With focus on the urban theme, the International Urban Film Festival provides a rather vast and diverse context; and given the international reach of the theme, the festival should welcome films from all parts of the world, FNA reported Farhad Tohidi, head of the board of directors at Khaneh Cinema, as saying.
Luckily the Cultural and Artistic Organization of Tehran Municipality, the festival administrator, has always provided ample support. Though there was a disruption, however, this year the festival is resuming with the fifth edition.
As the theme is urban, the municipality also must focus on urban issues and their relation to cinema, he said.
Significance of Cities
Film festivals across the world are named after the city in which they are held: Cannes Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, and Moscow International Film Festival, to name a few. This speaks of the “weighty significance of cities in themselves,” he noted.
Numerous films and documentaries are made with urban characteristics; however, the ones which make it to the competition need to have a completely urban theme and be in line with the goals laid out by the festival.
There are several urban-themed films: ‘Paris, Je T’aime’, ‘New York, I Love You’, and ‘New York Trilogy’ are some of the best.
The treatment of sociological and anthropological aspects in such films, the location and environment, human interactions in city life, and how geography affects urban life, are all issues which need to be considered in the urban film festival, Tohidi said.
Producer and script writer Siavash Haqiqi is the festival secretary.
