TEHRAN – The poster for the 19th Iran International Documentary Film Festival “Cinema Verite,” emphasizing a fresh, bold perspective inspired by Iranian culture, has been unveiled.

The unveiling ceremony for the poster of the 19th Cinema Verite was held on Monday in Tehran, IRNA reported.

Speaking about the poster, Mohammad Hamidi Moghadam, the secretary of the festival, said: “Our consistent colors in recent years, after 2019 and following the artistic direction of Reza Abedini, have been green and orange; colors and designs that, over time, have become identifiers of the Cinema Verite. This year, while preserving those colors and that identity, we sought to create a fresh visual atmosphere. The collaboration of Bahram Kalhornia helped shape this new space and move toward a new experience.”

“This year, the festival needed to experience renewal and open a new window to the world and to the concepts of documentary cinema. This has taken shape in the poster through the collaboration with Master Bahram Kalhornia,” he added.

Bahram Kalhornia, 73, is a veteran drawing artist, sculptor, graphic designer, painter, researcher, and educator in the field of art.

Hamidi Moghadam pointed to the diversity of films and filmmakers in this edition of the festival and said: “In both the national and international sections this year, we have outstanding films in the lineup, and we will see works by major filmmakers on the screen. The national and international sections of this edition offer many attractions for documentary cinema enthusiasts.”

“The documentary photo collection section, which will be held at the Iranian Artists Forum, has received significant attention. Also, in the student section, we are witnessing remarkable enthusiasm,” he noted.

Also speaking at the event, Siavash Yaghoubi, a member of the poster design team, said: “Despite the challenges, we tried to present a new transformation in the poster. Therefore, aside from the main poster, we also tried to offer something different in the posters for the various sections. For example, in the Iran section, we sought to present a symbol of Iran and referenced the 6th century and Nishapur pottery, unique to Iran and reminiscent of our civilization.”

“In the international poster, we used works by the Dutch artist M. C. Escher. The Eastern orientation of his works carries special significance,” he stated.

Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts, lithographs, and mezzotints, many of which were inspired by mathematics. His work features mathematical objects and operations, including impossible objects, explorations of infinity, reflection, symmetry, perspective, truncated, and stellated polyhedra, hyperbolic geometry, and tessellations.

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 will be held from December 10 to 17 in Tehran.

SS/SAB