Resistance festival signs MoU on honoring health workers

The 16th edition of the Resistance International Film Festival (RIFF) and Iran’s Health Ministry have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on honoring films about health workers.

The director of the festival Mehdi Azimi-Mirabadi and Health Ministry’s Public Relations Office director Kianoush Jahanpour signed the MoU on the event’s “Health Defenders” category, organizers of the RIFF announced during a press release.

The category titled “Health Defenders” has been established in honor of the health care workers on the front line of fighting against COVID-19.

An exhibition of photos and posters on the medical staff will also be held on the sidelines of the event.

Jahanpour said the ministry has asked more than 60 universities of medical sciences for more collaboration in producing films on health workers, while the Red Crescent Society and the Tehran Municipality have also been invited to cooperate on the issue.

“The issue of coronavirus is an international concern and we are hoping the festival can make better use of world potentials like the World Health Organization,” he added.

Azimi-Mirabadi said the organizers have allocated a special section to films on health workers this year.

“The spread of coronavirus in the country, and the strenuous efforts made by healthcare staff in battling with COVID-19 and serving people with the virus in the hospitals made us dedicate a new section to the festival,” he added.

The latest edition of the event will be held in two time periods; one in coincidence with Basij Week and the other on the 40th Anniversary of the declaration of Iraq-Iran and the beginning of the Sacred Defense.

The secretariat of the gala announced this round will be held in two sections of competitive and parallel events.

The first section is slated for the Sacred Defense week (September 21 – 27) and includes Health Defenders, Festival of Festivals, and the Provincial Election of the Basiji Filmmakers.

The 16th RIFF will also dedicate a special section to films on health workers.

Those interested in taking part at the national competitions, which will be held on September 21-27, can register at the festival’s website. The registration opened on June 9 and will continue until August 20.

Meanwhile, the online registration for the international competitions taking place on November 21-27, opened on June 9 and will continue until September 26.

A number of conferences will also be held on the sidelines of the festival.

The RIFF, one of the most prestigious international film festivals in Iran, is dedicated to productions on wars and the repercussions of armed conflicts in the world.

It also puts a spotlight on the resistance of the Palestinian people against the Zionist regime, Daesh and their terrorist attacks in the region, and the world’s tyrants and their backing of Daesh.

MG/MG