Hafiz Multimedia Project

HAFIZ FOR OUR TIME: MULTI-MEDIA PROJECT

This visionary multi-media project has advanced to the stage where other participation is needed to ensure its integrity is maintained at realization. We are establishing a network of resource personnel of the highest calibre committed to the project.

The aim of this multi-media project is to create a global awareness of Hafiz and his contribution to the world and through his life and poetry and that of his time to make the present time more receptive to what he finally lived, ‘Love above everything else and try not to hurt anyone or thing.’ More importantly the intention of this document is to address global perception of Hafiz in the continuing culture of this new millennium.

Using all available resources and visual and print and computer technologies at the highest levels, the projects will celebrate the love and wisdom of Hafiz and the impact of his life and poetry and song our way of life through the following:

FILM: Movies (Three-Part Feature Film), Animated Feature Film, Two Documentaries.

TELEVISION: A 40 Part Television Series, Network, Satellite, Cable, Pay, Videos.

RECORDINGS: Soundtracks, Live Performances, Songs, Spoken Word.

THEATRE: Stage, Musical, Radio Play.

PUBLICATIONS: Books, Posters, Calendars, Cards. (Click on BOOKS etc)

ELECTRONIC: E-Publishing, Web-site Databases, C.D’s. C.D. Roms. (Click on, BOOKS etc.)

This project is designed to deliver his message of liberation, love for all forms of life, and peace for all of humanity.

HAFIZ FOR OUR TIME represents a unique opportunity for you to help play a central role in the world of our future through the significance of Hafiz and his relevance in our time.

THE BENEFITS TO INDIVIDUALS, COUNTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS
(GOVT. & CORPORATE).

‘Once a person has studied Hafiz he has reached the top of the mountain, from whence he beholds the sublimity of the imminence of God’.

Hazrat lnayat Khan

Hafiz and participating countries, individuals, and corporations and organizations will be acclaimed throughout the world through this project. Similarly, participating countries economy, corporate, film and print industry social life and cultural status will be greatly enriched.

The same will happen to all others involved in this important project and through their involvement many great opportunities with will become available to them, both artistic and commercial. It is only wise for those who recognize such importance to support and facilitate the implementation of this program. Why? Because ...

1. The world would hold all those participating in even greater respect and admiration for making Hafiz accessible to all human beings, for present and future generations.

2. Many individuals from around the world will benefit from the production of these important projects.

3. From the very first stage of these productions, through to all aspects of its related industries, such as film, television, book and CD making wonderful opportunities will be created and continue for years to come for all involved in the project, as lovers of Hafiz have no country more dear than the human heart in the love of beauty and truth.

4. Countries and individuals, companies, institutions and other countries will receive global recognition because of the Hafiz films, television, documentaries, plays and other aspects of the project.

5. The film locations would not only attract more work for their citizens but also visitors and tourism from other countries involved would flourish (as is the case with New Zealand and The Lord of the Rings). Many more overseas companies will visit participating countries to make joint film and television, documentary and book productions. Joint ventures will eventually create many opportunities for artists, film-makers and animators.

8. The effects and benefits to participating countries and corporations in publishing will also be significant. Joint publishing and printing ventures with those involved and others from all around the world will occur.

9. The Tourism and Hospitality Industries will gain, and this will effect other aspects of socio-economic life in participating countries as has recently happened in Ireland due to the popularity of Riverdance.

10. In the real sense, India (for example as a location and participating country) and the rest of the world will see India even more as a great spiritual centre. Many people will make pilgrimages to India to learn about the work, lives and philosophy Spiritual Masters and Sufi Saints. They will visit the tombs and known places of these Masters. Scholars and academics and poets and artists with knowledge of the same from other countries would receive recognition, work, and other benefits.

11. Cultural and education and new technology effects would be endless as teachers, computer technicians scholars, poets, painters, philosophers, and leaders and those from other countries will be in demand by educational, sociological and political organizations to help people integrate and experience the consciousness that Hafiz and other Spiritual Masters express.

12. A participating country will be even more enthusiastic about small and large business ventures with the world, especially with individuals, organizations, companies and countries involved with them in the Hafiz Project.

HAFIZ AND THE WORLD

‘It is necessary to make a new world, and a new man is necessary’.

Hafiz

In 14 century Persia Hafiz spoke with an intuitive state of consciousness. The Divan of Hafiz is an incomparable treasure: it is an ideal intuitive map for our ignorance to be transformed by Hafiz; to where it can ultimately lead us ... Immortal Life!

