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The 36th Fajr International Film Festival (April 19- 27, 2018)

SHAFAQNA – In order to identify valuable and innovative cinematic works and create a space for exchange of experience and international thought among filmmakers from all around the world, Fajr International Film Festival welcomes qualified domestic and international films in the heart of the Iran, Tehran, celebrates cultural exchanges, and presents the latest appreciated achievements of the world filmmakers and cinematic films that promote artistic participation on the cinematic platform.

Moreover, the festival will have a special look at the works that are emphasizing the expansion message of justice, global peace and moral and human values.

The festival also places particular emphasis on introducing films from the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Anatolia, and focuses on works inspired by the true teachings of the divine prophets with a message of peace and friendship.

Participants compete for a special prize called Golden Simorgh in the competing sections of the festival. Symbolizing a perfect human being, knowledge and wisdom “Simorgh” is a mythical bird and an iconic legend from Ancient Persia in Iranian culture. It plays an important role in Persian literature, and its first presence has documented back to the epics of Ferdowsi’s Shāh-Nāmeh (Book of Kings) and mystical works of Farid al-Din Attar’s “The Conference of the Birds”. Honor Diploma and Golden Plaque are the other prizes awarded in the festival.

Relying on the experience of the previous festivals and after studying world outstanding festivals, the 36th Fajr International Film Festival will be held on April 19-27, 2018 with acclaimed Iranian filmmaker, Reza Mirkarimi as the Festival Director.

A glance at the previous editions

The festival has celebrated world cinema’s prominent figures by holding the commemoration ceremony for them in the past years. Among the figures, there were those who have also been members of the jury of Fajr Film Festival including Volker Schlöndorff, Robert Chartoff, Semih Kaplanoğlu, Bruce Beresford, Percy Adlon, Paul Cox, Shyam Benegal, Béla Tarr, Jan Troell, Helma Sanders-Brahms, Elia Suleiman, Agnieszka Holland, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Rustam Ibragimbekov, etc.

Among the early memorable and impressive works of the acclaimed filmmakers who have been appreciated and awarded at this festival, one can mention “Maborosi” by Hirokazu Kore-eda, “The Promise” by Dardenne brothers, “Clouds of May” by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Hans Christian-Schmid’s “23”, Laurent Cantet’s “Human Resources”, “Before the Fall” (also known as NaPolA) by Dennis Gansel, Andrey Zvyagintsev’s “Return”, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “The Life of Others”, etc.

Acclaimed author filmmakers such as Costa-Gavras, Francesco Rosi, Theo Angelopoulos, Mario Monicelli, Moustapha Akkad, Darius Khondji and others have been present in Fajr Film Festival and won Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The 36th Fajr International Film Festival’s sections, awards, and Rules and Regulations

-Main Sections:

Similar to the previous editions, the main sections of the 36th Fajr International Film Festival will include competing and non-competing sections.

  •   Cinema Salvation (International Competition)
  •   Eastern Vista (Panorama of Films from Asian and Islamic Countries)
  •   Festival of Festivals

    -Parallel Sections:

  •   Restored Classics
  •   Docs in Focus
  •   Special Screenings (retrospectives and memorials)
  •   Midnight Screenings (innovative overview of different genre in

    cinema)

  •   Bayt Al- Moqadis (Revolution of the Islamic World)
  •   World (other countries) Cinema
  •   The Seventh Bell (Specially screening for student)

 

-Special Events:

  •   Darolfonoun (Talent Campus for Iranian, Regional and World Young Filmmakers)
  •   Educational Workshops and Seminars
  •   Student Lab (academic forum)
  •   Festival’s Fans Club

    Festival’s Awards (36 edition)

Feature Films in International Competition:
– Golden Simorgh for Best Film (awarded to the film director) + Iranian Rials 400.000.000 Cash Prize (awarded jointly to the film director and producer)

– Silver Simorgh for Best Director + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize – Silver Simorgh for Best Actress + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize – Silver Simorgh for Best Actor + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize
– Silver Simorgh for Best Script + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize

– Silver Simorgh for Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Artistic Contribution in the categories of camera, editing, music score, costume or set design + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize

In the verdict of International Jury, the prize list must not contain joint awards and no film can receive more than two awards.

