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Coinciding with the spring equinox, Nowruz marks the Persian new year, a festival of rebirth and renewal that’s rooted in Zoroastrianism, but has been celebrated across secular lines for millennia. And, as the Iranian-born, Denmark-based director Naghmeh Pour writes in the introduction for her short film on Nowruz, it’s ‘a tradition that’s stood the test of time and regimes that tried to ban it without luck’. Walking viewers through the symbols, small rituals, cultivation of good habits and shared good times that comprise Nowruz, Pour creates a joyful introduction to a deeply rooted custom that, today, is celebrated by some 300 million people around the world.
Director: Naghmeh Pour
Producer: Sara Samsøe Moghaddas
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Nature and landscape
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Love and friendship
Never marry a man you love too much, and other views on romance in Sierra Leone
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Virtues and vices
Why Bennie tried to disappear, and what happened when he was found decades later
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History of technology
Curious singles and tech sceptics – what ‘computer dating’ looked like in 1966
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Cognition and intelligence
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Animals and humans
Join seabirds as they migrate, encountering human communities along the way
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Stories and literature
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Technology and the self
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Food and drink
The passage of time is a peculiar thing in a 24-hour diner
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