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Minister hails Fajr Film Festival as symbol of national identity
Abbas Salehi, during his visit to the Fajr Film Festival secretariat on January 17, added that “whenever Iran is at greater risk, we should work harder for our country,” IRNA reported.
He said Iran hosts various cultural events, but only a few have become identity symbols, emphasizing, “As we find ourselves in more critical conditions, we require more identity symbols; when geography, identity, and history are at risk, the role of such cultural symbols becomes more prominent.”
Salehi said the festival, in previous years, has provided a kind of strength that is not merely symbolic or injective.
Salehi considered the Fajr Film Festival as a symbol of Iranian cinema and stressed, “Iranian cinema is part of the identifying markers of Iran, and the image of Iran is intertwined with its cinema; to such an extent that after ‘Iranian Poetry’, ‘Iranian Cinema’ is known worldwide.”
He noted, “When cinema holds such a position, then the symbols of this cinema also gain importance, and undoubtedly, the Fajr Film Festival is one of these symbols.”
He recalled positive events that occurred during the previous rounds of the festival, referring specifically to last year’s efforts to reconcile cineasts with the Fajr Film Festival again, which he said was achieved in a short time.
“This year, Fajr Film Festival has gained thematic and formal diversity in order to develop into an event that will be the prelude to future improvements, which the ministry will certainly support.” Salehi said.
Salehi also referred to the change in the media system and the need to perceive this change in events like the Fajr Film Festival. According to the minister, media activity is typically limited to the days of holding the festival, but to have a persistent path, the “continuous communication system” must take a different approach.
He stressed that “we should show that not only have not our motivations wavered, but our determination has doubled to not send a signal of weakness to the enemy and to prevent them from taking more hostile actions against our country.”
The Fajr Film Festival is one of the events that can send important signals, as the world is looking at this event.
The minister expressed hope that the Fajr Film Festival would be held more magnificently than ever.
Raed Faridzadeh, the head of the Cinema Organization of Iran, and Manuchehr Shahsavari, the secretary of the Fajr Film Festival, were also present.
Over 6,000 artists submitted works to Fadjr Int’l Theater Festival
The number of works submitted to the 44th edition of the Fadjr International Theater Festival secretariat has been very impressive, with over 6,000 theater artists from across the country participating in the festival so far, the minister said in a visit to Kerman Province a day earlier.
The festival has reached a point where more attention needs to be paid to talent scouting and investing on young theater groups, Salehi added.
The festival officially opened in Kerman Province and will continue in the capital Tehran.