Short Films in International Competition:
-Silver Simorgh for Best Short Film + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize (awarded to the film director)

Asian Film Awards:
-Trophy for Best Asian Film (awarded to the film director) + Iranian Rials 200.000.000 Cash Prize (awarded jointly to producer and director)

-Trophy for Best Asian Director + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize

– Trophy for Best Asian Short Film + Iranian Rials 50.000.000 Cash Prize (awarded to the film director)

In the verdict of Asian Film Awards Jury, the prize list must not contain joint awards and no film can receive more than one award.

● Muhammad Al-Ameen Award for Reflection of Prophetic Ethics and Morality (for one of the films selected for the main sections of the festival):

-Trophy + Diploma of Honour + Iranian Rials 100.000.000 Cash Prize (awarded to the film director)

● Other Awards:
-Inter-Faith Award: Diploma of Honour +Iranian Rials 50.000.000 Cash Prize (awarded to the film director)

NETPAC Prize + Iranian Rials 50.000.000 Cash Prize (awarded to the film director)

(NETPAC “Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema”)

Rules and Regulations

The world premiere films are of high priority.

Accepted formats: Non-encrypted DCP, Apple ProRes 4444 or Full HD File (with English subtitles)

Date of completion: 2017-18 Eligible films for Main Sections and 2016, 2017, and 2018 for Special Screening, Midnight Screening, and Docs in Focus sections.

Eligibility for the main sections:

● Feature films (fiction, documentary, animation) of at least 70 minutes running time, intended for theatrical release.
● Short films (fiction, documentary, animation) of at most 15 minutes running time.

All films have to fill the online film entry on the festival website (www.fajriff.com).

The application form must be submitted by the producer(s) or the eligible distributor of the film.

In case of any international screening, Iranian films will not be included in the main sections of the festival.

International films, already premiered in the Middle East and Central Asia (with the exception of the country of origin), will not be included for Salvation Cinema section.

The films, which have submitted for the previous editions, are not eligible to submit again.

Key times and places

Online Submission Opening Date: November 1st, 2017 Online Submission Closing Date: March 1st, 2018

Deadline for Receipt of the Previewing Materials: March 5th, 2018 Festival Dates: April 19th-27th, 2018 / Fajr International Film Festival

Festival’s Central Secretariat: No. 2454, Tavanir St., Valiasr Ave., Tehran 14348-43631 Iran.

Tel: +98 21 88194248 – +98 21 88194235 – +98 21 88194257 E-mail: prog@fajriff.com

Review of the Last Editions (34, 35)

The 34th Fajr International Film Festival

Directed by Seyed Reza Mirkarimi, the 34th edition of the Fajr International Film Festival was held in Tehran on April (20 – 26), 2016. The festival’s poster was designed based on a scene from the film “The Cow” (1969) directed by Dariush Mehrjui. The main venue was the Charsou Cinema Complex.

The total number of films registered at the 34th Fajr International Film Festival was 912 titles from 82 countries. During the festival, 14 films in the Cinema Salvation section (International Competition), 16 films in the Eastern Vista section (Panorama of Films from Asian and Islamic Countries), 10 films in the Festival of Festivals, 14 films in the Special Screenings (Retrospectives and Memorials) and 6 French as A Retrospective of French Cinema were screened, along with 18 short films.

In the Restored Classics section, Albert Lamorisse’s 1970 film “The Lover’s Wind”, Dariush Mehrjui’s “The Cow” and “The Land of the Lion and the Sun” by Russian filmmaker Vladimir Erofeev were screened. The total number of foreign guests of the 34th festival and the film market amounted to 230 from 47 countries.

Cinema Salvation jury members were:

● Zeynep Atakan; Chairwoman of the Movie Producers Association of Turkey and the Vice President of EWA, the European Women’s Audiovisual Network,
● Emmanuel Prévost; French Producer and Screenwriter,

● Tian Zhuang Zhuang; Chinese filmmaker and Chairman of the Beijing Film Academy,
● JoséLuisGuerín;LectureratESCACandPompeuFabraUniversityas well as a Spanish documentary filmmaker,

● Ivo Felt; Estonian Producer and sound designer and CEO of Allfilm, 5

● Nasser Taghvai; Iranian film director and screenwriter and lecturer in screenwriting, and
● Majid Majidi; Iranian film director, producer and screenwriter.

