Iran to host Berlinale Spotlight

The 70th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival has scheduled to hold the Berlinale Spotlight in Iran and South Asia.

The 70th Berlinale organizers announced that the festival’s special program arranged for outside of the festival period, known as Berlinale Spotlight, will be held in Iran and South Asia.

The Tehran International Short Film Festival (TISFF), slated for November 10-15, will showcase four short films during a program titled ‘Berlinale Spotlight: Berlinale Shorts’.

The films have been selected by Simone Späni, a member of the Berlinale’s selection committee.

Späni will attend the TISFF to talk about the Berlinale Shorts profile, the selection process and working with the short film format.

The program will review three French titles of ‘Planet Sigma’ by Momoko Seto, ‘Catching Fire’ by Michaël Soyez and ‘The Tasmanian Tiger’ by Vergine Keaton as well as ‘Wishing Well’ by Sylvia Schedelbauer from Germany.

Head of the Berlinale Shorts competition Anna Henckel-Donnersmarck said the Berlinale Spotlight in Iran and South Asia invites audiences to discover the diversity and artistic innovation of Berlinale Shorts.

“Short film has always had a special significance within the Berlinale. It captivates viewers with its radical complexity in both content and formality. The works overcome boundaries, genre conventions and established patterns of thought,” she added.

‘Berlinale Spotlight: Berlinale Shorts’ in South Asia will also present four short films to be reviewed at various festivals in the South Asian region this year and next year.

Founded in 1951, the Berlin International Film Festival is one of the world’s leading film events which is held in Germany and is celebrated annually in February.

The 70th Berlinale will run in the German city on February 20-March 1, 2020.

MG/MG