Outtakes from Lamorisse 1978 doc “The Lovers’ Wind” open Cinéma Vérité
TEHRAN –(Iranart)- The 13th Cinema Vérité, Iran’s major international festival for documentary cinema, opened on Monday with a screening of a short film made of outtakes from French director Albert Lamorisse’s 1978 documentary “The Lovers’ Wind” at Tehran’s Charsu Cineplex.
The 25-minute film has been made from the dailies of the documentary, which are being preserved at the National Film Archive of Iran, the organizers said during the opening ceremony attended by a number of Iranian documentarians and cineastes.
Veteran Iranian writer and voice actor Manuchehr Anvaar, who was the narrator of “The Lovers’ Wind”, was also among the guests.
In his brief speech, the director of the Cinéma Vérité festival, Mohammad Hamidi-Moqaddam, called the screening of “The Lovers’ Wind” a big surprise and a gift for documentary lovers, and added, “The festival prepared the short film in collaboration with the National Film Archive of Iran.”
“This year was a good year for Iranian documentary cinema as Iran’s submission to the 2020 Oscars is a documentary film for the first time. In addition, our documentaries have also received several important awards at various international events, including three awards at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA),” he noted.
“The Lovers’ Wind” is about the diverse landscapes of Iran. Lamorisse was killed in a helicopter crash while filming the documentary, during a helicopter-tour of Iran before finishing the film in 1970. His widow and son completed the film, based on his production notes, and released the film eight years later.
The film was nominated for a posthumous Academy Award for best documentary feature in 1978.
On the first day, the Cinéma Vérité festival screened “The King Maker” by Lauren Greenfield, “Thursday Fields” by Harry Zernike and “Breathless Animals” by Lei Lei, all from the U.S.
Six Iranian films have also been selected for showing in the international competition, which features 24 movies from 21 countries.
“Asho” by Jafar Najafi, “Cotton Walls” by Abbas Omrani Bidi, “Jamileh” by Mohammad-Baqer Shahin, “Steep Slope” by Loqman Khaledi, “Eclipse” by Mohsen Ostadali and “No Place for Angels” by Sam Kalantari are the Iranian films competing in the various categories of the international section.
Moreover, several workshops and meetings by Iranian and European experts are scheduled to be held during the festival.
Austrian composer Eric Spitzer-Marlyn, ARTE program manager Peter Gottschalk from Germany and Belgian director and producer Bram Crols are among the experts holding workshops on different subjects.
The Documentary and Experimental Film Center is the organizer of the Cinéma Vérité festival, which will continue until December 16.
source: Tehran Times