Cultural official: Fiff36, a truly international film event

Deputy director of Fajr International Film Festival (Fiff36) outlined the purpose and highlights of this year’s event, mainly its Talent Campus, the Seventh Bell and Filmmaking Workshops.

Mohammad Ebrahim Salavatifard said the festival has managed to become a truly international film event, as envisaged by its Director Reza Mirkarimi. The Fiff has established itself as a valid international film market attended by A-list directors, stars, festival organizers, critics and fans, fajriff.com wrote.

The same is true about the festival’s growing number of domestic guests, he said, adding that in addition to Farhang and Felestin cinemas, eight cineplex will join to screen movies for the Seventh Bell section, which is dedicated to the youth.

Salavatifard pointed out that the 36th edition of the event has received a lot of media coverage in Iran.

Salavatifard said that another feature is the way the festival is run and membership cards became digital.

“Once purchased, membership cards will be registered and activated automatically. You can then log into your account to access your membership and enjoy its many benefits, including getting discount tickets to watch a wonderful selection of thought provoking films that open dialog about topics that are important to the local and world community. “The filmmakers in attendance will interact with the audience via Q&A sessions, workshops and panels as well. Additionally, educational sessions will be planned to further engage the community. The digital cards helps to know how many people are attending the screenings and who has attended the filmmaking workshops. These statistics will help us make next year’s event even more goaloriented.” Turning to the Talent Campus, he said that foreign and domestic students will attend various courses organized by prominent international filmmakers, critics and scholars.

“This is a long-term project for the organizers to train the next generation of Iranian cinema directors. The festival also intends to help foreign students to find out more about Iran and its cinema. They can then make films about Iran based on their own personal experiences and findings.”

Students from more than 40 countries will attend the Talent Campus, he said.

He added that there will be over 25 filmmaking workshops in cinematic venues as well as 15 others in several colleges and universities, offering courses in humanities and cinema management. Those attending the workshops have already gained some experience in filmmaking, and will attend three workshops.

Speaking about the Film Market, he said, Fajr seeks to find market for Iranian movies.

“Iranian movies will be screened in the market and international clients will then be allowed to enter into negotiations with production companies to buy the rights for overseas distribution and screening. There will be many international clients and distributors attending the Film Market,” he concluded.