‘Kiarostami departure made world poorer'

Noted Spanish director Victor Erice who was close friend of late-great Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami says the world becomes poorer with the auteur’s passing.

He made the remarks during his speech on the opening day of a three-day tribute to Kiarostami at the Fajr International Film Festival in Tehran on Saturday, adding that he became familiar with Kiarostami after he had the chance to see his ‘Close-up’ in Madrid.

Erice says that besides air pollution, the world is suffering from visual pollution. He said that Kiarostami found a solution for the latter when he connected innocence with knowledge.

Highly acclaimed director Kiarostami died on July 4, 2016 at the age of 76.

‘The Spirit of the Beehive’ directed by Victor Erice was Erice's debut and is considered a masterpiece of Spanish cinema. Among his other film credits included ‘Víctor Erice - Abbas Kiarostami: Correspondence’ which brings together the work of two visionaries of independent cinema, Spanish director Víctor Erice and Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami.

The 35th Fajr International Film Festival takes place in Tehran from April 21-28.

AG/AG