53 Int’l Film Companies for IFM

The 20th Iranian International Film Market (IFM) will be held as part of the 35th Fajr International Film Festival (April 20-27) in Tehran where a total of 53 international film companies will present their productions.

By inviting the companies, “we aim to bring together the major movie distributors and companies in the Middle East and neighboring countries,” said Mehdi Yadegari, the IFM manager.

The main goal of the IFM is marketing for Iranian films and commercial interaction with foreign distributors. It also provides an opportunity for local distributors and private institutions to select quality foreign films for public screening at the national festivals, IRNA reported.

Besides the pavilions for every attending company, there will be special spaces called ‘video bank’ where the buyers can watch the presented works.

“We have invited international buyers that have purchased Iranian works in the past and so far 23 buyers from 16 countries are scheduled to attend,” Yadegari noted.

Two workshops will also be run during the event where filmmakers will exchange ideas about ‘terms and conditions of sales contracts’. “We seek to introduce the film owners to a set of general principles that should be considered when signing contracts,” he added.

At a film market, most of the filmmakers try to offer their movies to representatives of international festivals so that they can have a chance to be part of foreign events too. But another aspect which is usually neglected is the commercial part. “I hope the presence of Iranian films in the world market sees a gradual increase,” Yadegari said.