Spain Tops With 222 Entries at Urban Film Festival

A total of 752 films by foreign directors have been submitted to the upcoming 6th International Urban Film Festival in Tehran. Spain has the highest number of participants (222 films) at the festival, followed by Brazil and France.

The festival from July 31-August 5 is organized by the Art and Culture Organization (ACO) of Tehran Municipality. Its main focus is on significance of city and urbanism in human life.

The event also seeks to promote empathy and moral values in cinematic works and offers a platform for exchange of ideas and experiences among the cities of the world.

Film categories are: Iranian Cinema (competition), International Cinema (competition) and Neighborhood section.

  50 Countries Participate

Foreign participants in the International Cinema category are from 50 countries including Spain, Argentina, Mexico, Brazil, UK, France, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Turkey, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Australia, Canada, Belgium and Austria.

Of the 752 drama films and documentaries submitted by the above countries, 402 are long and 350 short films, Borna News Agency quoted manager of the festival’s International Cinema section Elaheh Nobakht as saying.

“With 222 participating films, Spain has made the largest contribution to the festival’s International Cinema section. Spanish filmmakers have submitted 186 long films and 36 short films to the section. Brazilian film makers have participated with 50 films, including 45 short and 5 long films. The French have 40 entries, with 32 short and 8 long.

“We had to reject a large number of films by foreign filmmakers and film producing companies since they were submitted after the deadline; otherwise the festival would have had over 1,000 foreign films to select from.

Festival secretary is TV and cinema producer Seyed Ali Ahmadi, who also heads the Media and Social Networks Cultural Center in Tehran, affiliated to the ACO.

  Drama, Special Screenings

National cinema category will show drama, documentaries and animations on themes such as civil rights and duties, cultural changes, nostalgia and urban identity, green space, public participation to solve problems collectively, and urban studies on Tehran.

International category includes films that promote exchange of ideas between different cities in the world. It has special screenings and special workshops. The neighborhood section will focus on the creative works that represent special characteristics of Iranian cities. Participants selected in this section will be admitted to professional filmmaking workshops.

Cineplexes of Mellat and Azadi in Tehran will screen the selected works.