TEHRAN -- The screening of the best foreign films starts next week in Tehran's cinemas, and the cinematic figures are worried about the negative impact of such films on Iranian films.

The economic problems of the Iranian cinema industry, the limited number of cinema halls, and the limited popularity of Iranian films raise the question of whether Iranian films are able to compete with the world's most famous films.

Rasoul Sadr-Ameli, the head of the Union of Film Producers, told IRNA that the concern about the screening of the world's most popular films cannot be hidden, however his main concern is about the future of Iranian films rather than the screening of a small number of foreign films in the country.

He underlined that the screening of foreign films will not diminish Iranian cinema, adding that their screening would even benefit Iranian cinema. He added that watching the films in cinema halls instead of on satellite TV would be interesting for the audience.

Sadr-Ameli emphasized that screening foreign films, regardless of their value, would generate a negative impact on the Iranian cinema industry.

The foreign films will be screened at Farhang, Sepideh, Markazi, and Sahra cinemas with Persian subtitles.

However, the renowned Iranian director Mahdi Fakhimzadeh believes that screening a limited number of foreign films does not harm Iranian cinema.

He added that the foreign films are cheaper than Iranian films, adding that the film producers are not asking for any royalties for screening the films.

Fakhimzadeh noted that managers of cinema halls are more inclined to screen foreign films, adding that after a while no Iranian films will be shown in domestic cinemas.

He added that the entrance of foreign films into Iran at a time when the country has only 270 cinemas would act like an HIV virus which would harm the immune system of domestic cinema and pave the way for other diseases.

Fakhimzadeh added that there are a limited number of cinema halls in the country, adding that foreign films would fill this limited number and suffocate the trend of domestic film production.

He said that if there were 2,000 cinema halls in the country, importing foreign films would not create any problems for the country.

He concluded that buying, importing and screening of foreign films by the private sector will create a catastrophe for the country, because Iranian films will not be able to compete.