More than most Hafiz speaks to everyone, he lived the full range of human experience, from the passion of human love though in the body of a small, ugly man to the recognition of divine beauty in the form of ‘the perfect woman’, the extraordinary beauty Nabat, the daughter of a rich, Turkish merchant of the aristocracy at that time, (promised in marriage to the prince of Shiraz, Abu Ishak), he condensed human comprehension of the universe into perfect poetry and song in the Divan. His universality of ideas, dimension of vision, passion, language and expression are unique. He is considered by many of the world’s foremost poets, mystics, artists and writers to be the greatest poet of all time.

Hafiz was not only a great poet, he became a Perfect Master or enlightened being, whose wisdom and insights into the everyday and mystical path are such that it is said that one can gain spiritual advancement by reading his book.

During the past six centuries, he has inspired and influenced the world of literature, philosophy, mysticism and all aspects of art: poetry, painting and music in the East and the West. His life was for mankind - and his work to be shared with the world. Through his example we can learn how to prepare for unprecedented change. For the past 600 years his book has been loved by millions of people. To this day it is used as an oracle and spiritual guide in the East and West.

Hafiz was born in Shiraz, Persia (Iran) in 720/1320 and died there in 790/1392. His life, like his book (The Divan) is down-to-earth, yet mystical, romantic and mysterious, adventurous and thrilling and one of the greatest love stories of all time, set against one of the most dangerous, colourful and horrifying periods of history. His ultimate triumph against overwhelming adversity is a wonderful and inspiring example for us all. More thrilling and intriguing than Cyrano de Bergerac, Beauty and the Beast and Les Miserables: more romantic than Romeo and Juliet and Layla and Majnun, and Shirin and Farhad, his story is a unique mystical, romantic, thrilling odyssey full of the world’s greatest poetry and song and words of wisdom that is now to be told through all mediums of expression and in most languages.

His tomb in Shiraz has become a shrine for those seeking something more spiritual, that something he experienced and expressed. Without doubt, he is one of the greatest human beings since time began.

FILM, TELEVISION, STAGE AND RADIO PROJECTS

HAFIZ OF SHIRAZ: A Series of Three Feature Films in English & subtitled into many other languages. (Script & music partially completed).

Three 2hr 45 mins. feature films (a ‘Series’ like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Raiders of Lost Ark) following the life of Hafiz and his times in Shiraz, from the age of eight until his death. An epic story with a cast of International actors featuring many ghazals (poems/songs), spoken or sung to music.

HAFIZ: The Animated Movie (Script and music completed)

The life story of Hafiz from eight years old to his death. A full-length 100 min. Animated Feature Film for the world family. An international cast for dialogue and songs.

The potential audience for this film is huge - parents and their children will see it together. This animated film will be of great educational value for the young and old. It will bring Hafiz, his life and songs and poems to the world through a style of animation that will remind one of moving Persian miniature paintings that the viewer has entered and experiences.

It will be made using film, old-style animated and computer digital imaging and dubbed into many languages, including English, Persian, Urdu, Hindi, Arabic, French, German, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Italian. This script is finished and the fifteen songs/ghazals (different to the feature films) have been put to music.

SHIRAZ: The Television Series. 40 one hour episodes. (Script for first 10 hrs written).

A much more detailed dramatic telling of the life story of Hafiz and ALL of the wonderful people who knew and loved or hated him and the fascinating city of Shiraz and the history of those exciting and dangerous times, in a new kind of weekly hour-long musical drama as was done so successfully with the immortal Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The three part movie series will be filmed and re-edited during this production that has the scope to tell the complete as possible story and is in reality a faithful adaptation of the 3 book series (2100 pages) called Hafiz of Shiraz, An Historical Novel Biography. The script for first 8 hours is written.

HAFIZ AND THE WORLD: A Documentary Film. (Outline written)

A two hour documentary film exploring the life of Hafiz, his work and influence on the world with interviews, live and re-created, of renowned scholars and the ‘greats’ of art, performance, literature, philosophy and religion who have been inspired by Hafiz. Featuring performances of Hafiz by contemporary Iranian, Indian and international poets, singers and musicians. Using Persian miniatures and computerized re-creations of his life and times, with stock footage and sequences, shot in India, Iran and elsewhere.

NOTE: The documentary will be made and released prior to the Feature Films, Television Series and Animated Film to create interest in their future appearance.

HAFIZ OF SHIRAZ: The Dramatic Musical. (Written, and music completed)

A 150 minute musical/drama for the stage. This play follows the life of Hafiz from the age of twenty until his death. As with the above it will feature an International Cast and travel the world and eventually appear on film and video. On the scale of ‘Les Miserables’ and ‘Phantom of the Opera’. The play is ready with a full musical score featuring 13 songs/ghazals different to those in the Feature Films and Animated Film.

