Cinema Vérité names national jury panel

The 15th edition of the Cinema Vérité, Iran’s major international documentary festival, has announced members of the jury panel for its national section.

The panel includes Orod Zand, Loqman Khaledi, Javad Ramezannejad, Mohammad Davoudi, Mohammad-Reza Farzad, Saeed Rashtian and Nafiseh Morshedzadeh.

Born in 1949, Zand studied cinema at the University Of Fine Arts. He has made several films, including ‘Jazmourian’, ‘Shrimp Fishing’, ‘An ordinary Day’, ‘Narrators’, ‘Qeshm Island’, ‘School in the Hands of Children’, ‘Inscribed Mud’, ‘A Narrative of the Constitution’, ‘Bitter Sugar’, and ‘Sleep and wake up’.

He won the award of best film in the field of tourism and best research text for ‘Qeshm Island’ and the best narration award for ‘Treasure’ at the Roshd Film Festival in Iran.

Born in 1958, Davoudi studied cinema. He has produced and directed several documentaries about war. Davoudi was the manager of the filming unit at IRIB and won some awards at the Fajr Film Festival in Iran.

Born in 1978, Khaledi made a number of documentary films, including ‘I am Passenger’, ‘Subscriber’, ‘We are All’, ‘Accustomed to Tea’, ‘A Little Higher’, ‘Outdoor Food’, and ‘Pruning Season’.

He was the winner of best directing for the documentary award at the 9th Cinema Vérité and the winner of the best documentary award at the Tehran Short Film Festival.

Born in 1956, Rashtian holds a master’s degree from Shiraz University. He produced several documentaries, including ‘Mirror of Culture’, ‘We Were at War’, ‘Illustrators of the Revolution’, ‘Conversation with the Revolution’, and ‘My Tehran’.

Born in 1978, Farzad holds a master’s degree in theater and is a faculty member of Fine Arts at the University of Tehran. He is also a poet, translator, and screenwriter. He was member of the jury at several international film festivals, including the Copenhagen Documentary Festival and the Prague Iranian Film Festival.

Born in 1977, Ramezannejad holds PhD in Social Communication Sciences. He has been the managing director of IRIB5, IRIB’s Ofogh Channel, and IRIB’s Documentary Channel.

Born in 1971, Morshedzadeh studied chemical engineering at the Sharif University of Technology. She was the secretary of the story section in some magazines.

Presided by Mohammad Hamidi-Moqaddam, the 2021 edition of the Cinema Vérité received more than 2,600 works from 73 countries.

The international competition consists of three sections including up to 40 minutes (Short Competition Section), 40 to 60 minutes (Mid-Length Competition Section) and 60 minutes and up (Full-Length Competition Section).

The Documentary and Experimental Film Centre (DEFC) organizes the event annually.

The festival showcases the very best of the documentary world in an attempt to bridge the gap between reality and truth.

The 2021 edition of the Cinema Vérité has been slated for December 9-16.

MG/AG