Fajr International Film Festival to run in Tehran late November
Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said on Wednesday that the 43rd Fajr International Film Festival will be held in Tehran from Nov. 25 to Dec. 2, with newly appointed secretary Rouhollah Hosseini overseeing the event.
The official call for entries will be released on Aug. 30, IRNA reported.
The festival, billed as one of Iran’s most important cultural showcases, is expected to highlight both the country’s “committed and creative” cinema and Tehran’s push to widen artistic exchanges with filmmakers abroad.
Organizers said the gathering aims to provide a platform for cultural dialogue among nations while also drawing on international institutions and domestic expertise to raise the event’s global standing.
Hosseini was named secretary last month by the head of the Cinema Organization of Iran. His appointment letter urged him to strengthen ties with global filmmakers and scholars and to ensure the festival promotes Iran’s cinema as a medium rooted in both artistry and social responsibility.
The directive also called for programming that underscores the “bravery and resilience” of Iranians during a 12-day war, reflecting the government’s aim to tie cultural events to broader narratives of national endurance.
The Fajr International Film Festival was relaunched as a separate event in 2015 and was run for five editions under secretaries Alireza Rezadad, Reza Mirkarimi and Mohammad Mehdi Asgarpour. In 2022 and 2023, it was folded back into the national Fajr Film Festival before regaining its independent slot this year.