Iran to expand film collaborations overseas

Iranian Organization of Cinema and Audiovisual Affairs has commenced plans to extend the country’s overseas collaboration on film production.

Iran’s cinema industry needs to move into the global film market to continue its dynamics through joint ventures with overseas film companies as the only way to guarantee a dynamic life for the country’s cinema, said head of the major cinematic organization, Mohammad-Mehdi Heidarian.

The official noted that cinema that only produces art films for a limited audience is no longer receptive to market changes in the modern world.

“Cinema is an art-industry issue and its industrial dimension requires a dynamic economy that can liven up the production,” he noted.

A number of Iranian cineastes have already begun joint productions with several overseas companies after they acknowledged the need for collaboration in the international arena.

Latest examples of Iranian films made alongside foreign partners include ‘Beyond the Clouds’ by Majid Majidi, ‘Yeva’ by Anahid Abad and ‘1st Born’ by Ali Atshani.

‘1st Born’ serves as the first co-production between Iran and America, which lays out its comic plot on the difficult relations between Iran and the US.

The Cinema Organization of Iran, where Iran’s major policies for cinema are made, is seeking to prepare the necessary conditions for co-production.

Iranian movies have won numerous awards at international events over the first decade after the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

AI/AG