Celebration of Iranian Cinematic Figures
In recent years, the festival has changed and it is easier to see the festival's films. In previous years, it was a nightmare to see a film at the festival.
There are still the problems of this kind, but the filmmakers are free to compete at the festival. The number of films participating has been cut in half from 40-50 films to about 25.
Many are absent, such as directors Majid Majidi, Abolfazl Jalili, Masoud Kimiaei, Rakhshan Bani-E'temad, Behrouz Afkhami, Kioumars Pour-Ahmad, and the permanent absentees like Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Abbas Kiarostami. However, Makhmalbaf has participated with ****Afghan Alphabet*****, a short film.
The participation of the young generation has changed the festival. In a positive step toward the expansion of Iranian cinema, five directors, Vahid Mousaeian, Nasser Rafaei, Rahbar Qanbari, Mahmoud Behraznia,and Seyed Rahim Hosseini, are screening their first films at the festival. Hamid Jebelli and Esmaeil Fallahpour are screening their second films. The leading actors and actresses of the festival are Leila Hatami in ****Deserted Station*****, ****Sweat Jam****, and **** Low Height****; Hedieh Tehrani in **** Paper Without Lines***** and *****A House on Water*****; Jamshid Hashempour in ****Journey to Tomorrow**** and ****Poisonous Mushroom*****; Khosro Shakibaei in ****Paper Without Lines**** and ***Troublemaker****; Mitra Hajjar in ****Trouble Maker**** and ****Poisonous Mushroom****; and Reza Kianian in *****Issa Comes***** and *****A House on Water*****.
Mohammadreza Sharafeddin and Habibollah Kasse-Saaz have jointly invested in the films **** Maternal Wishes****, ****Small Hawk****, and ****Norouz*** and are the most active producers at the 20th Fajr International Film Festival.