TEHRAN –Two films from Iran will participate in the 11th Apricot Tree International Documentary Film Festival, where an Iranian filmmaker will also serve as a jury member.

Set to be held from August 30 to September 6 in Yerevan, Armenia, the festival has selected “Karun – The Longest River of Iran” written and directed by Sahand Sarhaddi, and “Reluctant Bachelor” by Mehdi Bagheri for its upcoming edition, and director Hadi Afarideh will be one of the jurors of the three-member jury, Honaronline reported.

“Karun – The Longest River of Iran” is a 2024 joint production of Iran, Switzerland, and Finland. The 19-minute movie will compete in the Short Films Competition section of the festival.

On September 22, 1998, the Iranian poet Hamid Hajizadeh and his nine-year-old son Karun, whose name symbolically refers to Iran’s longest river, were brutally murdered in their home in Kerman. The documentary film, based on the statements of the survivors, tries to sensitively reconstruct one of the many terrible, politically motivated events that took place in Iran at the end of the previous century, and draws us into the fateful day with the help of detailed shots of the objects in Hamid’s study.

Sahand Sarhaddi, 34, is a filmmaker and visual artist. He is an alumnus of “Berlinale Talent” 2023 and graduated in theater and dramatic literature at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Tehran.

In 2006, he started collaborating with some publications as a photographer. His artistic work focuses on integrating untold stories in history, photography, music, and literature. His works have been featured in more than ten solo and group exhibitions (such as photography, video arts, and performance arts). He has also directed five short and feature films that have been screened in festivals in Iran, Switzerland, France, the UK, the U.S., Germany, Canada, etc.

Sarhaddi joined the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association in 2020 and is currently a member of its board. He is also a member of the House of Cinema.

“Reluctant Bachelor” will be screened in the Non-Competition Program and the Special Screenings section of the festival.

Produced in 2013, the 58-minute film is about the director himself, who, at the age of 30, because of financial issues, still lives with his parents and blames his father for his failure and problems in his life.

Mehdi Bagheri, 44, is an editor, producer, and documentary filmmaker who studied at the Tehran Film School. He is a member of the Tehran Documentary Filmmakers Association and the Association of Documentary Producers.

Bagheri has directed more than 30 films and documentary series and has been on the juries of several film festivals. His feature-length documentaries have won a variety of awards, including Best Film in the City section of Cinema Vérité 2016.

Born in Tehran, Hadi Afarideh, 41, started his art career in theater in 1998 and in cinema in 2001 at the Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS). He was chosen the best documentary filmmaker in the first specialized workshops of documentary filmmaking in Iran by the Documentary and Experimental Film Center and the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association in 2006.

Afarideh has participated in more than 140 Iranian and international festivals and won various awards for directing, writing, and research of his three short films and 19 documentaries.

He is a member of the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association and the Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA). At present, he teaches cinema directing and holds documentary filmmaking classes in the IYCS and the Iranian Contemporary Arts Academy.

Apricot Tree International Documentary Film Festival takes place annually in late August - early September in an Armenian village. Since 2023, the festival has been taking place in the village of Debet.

It is as much a celebration of documentary films of all genres (ethnographic, experimental, animated etc.), as it is a platform where filmmakers from around the world can meet and discuss ideas in a friendly atmosphere, all while living in the houses of the friendly villagers, getting an opportunity to experience Armenian culture up close.

To this end, Apricot Tree is devoid of red carpets and grandiose ceremonies. Instead, the festival is mainly held in the village of Debet, about 2,5 hours away from Yerevan, where participants are accommodated in the houses of the villagers.

Apricot Tree aims at creating a cozy, friendly environment where participants can bond with one another and the audience and the local rural population, gain new knowledge about the world by watching each other's films, and, not least of all, have fun.

Through various excursions to museums and landmarks, participants of the festival are given the opportunity to get acquainted with local culture and history. They are invited to hike, explore, and share bread with the hospitable people of Debet.

Apricot Tree has two competition programs – Feature-length (above 40 minutes) and Short (under 40 minutes). The festival also has an Out of Competition program that includes retrospectives and screenings of notable films that are relevant to the festival’s theme.

SS/SAB