News Release — February 18, 2009

Harry Ransom Center Presents "Rubáiyát Film Series" in Spring

EVENT: The Harry Ransom Center hosts the "Rubáiyát Film Series"

WHEN: 7 p.m. on Feb. 24, March 24 and April 28

WHERE: Harry Ransom Center, 21st and Guadalupe streets

BACKGROUND: In conjunction with the exhibition "The Persian Sensation: 'The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám' in the West," the Harry Ransom Center presents the "Rubáiyát Film Series" throughout the spring.

The following films will be screened in the series:

Feb. 24: William Dieterle's "The Lives, Loves, and Adventures of Omar Khayyam" (1957), starring Cornel Wilde.

March 24: Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami's "The Wind Will Carry Us" (1999).

April 28: Kayvan Mashayekh's "The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam" (2005), starring Vanessa Redgrave and Adam Echahly.

Seating is free, but limited.

This series is held in conjunction with the Ransom Center's exhibition "The Persian Sensation: 'The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám' in the West." The year 2009 marks the 150th anniversary of Edward FitzGerald's landmark translation of the poetry of the medieval Persian astronomer Omar Khayyám. These gemlike verses about mortality, fate and doubt became an unprecedented popular phenomenon in England and America but have since fallen into obscurity. Featuring 200 items from the Ransom Center's extensive collections, the exhibition narrates "The Rubáiyát's" history through such items as Persian manuscripts, miniature editions and illustrated parodies.