PCC’s Board Meetings
Persian Cultural Center’s board of directors typically holds its meetings on the second Wednesday of the month at the Iranian American Center (IAC). The last two meetings took place on July 8 and August 12, 2020. Due to COVID-19, the meetings were held online.
Docunight – July 12, 2020
None of Your Business (2019), directed by Karman Heidari, was the documentary selected for the July 2020 Docunight. None of Your Business follows the life and death of Ebrahim Monsefi, aka Ebram—a popular singer, songwriter, and guitarist from the southern parts of Iran. He was born 70 years ago in Bandar-e-Abbas and passed away at the age of 50. A remote Q&A with director Heidari and special guest Mohsen Namjoo was held on Sunday, July 12, 2020. This session was hosted by AhmadKiarostami.
Docunight – August 16, 2020
Scenes from A Separation (2019), directed by Vahid Sedaghat, was the documentary selected for the August 2020 Docunight. This documentary details the behind-the-scenes process of making A Separation, the 2012 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language film. Asghar Farhadi, the director of A Separation, discusses the process from the development of the movie until the post-production. Mike Leigh, Jean-Claud Carrier, and Ebrahim Golestan also reveal Farhadi’s filmmaking method in the documentary. A live Q&A session with actor Payman Maadi, director Sedaghat, and host Ahmad Kiarostami was held on Sunday, August 16th, 2020.
Jong-e Farhangi – August 7, 2020
August Jong was hosted by Ali Sadr. Guest author Hooshyar Afsar discussed the intersection of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Iranian community in the U.S., outlining the history of political, social, and economic discrimination in this country. This event was held online, with a Q&A session at the end.
Virtual Movie Discussion Series – June 25, 2020
Network was the movie selected for the June 2020 virtual movie discussion, hosted by Mahmoud Pirouzian. Directed by Sydney Lumet, Network (1976) is about a television network that cynically exploits a deranged former anchor’s ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit. Network stars Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall. The guest of this event was Mahmoud Behrouzian, who reviewed the movie.
Virtual Movie Discussion Series – July 30, 2020
Eyes Wide Shut was the movie selected for the July 2020 virtual movie discussion, again hosted by Mahmoud Pirouzian. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, Eyes Wide Shut (1999) is about Bill Harford, a physician to wealthy Manhattan clientele who is tormented with doubt after his wife Alice confesses to an adulterous fantasy. During his wanderings through a dreamlike New York City, he stumbles into a secret world of nightmarish decadence. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Tom Cruise, and Sydney Pollack. The guest of this event was Fardin Sahebzamani, who reviewed the movie.
PCC’s Youth Committee Food Drive
In order to help families in need, the members of PCC’s Youth Committee organized a food drive on August 3, 2020, at the IAC. People dropped off their items, consisting of canned foods and other nonperishable items, which were then delivered to needy families.
San Diego Iranian School Registration – August 2020
Registration for the Iranian School of San Diego’s 2020-2021 school year took place online in August 2020. The classes take place on Thursdays from 6 to 7 PM and on Sundays from 11 AM to 12 noon.
Online screening of Coup 53
PCC partnered up with Coup 53 production in screening this extraordinary documentary. The movie was available online for 3 weeks. COUP 53 is an explosive new documentary-thriller about the 1953 CIA/MI6 coup that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected government on 19th August 1953. Ralph Fiennes features in the film in an extraordinary performance as a real-life British spy. Live Q&A session with legendary Film Editor Walter Murch (Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, The English Patient), Director Taghi Amirani and Ralph Fiennes was held on August 20.
Online screening of African Violet
Persian Cultural Center in collaboration with Venera Films presented African Violet. A production of 2019 and directed by Mona Zandi Haghighi was available online for a week from August 28 to movie enthusiasts. When Fereydoun’s children put him in a nursing home, his ex-wife Shokooh takes him to her house although her new husband does not quite approve of it. Fatemeh Motamed Arya, Saeed Aghakhani and Reza Babak have played in this movie.
Dear community member,
We live in a challenging time. The COVID -19 pandemic has not only affected our health and daily lives, but it has also caused drastic financial hardship for most people and organizations like ours. Persian Cultural Center is your organization, and now, more than ever before, we need your support to help us navigate through this crisis and continue our services to the community.
As you know, we receive a large portion of our annual budget from government grants. However, due to the COVID -19 pandemic, the City of San Diego has announced that the arts and culture grants will be roughly cut in half. Also, because of the cancellation of our annual Nowruz Gala, which typically is the main fundraising event for PCC, not only we did not raise any funds, we suffered monetary damages due to cancellation penalties. These huge losses mean PCC is solely dependent on your support. There are several ways you can help:
– If you are not a member yet, please become a member at the level of your choice. PCC membership levels include Individual, Family, Student, Senior Citizen, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each level enjoys different benefits. For more information and to become a member, please visit our website pccsd.org/membership.
– If you are already a member, please renew your membership.
– Make a donation at any level. All donations are tax-deductible.
– If you own a business, by placing your ad in Peyk magazine or Peyk online (peykmagazine.com) and the PCC weekly electronic newsletter, you will help us to promote your business. For more information, please contact us at (858) 552-9355 or pcc@pccsd.org.
We appreciate your support at any level. Hopefully, this crisis will be over soon and we will go back to our regular gatherings such as Jong e Farhangi, Movie and Discussion Nights, Docunight, music concerts, art exhibitions, along with the celebration of Yalda, Mehregan, and Nowruz as well as cross-cultural events. Thank you sincerely for considering a gift to the Persian Cultural Center to help us continue our important mission.
Respectfully,
Board of Directors of the Persian Cultural Center
Persian Cultural Center
Annual Meeting and Election
Sunday, September 20, 2020
The Persian Cultural Center general assembly usually takes place on the third weekend of the month of May. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic the meeting was postponed. We are planning to have the meeting and election on Sunday, September 20, 2020. If the situation permits at the time, the meeting will be held at the location of Iranian School of San Diego, otherwise there would be a virtual meeting and election online. The meeting agenda will consist of the annual report of activities of the past year, projection of the future activities and events for next year, and the election of several new board members who will be replacing the current members whose terms have expired.
Please join us.
If you have been a member for the last year and are interested in running for the board, please contact us by sending an email to pcc@pccsd.org. If your membership has lapsed or you would like to become a member, this is the best time to do so and join us at our annual meeting. Please visit www.pccsd.org.
Thank you,
Board of Directors of Persian Cultural Center
