TEHRAN (Iran News) –The 39th Fajr Music Festival heard the performance of the Razm Navazan martial band on Wednesday, the third day of the event.

The post Fajr Music Festival enjoys martial band’s performance appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The post 38th Fajr International film fest canceled appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Our history is a great treasure that we can use for our clothing in future. Since not only in our national history but also in our religion that is important that what we wear,” he explained.

He called the festival as a great opportunity to conduct negotiation and interaction between designers, producers and people who use clothing as their ‘visual identity card’.

Several officials and fashion designers and activists in apparel industry attended the ceremony.

“Cultural officials should support national apparel industry and Iranian brands as a national honor,” the secretary of ministry of culture’s Fashion and Clothes Management Workgroup Hamid Qobadi said.

He said that a reformation is needed in the field of design and fashion.

“We plan to hold ‘Tehran Mode’, as a fashion event, is planned two held twice a year at Tehran’s Golestan historic palace, which would be a great help for Iranian fashion industry,” he added.

He said that textile industry and fashion design in Iran still can compete with similar foreign products.

“The festival aims to introduce innovations and novel concepts proposed by the young generation to the society,” he said.

It provides an opportunity to reconnect designers, people and officials to each other, he added.

At the ceremony, MP Famtemeh Zolqadr, who is member of the Majlis culture committee, talked about the importance of the festival.

“In fact, the Islamic Revolution made changes in clothing and fashion in Iran and it is great that a festival focuses on these issue on the anniversary of the revolution,” she said.

The Fajr festivals, which are held in the different fields of cinema, theater and visual arts, held annually on the occasion of the Islamic Revolution in February.

“Iran is proud of a rich culture and civilization and cities like Yazd, Kerman and Kashan are pioneers in production of beautiful textiles,” she explained.

She said that Iran parliament, Majlis, supports the culture ministry’s Fashion and Clothes Management Working group in their activities to promote Iranian textile and fashion.

For the first time, the festival plans to take up an impressive collection of clothes with the concept of a historical monument, Golestan Palace, in the competition section.

The fashion and textile designers submit their works revolving around the Golestan Palace during the festival, which runs from February 25 to March 4 in Tehran.

All fashion designers, clothing industry managers and those who are interested in the clothing and fashion industry can attend the event free of charge.

The post ‘Iranians always care about what they wear’ appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The post Jean-Pierre Léaud to attend 2018 Fajr filmfest appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“We did not give any guest money,” Mirkarimi told the Persian service of MNA on Sunday and added, “The extent of service provided for Oliver Stone and his wife was that we paid for their plane tickets.”

“This demonstrates the skills and proficiency of the organizers of a festival if they are able to arouse the curiosity of its guests about the event,” he stated.

He also added that their method to invite the guests was so alluring that the invitees felt there would be a loss if they would miss the event.

A rumor went around on Persian social networks that the foreign cineastes at the Fajr festival, including the American filmmaker Oliver Stone, got paid a lot of money to be a guest at the event.

“We made good use of them; i.e. they held numerous workshops, delivered speeches and gave many interviews during their stay in Tehran,” Mirkarimi said.

The 36th edition of the Fajr International Festival was held in Tehran from April 19 to 26 as Bulgarian director Milko Lazarov’s drama “Ága” was selected as best film at the event.

The post None paid to be guest at Fajr festival: Reza Mirkarimi appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The film that is a co-production by Bulgarian, German, and French is about Nanuk and Sedna, two Inuits who live in a yurt among the snowy fields of the north with the dream of reuniting their family. They live in the spirit of the traditions of their ancestors. When Sedna’s health gets worse and she dies, Nanuk decides to fulfill her last wish – to find their long-gone daughter Ága, who has chosen the life in the city and has forgotten their traditions.

This film was screened in the official competition of the Berlin International Film Festival this year.

The closing ceremony of the Fajr festival was organized at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on Thursday evening as many Iranian culture officials, including the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance Abbas Salehi, as well as numerous world-renowned cineastes such Oliver Stone were in attendance.

Russian director Aleksei German received an award for “Dovlatov”, a biographical film about writer Sergei Dovlatov. This film also received the Iranian critics’ award.

The Silver Simorgh for best screenwriter was presented to Ramtin Lavvafipur for “Hat Trick”.

Leon Lucev won the Silver Simorgh for best actor for his portrayal of the miner Alija Basic in Slovenian director Hanna Slak’s “The Miner”.

This movie also earned Slak honorable mentions from the Iranian critics and the Peace Prize sections of the festival.

Iranian actress Mahur Alvand was best for her role in “Hat Trick” directed by Lavvafipur.

The special jury award went to cinematographer Richard Kendrick for his collaboration in “Song of Granite” by Pat Collins from Canada and Ireland.

“Faith” by Russian director Tatiana Fedorovskaya won the best short award in Cinema Salvation, the official competition of the event.

A jury composed of Polish director Joanna Kos-Krauze, Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski, Greek filmmaker Dimitri Athanitis, Indian director and producer Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Italian producer Giovanni Spagnoletti, as well as cinematographer Mahmud Kalari and actress Merila Zarei from Iran judged the films in this category.

Iranian director Majid Majidi received the Muhammad al-Ameen Award for his Indian drama “Beyond the Clouds”.  The award is dedicated to films promoting Islam and human values.

