What did int'l guests say about FIFF?

The 36th Fajr International Film Festival hosts A-list guests whose impressions on the festival are noteworthy.

FIFF has received over 300 special guests, ranging from A-list filmmakers, screenwriters and actors to critics and scholars.

The event gave a great deal of impression to VIGs (Very Important Guests) from around the world reflected in exclusive interviews with the fest’s media department.

"Iranian and Turkish cinemas are quite similar and influence each other. There are some 6000 common words in the Turkish and Farsi languages. If you talk to me slowly, I can understand what you are saying," Turkish director and festival organizer Ahmet Boyacioglu notes.

"Iranian cinema is touching. Your movies influence us in some level although some aspects of the culture divide us," contemporary Polish cinema filmmaker Joanna Kos-Krauze says.

"Iranian cinema speaks with the universal language," French jury members of 2018 FIFF Valérie de Marnhac observes.

'There are a lot of people here at the festival who care about the Iranian cinema. There are good films and there will be even more in the future,' film critic and writer professor Jean-Michel Frodon said.

'The cultural and general differences between Scandinavia and Iran are quite huge. It’s not always easy to find a common language. But, as you know, films always deal with eternal questions of life and death and love, meaning, they can help us bridge the culture gap', Finnish writer-director Jörn Johan Donner.

'There are common things between these two cultures, two ancient cultures with great cooperation', awarded Greek film director Dimitris Athanitis.

"FIFF is the biggest regional film festival, and one that is becoming world renowned for its talent, programming, and breathtaking cinema screenings – as well as films," film scholar Gönül Dönmez-Colin.

Cecilia Mangini, pioneer of photography and documentary filmmaking in Italian cinema, came to the Fajr festival because there are many things she loves about Iranian culture. She is quoted as saying, “I had been waiting such a long time to visit Iran. Finally my dreams came true after the FIFF organizers invited me this year.”

"I’m very surprised. Before this, I saw Iran only through the Iranian cinema, with films of Abbas Kiarostami, a big director that I like his films. I’m honored to be here as a member of International Competition jury," Giovanni Spagnoletti, jury member in the International Competition section of the festival.

The 36th edition of Fajr International Film Festival runs in Charsou Cineplex and other venues in the Iranian capital of Tehran until April 27.

ES/AG