Iran Cinema Panel in Zurich Event

A panel discussion on ‘Iranian Cinema; Past and Present’ was held at the 3rd Iranian Film Festival Zurich (IFFZ) in Switzerland on Monday.

According to the festival website, notable director Dariush Mehrjui and young filmmaker Reza Dormishian traveled to participate in the discussions. Zurich-based Iranian filmmakers Afsar Sonia Shafie and Talkhon Hamzavi were also present at the event, hosted by Swiss expert of Iran cinema Robert Richter.

The IFFZ aims to fill the cultural gap between Iranians and the Swiss as well as the many foreigners living in Switzerland.

Each year the festival presents the Swiss audience a selection of the best contemporary feature films, documentaries and shorts from all generations of Iranian filmmakers.

At the panel, Mehrjui and Dormishian represented two generations of directors in Iran whose filmmaking style has created new waves in Iran cinema in different periods.

A celebrated film director, producer, editor and screenwriter, Mehrjui, 77, was born in Tehran. At the age of 20 he moved to the US and graduated in philosophy from UCLA in 1964.

On his return home, he made his directing debut with ‘Diamond 33’ in 1966. His second feature film ‘Cow’ brought him national and international fame. Most of his films are inspired by literature and adapted from Iranian and foreign novels and plays.

Born in Tehran, Dormishian, 35, was an assistant to some prestigious Iranian filmmakers including Mehrjui at the beginning of his career.

Making short films since 2002, now he is one of the prominent and distinguished directors of the new generation of Iranian cinema. His films have been received well by the people, critics, and international festivals because of their social themes and modern structure.

The 2017 edition of the IFFZ (June 1-7) is dedicated to films on issues of immigration and matters related to women in Iran and around the globe such as honor, solitude, sacrifice, and love. In addition, the festival presents a total of 18 films made between 2015 and 2017 about Iran or by Iranian filmmakers about other countries.