What is happening in the international section of Fajr Film Festival?
After two years, when the Fajr International Film Festival did not get a chance to be established due to the spread of Corona, and then it was merged with the national section by the decision of the new directors of the cinema organization, the Fajr Film Festival is going to be held again in two weeks and after nearly a decade. It will be held under the title of International, of course, many official details are not available.
Charso Press: On 24 September 2013, Alireza Rezadad – the secretary of Fajr Film Festival – who was also the advisor to the head of the film organization at the time (Hujtollah Ayoubi) announced that after about a decade, changes are going to happen in this important artistic event, and that is the independence of the international section from It was the national section. Now, after eight years have passed since the initial separation and five years of independent holding of these two sections, Fajr Festival will simultaneously witness the screening of Iranian and foreign films and the holding of a film market. Some informal information about the international sector is also mentioned.
The 32nd Fajr Film Festival was accompanied by an important change, the separation of the international section from the festival, even though nearly two decades had passed since the internationalization of the festival. With this decision, this section was supposed to be held competitively and independently in May of the following year, at which point there were criticisms of this decision and it continued during several periods of holding. After four periods of holding the festival under the secretary of Reza Mirkarimi and one period under the secretary of Mohammad Mehdi Asgarpour, the spread of the Corona virus disrupted the ongoing process of establishing the “Fajr World Festival” and finally, the change of government and the presence of new managers eliminated it altogether. Other national and international parts of Fajr festival should be merged with each other.
In November 1400 and in a situation where less than a year had passed since Fajr International Film Festival was registered as one of the “A” festivals in the world in the International Confederation of Film Producers (FIAPF), Mohammad Khazaei – the head of the cinema organization – announced: “National and Fajr Film World will be held in an integrated and unified manner after five separate holding periods from next year (1401), and the simultaneous holding of this important and strategic event of Iranian cinema on the anniversary of the Fajr celebrations of the Islamic Revolution, with the synergy of capacities, will definitely provide additional practical opportunities for the benefit of the society. “Cinema provides different classes of people, cinematographers and foreign guests.”
The announcement of this news, like when the news of the separation of the festival was published, had many reflections, and some people believed that this decision was not based on expert opinion and harmed the credibility of the international part of the Fajr Festival. However, now there is no time to examine this debate, which has been mentioned many times, and naturally, experts will have a better assessment after this year’s festival.
At the moment, the international section of the 40th Fajr Film Festival under the direction of Mojtaba Amini is scheduled to be held from 12th of Bahman, although, like the national section, not much information has been published about it, and as in the domestic section, the names of applicants, films and the selection committee are not known, in the international section as well Apart from a few short news, no other information has been transmitted so far.
Currently, what has been officially determined is that the 40th Fajr Film Festival will be held in Milad Tower and Mellat Campus, and Milad Tower as the “house of the festival” hosts the international section, the film market, domestic and foreign guests, and the owners of the works. Mellat Cinema Campus is also named “Media House” to host media people and critics.
The films of this section are going to be shown at the Milad Tower at the same time as the national section, but it is said that screenings will also be considered at Mellat campus for their screening.
Also, like the era when Fajr Festival was held in an integrated manner, three sections of Saadat Cinema, Jalveh Gahah Sharq and the Festival of Festivals will be held with about 11 films in each section. In this section, there are several films that will have their first screenings in the Fajr Festival, and films – except for some speculations – from several European countries and North America will also participate in the festival.
The film market section is going to be held as in the past, and foreign guests have been invited, but the festival office is not going to announce their names due to sensitivities.
In this section, a few days ago, the news of the call for educational and specialized workshops of the 41st Fajerniz International Film Festival was published, which is scheduled to be held from 16 to 21 February with the participation of international professors on the topics of sound, music, joint production, international fund and screenwriting. In this case, the names of those who organize the workshops have not been published.