Film producer Barry Navidi has worked with actors Marlon Brando, Johnny Depp, John Hurt, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Anthony Hopkins, Debra Winger and Al Pacino, to name a few. He worked with Pacino on The Merchant of Venice, Salomé and Wilde Salomé. He must have so many interesting stories to tell.
Navidi was born in Iran, and according a recent-ish article in Variety, he hopes to make a Hollywood production there some day.

According to that same article, his next project is a film about the artist Modigliani. Navidi told reporter Nick Vivarelli: “Right now we are casting; we are going to have a couple of big stars. If all goes well we will start shooting early next year in Budapest. There is potential for a cameo role for Al (Pacino). But he is also creatively involved: He is going to help me cast the movie, and he gave the writer a lot of notes.”

Divine Rapture, Navidi’s 1995 project with Winger, Hurt, Depp and Brando, was an ill-fated one. It was a story about an Irish woman who seemed to have risen from the dead. Debra Winger was set to play the woman, Brando would be the parish priest. The residents of Ballycotton, Ireland, hoped that the film would make their town a tourist attraction, but it was not to be. About 24 minutes of film were shot over 10 days before it was discovered that the company backing the film didn’t seem to have any money.

Bally Brando, a 50-minute documentary about the disaster, will be shown before Navidi speaks. The film is in English, and directed by Brendan J Byrne. Navidi will speak for about 40 minutes.

Bally Brando and Master Class with Barry Navidi, free admission
Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, 5 p.m.

Cinémathèque Québécoise, Salle Fernand Seguin
355 de Maisonneuve Blvd E. (metro Berri-UQAM)

For more information about Bally Brando and the master class, visit the FNC web site.