Italian film program opens in Tehran

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- “Spotlight on Italian Cinema”, a weeklong Italian film program, opened during a special ceremony at the Iranian Artists Forum in Tehran on Thursday.

The ceremony was attended by Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Perrone, the director of Iran’s Art and Experience Cinema Institute, Jafar Sanei-Moqaddam, and a number of Iranian cultural officials and artists.

In his brief speech, Perrone said that such events show the deep friendship between Iran and Italy.

“The films selected to be screened during the festival have been produced in recent years and depict a real face of Italian society,” he added.  

Vincenzo Marra’s “Equilibrium” was screened during the opening ceremony, and the Italian director and the Iranian cast member, Babak Karimi, attended a review session afterwards.

A lineup of seven Italian movies will go on screen during the program, which will continue until February 26 in the three Iranian cities of Tehran, Shiraz and Kish Island. 

“The Path of Oil” by Bernardo Bertolucci, “My Mother” by Nanni Moretti and “Martin Eden” by Pietro Marcello are among the films. 

The lineup also includes “Where the Shadows Fall” by Valentina Pedicini, “Intrepid: A Lonely Hero” by Gianni Amelio and “Happy as Lazzaro” by Alice Rohrwacher.  

Filmmaking workshops by Italian producer Sergio Toffetti are also being organized on the sidelines of the festival. 

The program has been organized by Iran’s Art and Experience Cinema and the Italian Embassy in Tehran. 

source: Tehran Times