Fajr Film Festival opens in Tehran with nationwide rollout, emphasis on nat’l identity
Iran’s 44th Fajr Film Festival opened on Saturday at the Mellat Cineplex in Tehran, with festival director Manouchehr Shahsavari underscoring its status as a national cultural event as screenings begin in the capital and expand nationwide in the coming days.
Speaking shortly before the festival’s opening screening of the animated feature ‘Guardians of the Sun,’ Shahsavari said he had attended “out of respect” to mark the first official screening of the 44th edition, adding that he firmly regarded the Fajr festival as a national event and believed in its mission, IRNA reported.
He expressed hope that the festival could help foster public calm and solidarity at a time when “hearts may be unsettled for various reasons”.
Shahsavari said cinema remained a vital social capacity for the country, a responsibility he said currently rested with filmmakers and the media to strengthen and expand with conviction, helping to connect people and prevent social and emotional fracture.
He also apologized to the makers of ‘Guardians of the Sun’ for facing no competitors in the animation category, noting that the burden of representing Iranian feature animation fell on their shoulders, while praising the film as a “beautiful work”.
Alongside established directors such as Rasoul Sadrameli, Soroush Sehat, Amirshahab Razavian, Manouchehr Hadi, Alireza Motamedi and Mostafa Razzaq-Karimi, the competition includes a cohort of young and first-time filmmakers.
Nationwide screenings of accepted films will begin in provincial cities on February 4, coinciding with the Mid-Sha’ban holiday.
Screenings will take place in all provincial capitals, while nine cities will open their programs with locally produced films shown outside the main competition.
Earlier this month, organizers unveiled the festival’s official poster, designed by Mehdi Davaei and inspired by an iconic image of veteran actor Ali Nassirian from Masoud Jafari Jozani’s film ‘The Stone Lion’. The image, depicting an Iranian man’s bond with the land, was presented as evoking national sentiment in the aftermath of this year’s 12-day conflict with the Zionist regime and as reaffirming links between contemporary cinema and Iran’s cultural and historical heritage.
The 44th Fajr National Film Festival runs until February 11 under Shahsavari’s direction.