Chasing Che

Chasing Che wins best documentary film award (December 6, 2010)

The NYC Downtown Feature Film Festival has awarded 'Chasing Che' best documentary film.

Film synopsis
Chasing Che is the account of a four-year odyssey in which an Iranian businessman, Alireza Rofougaran, switches the course of his life. Inspired by a biography of Che Guevara, which he reads and then translates into Farsi, Alireza embarks on a long odyssey through Latin America and Europe, home movie camera in hand. His mission: to retrace Che's footsteps. In an effort to gain a greater personal understanding of Che, he looks up any of the late revolutionary's surviving friends and foes he can find. In the process, Alireza gains new insights into his own life.

Viewing the myth of Che Guevara with an eye to his own society, Alireza realizes the peculiarity of such a cross-cultural inspiration. Upon his return to Iran, he witnesses how the same cross cultural enthusiasm among his countrymen gives rise to an open controversy.

Throughout the film, there is a process of change as Alireza finds himself confronted by the professional challenges posed by his new endeavor and his own obsessive commitment to fulfilling the project.

CHASING CHE (Dar Radeh payeh Che)
2009 Iran | 79 mins | Documentary
Persian/Spanish/English with English subtitles
Format: Digital

Director: Alireza Rofougaran
Producer: Alireza Rofougaran
Screenwriter: Alireza Rofougaran
Editors: Parinaz Hashemi & Morteza Farshbaf
Cinematographer: Alireza Rofougaran
Music: Mohsen Namju
Sound: Reza Narimizadeh
Distributor: Alireza Rofougaran
Cast: Jon Lee Anderson, Julia Constenla Guissani, Enrique Martin, Carlos ?Calica? Ferrer, Carlos Figueroa, Antonio Peredo
Awards: JamFest: Documentary Feature Platinum, NYC Downtown Feature Film Festival: Best Documentary

Alireza Rofougaran was born in Tehran, Iran; June 1965. He was a businessman until 2004, when he changed careers to make his first film: Chasing Che, inspired by reading and translating Jon Lee Anderson?s biography: Che Guevara; A Revolutionary life. He has also taken acting parts in several films, including an interactive video of Anna Gutto?s New York play: ?IN SECURITY? April 2009. Alireza Rofougaran currently lives in Tehran, translating books and making documentary films.