Three Iranian filmmakers have been invited to judge the 2nd Berlin International Cinefest (BICF), to be held in November in Germany. Alireza Salmanpour, Mohammad Hassan Arjmandi and Ali Zare Ghanatnowi are in the jury besides 23 other jurors from Australia, Italy, Spain, India and the US, to evaluate the festival entries, Mehr News Agency reported.
Salmanpour, 34, who has directed 15 short films and won several awards, said that over 80 films from across the globe have been submitted for the event. "I have started watching the movies and seen more than 10 works from France, Spain, and the US among others".
The process of judging takes place individually by each juror in their respective countries. "None of the jury members see each other and they simply watch and evaluate the films through the Internet. This helps reduce the costs of the festival greatly," Salmanpour explained.
Arjmandi, 42, is a screenwriter and film director who has won the best scenario award in some national film festivals. 'A Common Sense' (2012) and 'A Letter to the Sky' (2015) by Arjmandi have participated in competition section of over 15 festivals.
His '75 Short Film Scenarios' will be published in a two-volume book in the near future. Zare Ghanatnowi, 35, is a short film director who has gained global acclaim with ‘Dad’s Fragile Doll’.
The short animation has participated in several film festivals and won the first prize from the Viewster Online Film Festival (VOFF), Switzerland and the Special Mention Award at International Open Film Festival (IOFF) in Bangladesh.
The BICF accepts all genres and shows an amazing mix of short and feature length films and the best indie films on the festival circuit, before they hit theaters.