Vista jury members were:

● Jaaved Jaffrei; Indian director, producer, actor, voice actor, singer, songwriter, and comedian,

  • ●  Ismaël Ferroukhi, French-Moroccan film director and screenwriter,
  • ●  Maria Teresa Cavina, Italian festival designer,
  • ●  Sahraa Karimi, Afghan filmmaker and Ph.D. holder in cinema, and
  • ●  GolabAdineh,Iranianactressanduniversitylecturer.

    Inter-Faith Award jury members were:

    ● Magali Van Reeth, General Secretary of SIGNIS France and President of SIGNIS Europe, journalist, film reviewer, art, cultural and religious critic and member of different SIGNIS, Ecumenical and Fipresci juries,
    ● Stephan Foerner, radio-journalist and member of the Catholic film commission, and

● Seyed Mostafa Mohaqheqh Damad, Iranian researcher and Chairman of the Islamic studies in Science Academy, professor of Law at Shahid Beheshti University.

The Award Winners of the 34th International Fajr Film Festival

Cinema Salvation

● Golden Simorgh and the cash prize of Iranian Rials 300,000,000 for Best Feature Film went to “Rams”, co-produced by Iceland and Denmark. ● Silver Simorgh for Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Artistic Contribution went to “Arvand” directed by Pouria Azarbijani from Iran.

● Silver Simorgh and the cash prize of Iranian Rials 100,000,000 for Best Director went to “Frenzy” directed by Emin Alper from Turkey.
● Silver Simorgh and the cash prize of Iranian Rials 100,000,000 for Best Script went to “Amama” (When a Tree falls) from Spain.

● Silver Simorgh and the cash prize of Iranian Rials 100,000,000 for Best Actor went to Sigurður Sigurjónsson and Theodor Juliusson in “Rams” co-produced by Iceland and Denmark.

● Silver Simorgh and the cash prize of Iranian Rials 100,000,000 for Best Actress went to Pantea Panahiha in “Breath” from Iran.
● Best Short Film prize and the cash prize of Iranian Rials 100,000,000 awarded to “Seeing” from Iran.

Art & Experience Award

● Trophy for Best Short Film went to “Figura” from Poland and Belgium.
● TrophyforBestFeatureFilm(withtheappreciationof“Breath”)went to “Dawn” from Latvia.

Asian Films Award (Eastern Vista)

● Best Asian Film Award and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to “Madam Courage” directed by Merzak Allounache from Algeria and France (Diploma of Honor went to Behrouz Nooranipour’s documentary “A175” from Iran).

● Best Asian Director Award and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to “Walnut Tree” from Kazakhstan.

Muhammad Al-Ameen Award

● The Best Film Award went to “Love Marriage in Kabul” co-produced by Afghanistan and Australia.

Inter-Faith Award
● The Best Film Award went to “Zemnako” from Iran.

The 35th Fajr International Film Festival

Presided over by Reza Mirkarimi, the 35th edition of Fajr International Film Festival took place in Tehran on April (21- 28), 2017. As a tribute to Abbas Kiarostami, the festival’s poster was designed based on a scene from his film “Where Is the Friend’s Home?” (1987). Again the main venue was the Charsou Cinema Complex.

The total number of films registered for the 35th Fajr International Film Festival was 6100 titles from 89 countries. In the Cinema Salvation Contest, 30 long length feature and short films from 20 countries competed with each other. 30 feature and short films from 28 different countries were participating Eastern Vista section (Panorama of Films from Asian and Islamic Countries). There were 15 films from 18 countries in the Festival of Festivals and 13 films from 10 countries in Special Screenings (Retrospectives and Memorials). In Docs in Focus, 13 films from 10 countries, 10 films from 6 countries in Classics Preserved section, 7 films in Korean Cinema section, 7 films from 4 countries in Baltic Cinema section, and finally 7 films from 6 countries in Midnight Screening section were screened in the festival.

The 35th Fajr International Film Festival hosted 335 international guests from 66 different countries.

