Iran has been selected as the guest country with focus on its current cinematic oeuvre, at this year’s edition of the Zurich Film Festival (ZFF).
Slated for September 24-October 4, in Zurich, Switzerland, Iran will participate in the 11th ZFF, with 18 movies in the New World View section, ISNA reported.
The section puts a spotlight on a new generation of filmmakers from a selected country that has produced some of the most innovative new filmmaking in recent years.
A total of 10 feature, three documentary and five short films, mostly from young directors, represent Iranian cinema at the European festival.
Hooman Seyedi’s ‘13’, ‘Atomic Heart’ by Ali Ahmadzadeh, ‘Bright Day’ by Hossein Shahabi, ‘Fish & Cat’ by Shahram Mokri, ‘I’m Not Angry’ by Reza Dormishian, ‘Nahid’ by Ida Panahandeh, ‘Risk of Acid Rain’ by Behtash Sanaeeha, ‘Wednesday, May 9’ by Vahid Jalilvand, ‘Paradise’ by Sina Ataeian-Dena and ‘What’s the Time in Your World’ by Safi Yazdanian are the feature films.
The movies, all dramas, cover a wide range of social issues set in a real, surreal or even mysterious atmosphere. Most of them have gained global fame, having been screened at several international festivals and winning many awards.
Two of the most successful documentaries in the past year, ‘Atlan’ by Moein Karimoddini and ‘I want to be a King’ by Mehdi Ganji as well as ‘Profession, Documentarist’ which has been produced by seven women filmmakers, will also be shown.
Short films at the event are made by Maryam Tafakory, Keywan Karimi, Ali Asagari, Iman Behrouzi and Esmaeel Monsef.
Short films enjoy a long tradition in Iran. The five short films to be screened in this section challenge social conventions.
They broach issues such as the status of women in Iranian society and intellectual and creative freedom. In typical Iranian cinema style, the directors often blur the line between fiction and documentary and use this as a strategy to raise both formal and social questions.
Film directors Ahmadzadeh, Dormishian, Yazdanian, Shahabi, Sanaeeha, Ganji, Karimoddini and Behrouzi will attend the screening of their films.
Zurich is the cultural and economic center of Switzerland. Over the course of eleven days, in the city with the world‘s highest concentration of cinemas, ZFF will present film premieres from all over the globe, offer cinematic treats to a national and international audience and facilitate direct on-the-spot exchange with filmmakers.
The festival aims to offer audiences an insight into the work of the most promising filmmakers from around the globe and to promote the exchange of ideas between established film workers, creative talent and the public.
Started in 2005, it has become firmly established on the national and international festival landscape within a short period of time. In 2014, 80,000 visitors and more than 500 accredited journalists attended the screenings.
