According to the public relations office of the 34th FIFF, after welcoming the guests, Reza Mirkarimi, the director of the festival said, “I thank all our guests for accepting our invitations. Every year, artists participate in a lot of festivals, but this year a number of prominent filmmakers, like the famous Russian director, Alexander Sukorov, have taken part in our festival.”
He later referred to the screening of “Muhammad, the Messenger of God” after the reception and said, “Since everybody is waiting for the screening of “Muhammad, the Messenger of God” by Majid Majidi, I won’t take much of your time.”
Later, Amir Esfandiari, Head of International Affairs introduced the jury members of the Interfaith, Cinema Salvation, and Eastern Vista Sections.
The Interfaith jury members include, Stefan Foerner from Germany, Magali Van Reeth from France, and Mustafa Mohaghegh Damad. Golab Adineh, Iranian actress, Sahra Karimi from Afghanistan, Jaaved Jafari from India, Ismael Feroukhi from Morocco, and Teresa Cavina from Italy were introduced as the jury members of the Eastern Vista Section.
Magali Van Reeth, jury member of the Eastern Vista Section, stated, “In today’s world, different religions do not set people apart and that’s the message we’ve been trying to get across.” She added, “Cinema has proved that religion is an element drawing people closer to each other. I appreciate you including me as a jury member at this section.”, added Van Reeth.
Teresa Cavina also expressed her gratitude about being included at the Interfaith Section and said, “I’m so glad I’ve participated in this festival. Amir Esfandiari helped me participate in this festival for the first time and I hope I can gain more and more familiarity with this festival year after year.”
Stefan Foerner, one of the other jury members of the Interfaith Section, said, “It’s always said that those who enjoy life, go to the cinema, but in fact, those who go to the cinema, do not actually enjoy their life. They go to the cinema to fill the voids they have in their lives.”
Later in the ceremony, the jury members of the Cinema Salvation Section, were introduced. Naser Taghvai, Tian Zhuang Zhuang, Jose Louis Guerin, Zeynep Atakan, Emmanuelle Prevost, Ivo Felt, and Majid Majidi are the members of jury at this section. Zeynep Atakan said that it was an honor for her to be included at this festival. Tian Zhuang Zhuang later mentioned, “Before coming to Iran, I’d heard about unsafeness in Iran, yet when I came to Iran, I saw for myself that how safe this country is. Iranian people are very hospitable, so I’m glad I’ve come here.”
Emmanuelle Prevost, one of the other jury members of the Cinema Salvation Section, stated, “I’m so happy I’ve traveled to Iran and I’m grateful to the director of the festival for the perfect organization.”
Khosro Sinaii, Reza Kianian, Muhammad Heyday, Reza Mirkarimi, Amir Esfandiari, Vahid Esfandiari, Golab Adineh, Fetemeh Motamed Aria, international critics and film distributers, etc. were among the ones who attended the reception.
The 34th edition of Fajr International Film Festival is being held from April 20th to April 25th, 2016 in Charsou Cineplex, under the supervision of the well-known Iranian filmmaker, Mr. Reza Mirkarimi, who is also the Managing Director of Khaneh Cinema.
For more information on Fajr International Film Festival, visit the festival website, www.fajriff.com.
