Shafaqna English- A major Iranian cinema festival has been held in the Russian cities of Moscow, Kazan and Astrakhan, with 11 Iranian feature and animated films being screened in cinemas across the three cities as part of the Iranian Cultural Days in Russia.
The festival opened in Moscow with a screening of “Whisper My Name,” directed by Rasoul Sadrameli, who attended the event at the Marshal Zhukov Cinema in Moscow. The screening drew a positive response from Russian-speaking audiences.
Hossein Divsalar, deputy head of the Islamic Culture and Relations Organization for the development of scientific and cultural relations, stressed at the opening ceremony of the Iranian Film Week in Moscow the importance of expanding cultural and cinematic exchanges between Iran and Russia.
Referring to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Moscow on joint film production, Divsalar identified Iran’s Cinema Organization and ROSKINO as two institutions with potential for cooperation in producing joint cinematic works.
Meanwhile, ROSKINO, Russia’s official state representative for the film industry at international festivals and film markets, announced that the screening of 11 films as part of the major Iranian cinema festival began in Moscow on Sept. 29, 2026, and would expand to Kazan and Astrakhan through Oct. 6.
The festival features 11 Iranian feature films and animated works from different years and genres, offering Russian audiences a selection ranging from historical and biographical dramas to family animation and adventure films.
According to ROSKINO, all the films in the program have received multiple awards and honors at various film festivals, including the Fajr International Film Festival, Iran’s main annual cultural event.
ROSKINO said the events were being held with the support of Russia’s Ministry of Culture and organized by the state cultural institution Rosconcert.
“Cinematic exchange between Russia and Iran is actively expanding,” the ROSKINO report said. In June 2025, with the support of Russia’s Ministry of Culture, ROSKINO successfully held a Russian film festival in Tehran and Isfahan, screening five leading contemporary Russian films for Iranian audiences.
The report added that the screening of the best works of contemporary Iranian cinema in Moscow, Kazan and Astrakhan in October 2026 would open “a new and bright chapter” in the cinematic dialogue between Russia and Iran.
Olga Lyubimova, Russia’s culture minister, noted that Iran and Russia have rich cultural heritages reflected in their national films, adding that the interest of Russian and Iranian audiences in each other’s cinema demonstrated mutual respect for the cultures and traditions of the two nations.
In Kazan, the festival also opened at the Mir Cinema with “Muhammad: The Messenger of God,” directed by Majid Majidi, about the life of the last Prophet of God Muhammad (PBUH).
On Sunday, Oct. 4, “Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn,” directed by Ebrahim Hatamikia and focusing on the life of Moses (AS), will open the Iranian film festival in Astrakhan.
The festival will also screen “God of War,” “Zero Day,” “Guardian of the Field,” “No Prior Appointment,” “Midnight,” and the animated films “Hero Sheep,” “Dolphin Boy 2,” and “The Last Fiction,” as part of the Iranian Cultural Days in the three Russian cities.
ROSKINO is a state organization that represents Russia’s audiovisual content industry at international festivals and film markets. In 2024, ROSKINO celebrated the centenary of its establishment.
Iran’s Cultural Days in Russia are being held from Sept. 25 to Oct. 6 with the participation of 168 Iranian artists representing 30 different fields, alongside a range of cultural and artistic programs and specialized meetings.
Iranian Culture Minister Seyyed Abbas Salehi had earlier spoken about the event during his visit to Moscow, saying that the 168-member Iranian artistic delegation included figures from music, performing arts, cinema and theater, culture and literature, archives and manuscripts, libraries, Persian language and poetry, fiction, and some members of the media.
Salehi added that this diverse composition represented an unprecedented cultural ensemble among the various cultural weeks held abroad to date. He also pointed to the cities and venues hosting the Iranian Cultural Days in Russia as another distinguishing feature of the event.
The culture minister said both the diversity of the venues hosting the Iranian Cultural Days, which hold significance in Russia and around the world, and the staging of events in the four cities of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan and Astrakhan added to the importance of the program.
A Russian Cultural Week had previously been held in Tehran and Isfahan in June 2025.
Source: Irna