Directed by Abbas Kiarostami • 1997 • Iran
Winner of the Palme d'Or at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, Iranian auteur Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry is an emotionally complex meditation on life and death. Middle-aged Mr. Badii (Homayoun Ershadi) drives through the hilly outskirts of Tehran, searching for someone to rescue or bury him. Criterion is proud to present the DVD premiere of Taste of Cherry in a beautiful widescreen transfer.
In this interview, shot in 2019, film scholar Hamid Naficy, author of the four-volume study “A Social History of Iranian Cinema,” discusses TASTE OF CHERRY.
Dr. Jamsheed Akrami, professor of communication at William Paterson University, conducted this interview with director Abbas Kiarostami prior to the release of TASTE OF CHERRY, in 1997. It was recorded for Dr. Akrami’s 2000 documentary on Iranian cinema, FRIENDLY PERSUASION.