Sofia MENAR Film Festival to show 19 movies from Iran
Sofia MENAR Film Festival to show 19 movies from Iran
TEHRAN-Nineteen films from Iran will attend the 17th Sofia MENAR Film Festival, which will be held in the capital of Bulgaria from January 17 to 30.
The Iranian films will be screened in various sections including the Main Program, MENART Biting Docs, Short Film Selection, and Exclusive: Iranian Films on 35 mm, Mehr reported.
The Main Program section will show six films from Iran including “In the Arms of the Tree” written and directed by Babak Khadjepasha, “Little White Fish” by Mohammad Wahaj and Mohammad Abdollahi, “Maestro” by Emad Hosseini, “Green Plum Season” by Ali Bayat, “This Controllable Crowd” by Mohammad Ojani, “Soodabeh” by Mohammad Ali Sajjadi.
There will be eight Iranian films in the Short Film Selection including “Son” by Saman Hosseinpour, “Footprint” by Mustafa Alami, “The School Principal” by Mikaeel Dayani, “Penniless Cinema” by Ali Arefnasab, “Provided” by Soheil Rahimi, “Boycott” by Amin Rafiee, “Dombra Scream” by Ghiam Shirazi, and “The Wild Man” by Mohammad Reza Maei.
“Broken Bones” by Alireza Memariani will be the only Iranian film shown in the MENART Biting Docs section.
Exclusive: Iranian Films on 35 mm is the special section of the upcoming edition of the festival, which will screen four acclaimed movies by two globally-renowned filmmakers Majid Majidi and Reza Mirkarimi.
The section will show “The Color of Paradise” and “Baran” are the two films by Majidi as well as “So Close, So Far” and “As Simple as That” by Mirkarimi.
Sofia MENAR Film Festival makes Bulgarian audiences familiar with the culture and traditions of the Islamic world. The program of the festival presents the best of the West, East, and Central Asia and North African cinema productions, including feature films, documentaries, and short projects.
A lot of accompanying events are organized within the frames of the festival. These events are particularly selected and bound up with the countries of the region, representing the traditions and customs of the ethnic groups that inhabit its lands.
The festival is held every year in January. MENAR is organized by “Pozor” as one-of-a-kind Balkans` largest cultural event representing the Muslim world and its traditions.
With its 16 editions from 2009 to 2024, the festival has presented more than 1,000 titles to the Bulgarian audience – film productions shot in Asia and Africa.
The term MENAR, for “Middle East and North Africa Region,” is an acronym often used to cover an extensive area, stretching from Morocco to Iran, including the majority of both West Asian and Maghreb countries.
Moreover, menar in the Arabic language means lighthouse, light tower, or guiding light. It has got into use in the Bulgarian language, by means of Ottoman Turkish language by way of minare word, meaning the tower, which illuminates the path.
SS/SAB
source: tehrantimes.com