TEHRAN -- The Iranian carpet and rug company Shafaqi has sponsored the writing of a book of biographies of Iranian actors.

Entitled “The Stars of Iranian Cinema”, the book has been authored by Samir Raminfar with the help of veteran actor Amin Tarokh. Movie expert Akbar Aalami has edited it and also worked as art advisor in its publication.
“Our main goal in sponsoring the publication of this book is to acknowledge the debt we owe to the stars who have unselfishly shined in the country’s sky of art,” Shafaqi Managing Director Kazem Shafaqi told the Persian service of Fars News Agency on Monday.
“In addition, we wanted to provide a positive role model for the younger generation,” he added.
The idea for the book came in 2007, when the Shafaqi company sponsored the 10th Donya-ye Tasvir Cinematic and TV Films Celebration, which used to be held each year by the Persian cinematic monthly Donya-ye Tasvir.
A total of 180 stars of Iranian cinema have been interviewed in preparing the book.
Iranian commercial firms believe that art and culture are unprofitable, so they seldom sponsor events and productions in these fields.
However, Shafaqi is not concerned about the return on the capital he has invested in publishing book.
“I’m a winner, because I have managed to bridge the gaps between the art of carpet weaving, culture and cinema,” he stated, “Here in this instance, the bottom line is meaningless.”
The book is to be officially released during a ceremony, which will be held at the main hall of the Niavaran Palace Museum in Tehran on December 10.