TEHRAN – The 19th Iran International Documentary Film Festival “Cinema Verite” has announced the line-up for the “Portrait” section.

According to the announcement, 12 foreign documentaries will be screened in the “Portrait” section this year, IRNA reported.

They include “Ennio” directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, “Shadows Behind the Frame” by Ivan Baturin, “Lost Memories in an Imaginary Hurricane” by Víktor Luna, “Marlon Brando: Beyond VistaVision” by V Trent, “Once Upon a Silver Screen” by Martin George, “Cast of Shadows” by Sami Joubert van Ingen, “Playing with Dolls” by Valeriy Rudolfovich Ryabin, “Here, Dimitris Makris - Portrait of a Director” by Paolo Stemmini and Francesco Tassara, “Three Deaths of Merian Cooper” by Rafael Salata and Paweł Gargas, “Vlasta, the Memory Is not Everlasting” by Candela Vey, Tino Pereira, “What Mad Pursuit” by Danny Dey, and “Cahide Sonku, Türkiye's First Female Producer and Director” by Nurullah Güzel.

“Ennio” celebrates the life and legacy of the renowned Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who died in 2020.

“Shadows Behind the Frame” is about Lyudmila Kusakova, one of the first female production designers at Mosfilm. She used items found in landfills to create sets for films that have become the golden fund of our cinema. In this case, she was supported by her husband and mentor, Mikhail Kartashov. He helped Lyudmila see beauty in everyday life and stay ahead of time with her ideas.

“Lost Memories in an Imaginary Hurricane” is about old VHS tapes that the filmmaker finds, films recorded by his grandfather.

In “Marlon Brando: Beyond VistaVision,” the filmmaker recovers and restores a lost, VistaVision Sourced, 35mm Trailer Film Print from Marlon Brando's directorial debut, showcasing an expanded aspect ratio never before seen by public audiences since 1961.

“Once Upon a Silver Screen” is a nostalgic short documentary capturing heartfelt memories of people recalling their very first experience watching a film in a theater. Each voice shares a personal story of wonder, excitement, and the timeless magic of cinema.

In “Cast of Shadows,” the filmmaker uses unseen materials from his family's archive to present an essay about the women around his grandfather, filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty, and the crucial roles they played in the making of his work.

“Playing with Dolls” is an exploration of the world of contemporary Russian puppet animation through the prism of the experience of the famous artist Marina Kurchevskaya, director Stanislav Sokolov, VGIK students, and students of the children's animation studio. The viewer will learn about the complexities and enchanting moments of creating dolls, about creative secrets and unique approaches to art, which for more than a century has continued to amaze with its liveliness and expressiveness. This film is about the magic of creativity, which inspires recognized masters and young enthusiasts to prefer puppets to all other techniques and delight viewers with genuine masterpieces of hand-made animation.

“Here, Dimitris Makris - Portrait of a Director” is a poetic documentary following Dimitris Makris from his film studies in Rome to becoming a prominent figure in Greek cinema.

“Three Deaths of Merian Cooper” is about the life of Merian Cooper, the American filmmaker behind King Kong.

“Vlasta, the Memory Is not Everlasting” is about Valasta Lah, the first female director of a feature sound film in Argentina, from her childhood in a country dismembered by war, her youth in Trieste, her training at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, her arrival in Argentina fleeing another war, to becoming the most important assistant director of Estudios San Miguel. Starting from her personal correspondence and through a detective investigation, her name will be recovered from oblivion.

“What Mad Pursuit” drafts key scenes from all nine of the 9@Night films created by Rob Nilsson. Inter-connected with Nilsson's interview regarding his work with the Tenderloin yGroup, the documentary exposes the creative intricacies experienced, created, and mastered by Nilsson and more than 400 participants over a 12-year period. Filmed in and around the infamous Tenderloin District of San Francisco, the 9@Night film cycle is a triumph in American independent filmmaking. A first in the life of the series, this documentary aligns viewers with the inner workings and surprising outcomes of the entire nine-film cycle.

“Cahide Sonku, Türkiye's First Female Producer and Director” traces the life of Cahide Sonku, a Turkish actress, model, writer, and the first female film director in Turkey. Sonku was the founder of her own movie production company, Sonku Film, in 1950.

Iran International Documentary Film Festival “Cinema Vérité” is organized by the Documentary & Experimental Film Center (DEFC). The festival tries to express the relationship between reality and truth through documentary films.

The 19th edition of the festival, with Mohammad Hamidi Moghadam as the secretary, will be held from December 10 to 17 in Tehran.

SS/SAB