HAFIZ: THE WORLD’S GREATEST POET (Words and music completed)

A 2 hour radio play about the life of Hafiz from age 20 until his death. Full of music and atmosphere, it can be translated, played in any language and released on CD for schools and elsewhere. It is already written with 12 songs/ghazals different from Feature Films, Animation Film and Stage Plays.

THE GHAZAL AND HUMAN HERITAGES

The ghazal has a special place in the life of human beings. In many countries in the East and West it remains a living tradition, and is recited and sung as an integral communication through love and rhyme and song as an ever new and changing and possibly divine aspect of communication. In the rocking cradle of civilization, Hafiz is the most memorized and recited ghazal poet, even today! His influence on the ghazal tradition of India and Pakistan and other countries cannot be over-emphasized.

In daily life, ordinary people worldwide, look to Hafiz in joy and difficulties, in affirmation and doubt, in happiness and sorrow, together and alone. They seek guidance, inspiration, support and solace from him through his irresistible ghazals or songs.

The Divan of Hafiz is the most published book in the Middle East after the Koran. It has been produced in myriad shapes, sizes and formats using every technique: hand scripted to printing press and the Internet.

The number of books, papers, articles, songs, music, seminars and commentaries about Hafiz and his Divan is endless.

PUBLICATIONS AND LANGUAGES

In the history of publishing Hafiz ranks beside Shakespeare. The Divan has been translated, in full or in part into almost a hundred languages, many times. There are many literate works (hundreds in Persian and other languages), bibliographies, dictionaries and databases on Hafiz. Hafiz has been translated often into over 40 languages. There are thousands of books about Hafiz published in Iran and the rest of the world. There isn’t a worthwhile or significant public or private library in the world without a Divan of Hafiz.

HAFIZ AND WORLD OPINION

"In his poetry Hafiz has inscribed undeniable truth indelibly... Hafiz has no peer." Goethe

"Once a person has studied Hafiz he has reached the top of the mountain, from whence he beholds the sublimity of the immanence of God." Inayat Khan

"Hafiz defies you to show him or put him in a condition inopportune or ignoble... He fears nothing. He sees too far; he sees throughout; such is the only man I wish to see or be." Emerson

"Hafiz is highly esteemed by his countrymen as Shakespeare by us, and deserves as serious consideration." A.J. Arberry

"There is no equal to Hafiz in poetry. He was a Perfect Master... His Divan is the best book in the world because it engenders feelings which ultimately lead to illumination." Meher Baba

"It is as if his mental eye, endowed with wonderful acuteness of vision, had penetrated into provinces of thought which we of a later age were destined to inhabit." Gertrude Bell

"Hafiz breathes originality in all his works ... in no other country, was ever born a genius so rare. He dwells on the degeneracy of his age, on the vanity of the world on universal charity, and on toleration and liberty of conscience." H. Wilberforce Clarke

"We may state, without incurring the danger of modernization, that in these ghazals Hafiz applied quite consciously and consistently a method of revealing his hero’s inner condition at which European literature first arrived only in the 20th century." Michael J. Zand

"The best Musician of Words." Edward Fitzgerald (Translator of Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyyat.)

"... sublime amorous ghazals." Lorca

"Only the most enlightened of beings can benefit from the deepest human joys because within such beings resides a unique force of freedom and rapture. Their awareness rests in the house of spirit and their soul mates with their awareness, meaning that which is discovered through awareness emanates from their soul and that which shines in the soul is known with awareness. This unity of spirit and mind is the legacy of Hafiz." Nietzsche

HAFIZ FOR THE FUTURE

‘It is as if his mental eye, endowed with wonderful acuteness of vision, had penetrated into those provinces of thought which we of a later age were destined to inhabit’.

Gertrude Bell

The gross consciousness of most people and countries is firmly focused on the material world. Yet, if the individual or superpower is so focused on the corporeal, happiness and satisfaction remain an illusion.

Western culture owes its genesis to ancient wisdom rediscovered in the East during the Renaissance - the very epoch in which Hafiz was writing his Divan and through it, influencing from that time on the art, culture and spirituality of the East and the West. (See The Influence of Hafiz on the East and the West).

As we step further into the 21st century it is the perfect time to launch this project to positively inspire future generations - through the life and work of Hafiz, as one of the greatest and most enlightened human beings that has ever lived.

