TEHRAN -- Four cineastes were honored for their lifetime achievements with Crystal Simorghs during the opening ceremony of the 34th Fajr Film Festival on Sunday evening.

A galaxy of young and veteran stars of Iranian cinema attended the ceremony held at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.

Honorees Mehdi Fakhimzadeh, Mohammad-Mehdi Dadgu, Reza Kianian and Roya Teimurian were present at the ceremony with their family members.

The first Crystal Simorgh lifetime achievement honor was awarded to Fakhimzadeh, the actor, director and writer of acclaimed movie “The Travelers of Moonlight”.

Fakhimzadeh received the award from Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati and actress Merila Zarei.

“I thank the organizers, but I don’t know for which achievement I have received this award. I think that I am not grown up yet, since I still play football with children when I see them playing in outside,” said 74-year-old Fakhimzadeh who is also a master at martial arts.

Actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya and Cinema Organization of Iran Director Hojjatollah Ayyubi went on stage to award 66-year-old producer Mohammad-Mehdi Dadgu.

He thanked the organizer for inviting the members of their families and said, “Our families and wives play a key role in our lives and jobs, and they shoulder the burden of our difficult lives.”

The next Crystal Simorgh went to 65-year-old actor Kianian. He received the award from Labor and Social Welfare Minister Ali Rabiei who nowadays has become a regular participant in cultural events.

“Some things occur by chance in life, especially in the lives of us Iranians. Chance has an important role and I have had very good luck to be born into a good family and to have had a good brother like [stage actor] Davud. I went to a good school and now I have good family and this honor is the outcome of all these years and I owe part of it to my esteemed colleagues,” Kianian said in his acceptance speech.

Masud Rayegan, star of Reza Mirkarimi’s acclaimed drama “So Close, So Far”, who is also Teimurian’s spouse, presented her award after planting a kiss on her hand.

Teimurian expressed her appreciation to the festival’s secretary, Mohammad Heidari, and added, “Tonight is one of the most beautiful nights of my life.”

For the first time, the organizers hired young women clad in purplish uniforms bearing Persian floral motifs to welcome guests.

The organizers also led a tribute to Saeid Sayyah-Taheri, the founder of the Sacred Defense Student Film Festival who was martyred in the fight against ISIL in Syria mid-January.

Sayyah-Taheri’s wife was invited to the stage and actresses Mahtab Keramati and Motamed-Arya, director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, and Seyyed Zahra Hosseini, the narrator of war memoir “Da”, joined her to speak about Sayyah-Taheri.

Keramati called him a patient man who was generous with his time and Hosseini described him as man with “a calm appearance and a stormy soul who didn’t tolerate any oppression.”

Motamed-Arya said, “Sayyah-Taheri was symbol of peace,” and Bani-Etemad stated, “Today we mourn for a man; if we could learn a bit from his behavior and morals, we would have a peaceful world.”

Winner of the sections of still, poster and commercials were awarded during the ceremony, which came to an end with a fusion concert by Hojjat Ashrafzadeh.

The festival runs until February 11.

Photo: Actor Reza Kianian gestures before accepting Crystal Simorgh lifetime achievement honor during the opening ceremony of the 34th Fajr Film Festival at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on January 31, 2016. Host Bahram Radan is also seen in the background. (Mehr/Majid Asgaripur)

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