French festival picks Iran filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei for jury

The 36th edition of the Jean Rouch International Film Festival in Paris has picked Iranian documentarian Mehrdad Oskouei to join the jury panel.

In addition to Oskouei, cinematographer Thierry Auge, film expert Emmanuel Grimaud, and ethnomusicologists Ariane Zevaco and Sandrine Loncke, all from France, are on the jury panel.

Born in 1969, Oskouei is an independent producer, filmmaker and photographer. He made his first film in 1988 at the age of 19. Since then he has produced, written, and directed more than 25 documentaries and short films.

His films have received more than 80 awards from national and international festivals.

His latest film ‘Starless Dreams’ is known as his most successful international hit which has gone on screen at several global events and brought him a number of awards.

‘Starless Dream’ narrates the lives of a group of young Iranian women who live together in a correctional and rehabilitation center.

Oskouei has so far held a number of workshops and master classes on documentary filmmaking in different countries, including the US, Australia, the Czech Republic and Croatia.

The Festival Jean Rouch, previously known as Bilan du FIlm Ethnographique, was created in March 1982 by anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch.

Over the past thirty five years, the Festival’s aim has been to showcase the most innovative and relevant trends in ethnographic film-making, visual anthropology, and to promote dialogue between cultures.

The Festival selects films that document and explore human societies and cultures in their many facets, including social and cultural diversity, continuity and change, cultural transmission, relationship to the environment, etc.

The international competition section of the festival is slated for November 11-18, 2017.

MG/MF