The mass media is an immensely powerful influence on the hearts and minds of most people. All too often people are negatively influenced by unconscious, violent, sometimes needlessly depraved heroes and heroines. Many in the East and the West have seen through this mirage of ‘stereotyping’ and are searching for deeper experiences. They are seeking a lasting change. They want Truth, Beauty, Love and Knowledge in this world and in the media. Evidence of this desire can be seen by two, recent cultural phenomena. The first being the poetry of Iran’s other great mystical poet Rumi, which has become the most popular around the world and especially in the USA in recent years. The second being the world-wide demand for Ireland’s beautiful dance and music which has had a major impact on global perception of Ireland, its culture and people. The Irish economy has made immense gains as a consequence. It is now first in the world!

The life and work of Hafiz can fulfil a similar function for participating countries and the world (recognizing and following as always Hafiz’s cry of ‘Love above all else, hurt no one if you can!’) as well as being a positive influence for individuals, masses, corporations, states and governments.

The marketing of hugely popular films like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars creates a following that appeals to young, middle-aged and old alike. Harry Potter is more than just a series of movies — it is a huge business specializing in the merchandising of films, games, music, books, posters, toys, clothing and accessories. Investment into that franchise would have been money well spent and immensely profitable.

We know the poetry and songs of Hafiz are irresistible to most who are exposed to his life and his magical and immortal and ever present book, The Divan.

Through it we can discover our position on the path to consciousness. We can learn what we really need, what we should be wary of, and what possibilities lie ahead. He tells of the past, present, and future. Through his life we can identify with the odd man out, the outsider, the individual, and the millions who are unhappy with life. All people, organizations and governments can benefit from consulting his book, which is now available in English and many other languages. He appeals to all those who wish to do the seemingly impossible, discover who they really are, and gain everlasting Love, Truth, Beauty and Happiness. That appeal is universal.

It is not really difficult to imagine the impact on the world of this project for the new humanity.

A SPECIAL NOTE OF IMPORTANCE

There are many people throughout the world: in India, Iran, U.S.A., Australia, England and Europe, Middle East, Asia and Russia who have a great love of Hafiz and his work. They are experts in many fields: translating, singing, acting, dancing, composing music, art, film-making, publicity, publishing, in short, the art of communicating. Over the years, these people have already helped us to reach this point.

This project can restore and re-define Hafiz as one of the major human beings who has influenced the world, as we know it today.

We and the many enthusiastic supporters of this project and all sections of the film, animation and printing industries down to the lovers of Hafiz in the street, have the great fortune and honour to be involved with one of the greatest explorers of this new state of consciousness, which will bring about internal and external changes for the better throughout the world.

Many people outside Iran have now heard of Hafiz or have read his poems (he is now the second most popular poet in the world after fellow Persian-Sufi poet Rumi). Recently in the East and West there have been many publications of or about him. There are many sites on the Internet about him and his popularity is still growing daily around the world. (Recently a version of some of his poems/songs reached number 2 on the N.Y. Times bestseller non-fiction list.

PRODUCTION TEAM (SO FAR)

PAUL SMITH is an Australian poet, translator, novelist, scriptwriter, playwright, book and newspaper and magazine publisher, bookseller, and lecturer on Middle Eastern Poetry and Spirituality.

ROBERT WATTS is an England born film producer of great international success and prestige. Films he has been involved in (30 films - 17 Academy Awards) include Meetings with Remarkable Men, 2 Star Wars films, 2 Indiana Jones films, Alive, Who Framed Roger Rabbit plus 25 more. He is currently stationed in California and the U.K. raising finances for this and other projects for Transformer Inc. his revolutionary multi-media company that will co-produce some of this project.

ANN SMITH is a businesswoman with extensive experience, in Australia and Internationally, in bookselling, editing, publishing and distribution.

JOHN RASMUSSEN is a singer, musician, composer (also of all the music to the songs in the films above). He is songwriter with 38 years experience in performing and the music business throughout the world. He has many recordings to his credit and has worked on countless cross-cultural and social concerts and other musical endeavours.

RUSSELL PORTER is a documentary filmmaker with many impressive productions to his credit over the past 36 years. He is a scriptwriter, director and producer and teacher of documentary film (presently he is one of the Head Teachers at the prestigious School of Documentary in Chicago).

PETER SUMNER is an actor (countless films, plays and television series); film, television and stage director; producer, script writer, Bell Company Shakespeare Actor and great lover of the poems of Hafiz for many years.

LAURENCE CASTLE is a film maker with thirty years experience in all aspects of the trade but particularly in documentaries. He has directed many documentaries that have been successfully received throughout the world. His latest work is on India’s famed Ajanta caves (the first to be allowed to film there) and he is completing another on the India’s great mystical warrior/king Shivaji. He is stationed in Pune, India and Australia.

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