A report by the Department of Business and Support at the Farabi Cinema Foundation (FCF), says a total of 90 films are in different stages of production in Iran.
The report, which covers the first three months of the Iranian calendar (March 21-June 21), said, “15 films have completed post-production stages and are ready for screening.” They will be released after permits are issued by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, MNA reported.
Among the ready-to-screen films there are works of well-known directors including: ‘Delta X’ by Alireza Amini whose previous film ‘Block 9, Exit 2’ won the ‘Best Film’ award at the 14th Kimera International Film Festival in Termoli, Italy, recently, and Manouchehr Hadi’s ‘I’m Not Salvadore,’ shot in Brazil and casts former Brazilian soccer player Rivaldo.
Eleven movies are in the sound editing stage, including ‘Enter the Dragon’ by Mani Haqiqi and ‘Being Born’ by Mohsen Abdolvahab. Haqiqi’s previous film ‘Modest Reception’ was shown in the US and Switzerland. Abdolvahab was co-director with the celebrated filmmaker Rakhshan Bani-Etemad in two of her movies ‘Gilaneh’ and ‘Mainline’.
Filming of 13 movies is in process. Among them ‘Lanturi’ (literally meaning numpty) by Reza Dormishian, ‘Breath’ by Narges Abyar, and ‘Beauty and the West’ by Vahid Mousaian, will no doubt interest film fans as the previous works of their directors were successful.
Dormishian’s ‘I’m Not Angry’ was awarded the APSA Academy NETPAC Development Prize in 2014; Mousaian’s ‘Golchehreh’, ‘Silence of the Sea’ and ‘Dreams of the Earth’ won several international awards; and Abyar’s ‘Track 143’ earned its director international fame as it was globally praised and collected many awards.
Pre-Production
Half the movies, that is, 45 films, are still in the pre-production stage.
‘Bodyguard’ by Ebrahim Hatamikia, ‘The World Redemption’ by Kamal Tabrizi and ‘The Girl’ by Reza Mir-Karimi, are among “highly-anticipated productions.” Hatamikia is known for his quality films on the subject of Sacred Defense (1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war); Tabrizi, a versatile director in making different genres of movies, has usually hit the box office with his comedies; and Mir-Karimi has shone on the world stage with his works ‘Today’, ‘A Cube of Sugar’, ‘As Simple as That’ and ‘Under the Moonlight’.
Among the list, 15 are debut feature films by young directors.
Iran cinema produces over 100 films annually and different generations of filmmakers are active in the process. In a medium where new technologies are not much in use, directors and producers often try to attract a large audience to domestic cinema and vie on the international scene by making use of well-known and skilled actors as well as moralistic plots, not bound by place or time.
Farabi Cinema Foundation
Farabi Cinema Foundation (FCF) was established in 1983, and its activities cover all aspects of cinema and film industry. It produces films, gives loans, supplies raw materials, lends camera equipment, provides post-production facilities, publishes various cinematic literature and sponsors film festivals.
FCF is also responsible for promoting and marketing Iranian cinema all over the world. Introducing Iranian films to festivals, screening of the films in different countries, and participating at film markets are among its international activities.
The foundation enters co-production projects with foreign producers as well, and is the exclusive importer of movies for theatrical and video release in Iran.