In the Eastern Vista, a section dedicated to Asian cinema, three awards were presented. “Father and Son”, Vietnamese drama film directed by Luong Dinh Dung, was named best film while Iranian director Maryam Bahrololumi was honored for her drama “Patio”.

Vietnamese director Luong Dinh Dung (C) accepts the Best Film Silver Simorgh in the Eastern Vista Category for his “Father and Son” from Mohammad-Mehdi Heidarian, the director of the Cinema Organization of Iran, during the closing ceremony of the Fajr International Film Festival at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on April 26, 2018. An unidentified person is also seen in the photo. (Fars/Mehdi Bolurian)

The award for best short film in this category went to “Pedovore” by Iranian director Mohammad Kart.

The Peace Prize, which is annually awarded to a filmmaker with movies on international problems, was presented this Year to Cambodian documentary film director and screenwriter Rithy Panh, who is also the producer of Angelina Jolie’s drama “First They Killed My Father” about the experiences of a young girl whose family was torn apart by the Khmer Rouge.

Panh received the award from Stone, the festival’s special guest.

Turkish filmmaker Semih Kaplanoglu’s “Grain”, inspired by a chapter from the Holy Quran, received the award for best film in the interreligious film section. The story of the film is set in a world in the near future, where an abrupt climate change has led to the extinction of life.

The first-film director award went to Puya Badkubeh for his debut film “Dressage”, which received a special mention in the Generation 14plus competition at the 68th Berlin International Film Festival in February.

The NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema) was presented its award to “Hendi & Hormoz” by Abbas Amini from Iran.

The post Inuit drama “Ága” crowned best at Fajr Intl. Film Festival appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The ceremony was attended by a large number of Iranian cineastes and foreign guests as veteran actor Reza Kianian cut a cake prepared for the celebration.

In his short opening speech, Kianian told the audience, “We have a number of good films this year and I hope you will all like and welcome the films.”

Iranian director Majid Majidi’s “Beyond the Clouds” was the opening film of the event, which was screened in Hindi with English and Persian subtitles.

The film, which was made in India in 2017, revolves around the life of a young boy, Amir, and his sister, Tara, in Mumbai. When on the run from the cops, Amir finds his estranged sister, who, in a bid to protect her brother, lands in jail. Their entire lives are clouded by despair when, unexpectedly, the light shines on them from beyond the clouds.

Tehran’s Charsu Cineplex will host the festival running until April 27.

In addition, a collection of photos by the Paris-based Iranian photographer Alfred Yaqubzadeh on Palestine’s Intifada opened at the 14 Gallery as part of the programs arranged for the festival.

The collection named “Intifada Uprising” puts the spotlight on Palestinians and three decades of their uprising against the Israeli occupation of their homeland.

The exhibit is being organized in the Broken Olive Branches section, which is screening films on the upheavals in today’s Muslim world.

Yaqobzadeh has published a collection of his photos on Palestinians’ struggle against the Zionist regime in a book titled “Promised Peace”. His books “Iran-Iraq War” and “Faces of War” focus on the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

The post Iran celebrates 120 years of national film history appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“In his films, he has emphasized the need for peace in the world,” the organizers said in a press release published on Sunday.

Panh will attend the festival, which will take place in Tehran from April 19 to 27, to receive the prize.

In a career spanning about 30 years, Panh has directed over 15 films, including “Site 2”, “Cambodia: Between War and Peace”, “Rice People”, “The Burnt Theatre”, “The Missing Picture”, and “Exile”.

His movies focus on the genocide by the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. As a survivor of the genocide, he put the spotlight on his own story in “The Missing Picture”, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2014.

Due to Jolie’s Cambodian citizenship, “First They Killed My Father” was also selected as Cambodia’s Oscar submission last fall.

The post Fajr festival to honor Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh with Peace Prize appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Dar-ul-Fonun, which acquired its name from the Iranian polytechnic institute established in 1851, was initiated by the festival secretary, Reza Mirkarimi, in the 34th edition of the festival to discover emerging talents among film students in Iran and other countries.

Dar-ul-Fonun has been warmly received by foreign students, and a team of Iranian experts are examining applications to select 55 students from overseas film schools for the discovery camp, Dar-ul-Fonun director Maziar Miri said in a press release.

Fifty-five other students will also be selected from Iranian film educational centers, he added.

The festival will be held in Tehran from April 19 to 27.

The post Film students from 50 countries apply for Fajr Dar-ul-Fonun appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The posters and photos are of plays performed, or theatrical events organized, in Iran over the past year, the secretary of the photo section, Amir Esmi, said in a press conference at the City Theater Complex on Sunday.

Over 160 posters created by 57 artists will be competing at the exhibition.

A jury composed of several foreign experts, including Markus Weisbeck from Germany, Siam Attariya from Thailand and Sebastian Kubica from Poland, will be judging the posters.

Iranian experts Majid Baluch, Reza Abedini and Javad Atahsbari are also members of the panel.

In addition, about 100 photographers will be showcasing their works in the photo competition section.

A selection of 465 photos will be judged by Iranian experts, including Seifollah Samadian, Mahmud Kalari, Ebrahim Sisan and Masud Pakdel.

Several experts from England, Italy, Australia, Poland and the Netherlands are also among the members of the jury for the section.

The post Fajr theater festival to hold photo, poster exhibition next week appeared first on Iran News Daily.