International Competition (Cinema Salvation) Jury

  • ●  UbertoPasolini;Italianproducer,directorandscreenwriter,
  • ●  FlorianGallenberger;Germandirectorandscreenwriter,
  • ●  Lech Majewski; Polish poet, painter, writer and film director,
  • ●  Mieko Harada; Japanese actress and voice actress,
  • ●  Jessica Woodworth; American producer, filmmaker, and screenwriter,
  • ●  RasoulSadrameli;Iranianscreenwriteranddirector,
  • ●  Fatemah Motamed-Aria; Iranian actress, voice actress, and puppeteer

    Juries of Panorama of Films from Asian and Islamic Countries

  • ●  Zeki Demirkubuz; Turkish freelance author-filmmaker,
  • ●  Hamida Omarova; film director from Azerbaijan,
  • ●  Omirbaev Darezhan Karazhanovich; film director, screenwriter, and film critic from Kazakhstan,
    ● NejibAyed;Tunisianfestivaldirector,producer,executiveproducer, journalist, and film critic,

● Kamal Tabrizi; Iranian director and screenwriter

Inter-Faith Award Jury

● Hojatollah Ayoubi; former Deputy Minister of Culture and head of Iran’s Cinema Organization, as well as the President of ECO Cultural Institute,
● Michał Legan; Polish theologian, filmologist, TV producer, author, and Head of the Theology of Media Institute at the Faculty of Social Sciences at the Pontifical University of John Paul II in Cracow,

● Katia Malatesta; Ph.D. holder in History of the Visual Arts, film critic, and press agent of the Religion Today Film Festival from Italy.

NETPAC JURY

● Anne Demy-Geroe; film programmer, lecturer on Asia Pacific Cinema at Griffith Film School and Director of Iranian Film Festival in Australia.

  • ●  Houshangh Golmakani; Iranian journalist, film critic and translator.
  • ●  Rolando B.Tolentino; is faculty of the university of the Philippines Film Institute and former dean of the UP College of Mass Communication.

International Competition Awards: Cinema of Salvation:

● Golden Simorgh for the Best Film and the cash prize of Iranian 400.000.000 rials went to “The Home” directed by Asghar Yousefinejad from Iran,
● Silver Simorgh of Special Jury Prize and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to Zhu Jinjing (Cinematography) and Wang Tou (Art Director) to “Mr. No Problem” for Outstanding Artistic Contribution from China and France,
● Silver Simorgh for Best Director and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to Ivan D. Gaona for “Guilty Men” from Colombia,
● Silver Simorgh for Best Script and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to Asghar Yousefinejad for “The Home” from Iran,
● Silver Simorgh for Best Actor and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to Stefan Denolyubov for “Glory” from Bulgaria, ● Silver Simorgh for Best Actress and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to Margita Gosheva for “Glory” from Bulgaria,
● Silver Simorgh for Best Short Film and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to Ghasideh Golmakani for “Online Shopping” from Iran.

Panorama of Films from Asian and Islamic Countries’ Awards

● Silver Simorgh for Best Asian Feature Film and the cash prize of Iranian 200.000.000 Rials went to “Returnee” directed by Sabit Kurmanbekov from Kazakhstan,
● Silver Simorgh for Best Asian Director and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 Rials went to Shahrbanoo Sadat for “Wolf and Sheep”, co- produced by Afghanistan, Denmark, France and Sweden,

● SilverSimorghforBestAsianShortFilmandthecashprizeofIranian 50.000.000 Rials went to “Not Yet” directed by Arian Vazirdaftari from Iran.

Muhammad Al-Ameen Award

● TrophyforBestFilm,DiplomaofHonourandthecashprizeofIranian 100.000.000 Rials went to “Babaei” directed by Mozaffar Hosseinkhani from Iran.

Interfaith Award
Diploma of Honour and the cash prize of Iranian 50.000.000 rials went to

“Knife in the Clear Water” directed by Wang Xuebo from China,

NETPAC Prize

Trophy for Best Film, Diploma of Honour and the cash prize of Iranian 100.000.000 rials went to “The Home” directed by Asghar Yousefinejad from Iran.

 

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