TEHRAN -- An official of the Farabi Cinematic Foundation (FCF) said that the international vivacity of Iranian cinema is independent of any special festival.

“The international exuberance of Iranian cinema is independent of participation in any of the world’s special festivals,” the director of the FCF’s International Relations Section Amir Esfandiari told the Persian service of MNA on Saturday.
The remark was made after the Iranian cinema had been censured by critics for its absence in the main section of the latest Cannes film festival.
Iranian films must obtain FCF’s permission to apply for the Cannes film festival.
“Iranian cinema, despite some unfair comments, is alive and successful in the world arena,” Esfandiari stated.
“The absence of Iranian cinema in the main section of a particular festival should not be considered as a weakness of Iranian films,” he noted.
“Although Iranian cinema has had minimal participation in the Cannes film festival over the past few years, its achievements continue in other of the world’s prestigious festival like Berlinale,” he explained.
Iranian films have been screened in various sections of the Cannes film festival over the past few decades. However, only the world-renowned Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami’s “Taste of Cherry” won the Palme d’Or in 1997.