RIPPLES FROM SHAH’S DEATH
The Envelope welcomes a select audience of Hollywood guild members and Oscar voters during awards season to consider some of the year’s most talked about f ilms with the Envelope Screening Series. Each screening is followed by a Q& A with the cast and f ilmmakers moderated by an L. A. Times journalist. For those of you unable to attend, The Envelope brings you highlights right here. And for videos of the events, go to latimes. com/ screenings. ¶ Recently, f ilmmaker Bobak Kalhor chatted with writer Jeffrey Fleishman to discuss his new documentary, “A Dying King: The Shah of Iran,” which examines the death of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the late shah of Iran, which had profound consequences for the future of the Middle East and its relations with the U. S. ¶ While the f ilm centers on the medical unraveling of the shah’s illness, it looks into the political issues involved as well. Kalhor, an American citizen born in Iran, fears the U. S. trend of lessening support for democratic and secular movements around the world will have tremendous negative effects.
‘ We can f ight for a better future. And a better future starts with providing the freedoms, the rights, the benefits that we have here. These are universal. Everyone wants them. I think we should help spread those ideals around the world. It’ll make it a safer world.’ — BOBAK KALHOR ‘ If we don’t f ight for creating freedoms that we have in other places, then the people who are not supportive of those freedoms will attack us here.’ — BOBAK KALHOR