and style, creating a unique film aesthetic of its own. Long-established Iranian filmmakers such as Abbas Kiarostami, Dariush Mehrjui, Amir Naderi, and Bahram Beyzai, and more recent ones including Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, and Bahman Ghobadi, are now screened regularly all over the world at prominent film festivals and in commercial cinemas, their work debated, analyzed and studied by critics, academics and students. Kiarostami's film Shirin, meanwhile,... more >>

Anahita is one of the major deities of Iranian Mythology. Aredvi Sura Anahita (Arədvī Sūrā Anāhitā) is her name in the Avestan language; it means "the humid, strong, pure and immaculate one ". Anahita is a pre-Zoroastrian goddess of water, abundance, blessing, fertility, marriage, love, motherhood, birth and victory. She embodied the physical and metaphorical qualities of water. She is also associated with rivers and lakes, as the waters of birth. Many of the surviving temple structures that were dedicated to her are connected with water, and perhaps all sources of water were considered to be her sacred places. She also ruled over semen and human fertility. She was viewed as the "Golden Mother" and as a warrior maiden. Anahita... more >>

In recent decades Iranian cinema has achieved a global reputation for its poetic qualities,mystical thoughts and novel experimentation in form and style, creating a unique film aesthetic of its own. Long-established Iranian filmmakers such as Abbas Kiarostami, Dariush Mehrjui, Amir Naderi, and Bahram Beyzai, and more recent ones including Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Jafar Panahi, and Bahman Ghobadi, are now screened regularly all over the world at prominent film festivals and in commercial cinemas, their work debated, analyzed and studied by critics, academics and students. Kiarostami's film Shirin, meanwhile, stands apart from this large body of work. In this, perhaps his most under-appreciated film, Kiarostami has attempted something unique and unprecedented: to adapt a masterpiece of classical Persian poetry from the twelfth century to the screen. Not surprisingly, it has never been nominated for an... more >>

Hergé's Tintin cartoons have been read by tens of millions and his silhouette- a young man wearing golf trousers, running with a white FoxTerrier by his side, is easily one of the most recognizable visual icons of the modern world. This presentation will offer a comprehensive and critical overview of the Tintin series. Starting with the character's humble origins in the children's supplement of a Belgian catholic newspaper in the 1920's, Tintin's development and success throughout the decades, including the stormy World War II years, will be tracked. Some of the books will be analyzed in detail, both in the context of the series, and in its larger framework.Please read the albume of  The Castafiore Emerald before the session (Persian pdf).You can watch the first session... more >>

Hergé's Tintin cartoons have been read by tens of millions and his silhouette- a young man wearing golf trousers, running with a white FoxTerrier by his side, is easily one of the most recognizable visual icons of the modern world. This presentation will offer a comprehensive and critical overview of the Tintin series. Starting with the character's humble origins in the children's supplement of a Belgian catholic newspaper in the 1920's, Tintin's development and success throughout the decades, including the stormy World War II years, will be tracked. Some of the books will be analyzed in detail, both in the context of the series, and in its larger framework. You can follow the second session here: CafeLitt 157: Tintin II... more >>

Part 2Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1 July 1646 [OS: 21 June] - 14 November 1716) was a German philosopher, polymath and mathematician who wrote primarily in Latin and French. He occupies a grand place in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathematics. He invented infinitesimal calculus independently of Newton, and his notation has been in general use since then. He also invented the binary system, the foundation of virtually all modern computer architectures. In philosophy, he is mostly remembered for optimism, i.e. his conclusion that our universe is, in a restricted sense, the best possible one God could have made. He was, along with René Descartes and Baruch Spinoza, one of the three greatest 17th-century rationalists and... more >>

CaféLitt is not a place; it is a gathering of minds. We are a group of mostly Persian young students, scholars and professionals who gather every Thursday evening around 19h00 in a café to discuss various subjects and share different ideas, ranging vastly from history to science, from literature to fine arts. We started these gatherings on Jan 18th, 2007. Each week, one of us takes the responsibility of presenting a topic (in Persian, English or French) for about an hour in a subject s/he is intimately familiar with or has an expertise in. Afterwards, the evening turns into a discussion forum and all members of the audience will have an opportunity to ask their question(s) and share their points of view.
CaféLitt is open to all comments, suggestion, collaboration and new ideas. CaféLitt provides an unparalleled opportunity for learning about culture, science and philosophy in a relaxed and friendly environment, and for sharing your knowledge and expertise with like-minded members of your community.
CaféLitt is officially registered as a non-profitable group and is a nonpartisan, nonreligious and nonpolitical entity.