TEHRAN -- The 7th Kish International Documentary Film Festival (KIDFF) opened yesterday with 29 filmmakers contending for the Golden Dolphins of the four-day gala on the Persian Gulf island.

Founder Kamran Shirdel suspended the festival in 2003 but now the event has been revived with some new sections after a two-year hiatus.

“Baraka” (directed by Ramtin Balef), “Lonely Port” (Hushang Fazli), “Water Shelter” (Mohammad-Baqer Hantushzadeh), “Tis Port” (Masumeh Nurmohammadi), “Bolaghi Valley” (Hormoz Emami Khalkhali), “The White Tents” (Kamran Heidari), “Rudkhan Castle” (Arash Reisian), “The Lost Rings” (Mehrdad Zahedian), “Henna Celebration of the Dictator” (Hiva Amin-Nejad), “Maryam of Hengam Island” (Mehrdad Oskuii), “The Day of Creation” (Sudabeh Mojaveri), and “The Golden Dances” (Ali Kalantari) are some of the documentaries that are scheduled to be screened in the festival.

A vast array of documentary films from Britain, Germany, Belgium, India, and many other countries will be screened at KIDFF, which runs until December 7.

KIDFF organizers are also holding a film market on the sidelines of the event for the first time this year.

The Sureh Cinema Development Organization (SCDO), the Association of Documentary Films Producers (ADFP), the Young Cinema Society (YCS), Farhat Film, and the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA) are offering their productions for sale in the market.

Films by production companies from Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, France, and Japan are on sale in a separate section of the market.

The festival is also hosting Bahram Abedini’s exhibition displaying 40 photos of Iran’s historical and ancient sites.

In addition, the organizers plan to honor documentarians Reza Borji and Morteza Sha’bani, and veteran narrators Parviz Bahram and Ahmad Rasulzadeh in the closing ceremony of KIDFF.