The 5th Green International Film Festival as the only environmental festival in the Middle East is currently underway from 13-20 May in Felestin Theater and Saba Artistic-Cultural Center in Tehran, as well as several other theaters in other provinces across the country.
Supported by Iran Department of Environment, the festival will screen films from various countries including France, Germany, Nigeria, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, USA, Switzerland, Spain, Canada, England, Chile, Austria, Argentina, Ireland, Norway, Romania, Poland, and Brazil.
The event is held in six competitive sections of full-length feature, short and documentary, Fine Arts, workshops and special exhibitions on environment.
The Only Environmental Film Festival in the Middle East
During the press conference of the 5th Green International Film Festival which was held in the Main Hall of Saba Artistic-Cultural Center, Farhad Tohidi, the director of the festival, said “Germany, USA, France, Poland, and Italy have the highest number of submitted films among 38 countries.”
“The 5th Green International Film Festival is the most important cultural event in preserving the environment in the Middle East as well as Iran. It is being held after a 10-year hiatus,” he added.
Joining Green Film Network (GFN)
“The festival has finally managed to join Green Film Network based in Italy after ten years’ attempts. All festivals running the theme of environment are the members of this network,” he said.
“The membership to GFN brought in many international films, while Iran is the only representative of Green International Film Festival in the Middle East,” he added.
International Environmental Artists to visit Iran
Tohidi went on to add, “being a member of GFN allows Iran to have more interaction with other countries on cultural and environmental cooperation. More green industries will open in Iran, and foreign artists who are active in the field of environment will have this opportunity to visit Iran and participate in the workshops and conferences to share their experiences with Iranian artists and students.”
“Membership in GFN will also help to attract more tourists to Iran. In addition, UNESCO and UNDP will lend further support to Iran,” he said.
According to Tohidi, 38 titles will be screened in animation section, 12 works in documentary section, 10 works in full-length features, and 30 works in short films section.
DiCaprio’s Instagram Post on Shrinking Lake Urmia
The festival director talked about the reaction of Leonardo Di Caprio to the drying Lake Urmia, adding “this warning message is a sign of importance of this environmental issue at an international scale; because Lake Urmia is one of the largest saltwater lakes in the world and one of the most important natural resources in the region.”
He hailed the American actor’s attention to the current worrying state of Lake Urmia, saying “we tried to invite him to the festival but it was already too late. The visa issuance process also takes a long time.”
Juries of the National and International Sections
The jury panel for the international section include Nicolay Ulrich Nyman, director and president of the Berlin Green Film Festival, Antwan Haddad, the French filmmaker from France GFN, Teresa Camus from Mexico Environmental Filmmakers, and Iranian juries Alireza Shoja Nouri and Ahmad Zabeti Jahromi.
In the national section, Marziyeh Boroumand, Aida Panahandeh, Esmaeel Kahrom, Shahaboddin Aadel, Azizollah Haji Mashhadi, Vahid Nassirian’, and Mohsen Amir Yousefi will judge the selected works.
Free Screening of Environmental Films for People
Mehdi Tohidpour, the executive secretary of the festival said the Green International Film Festival is the most important cultural-environmental event in the Middle East which will be held after a 10-year hiatus and this is the first time that a festival is being held by a NGO.
“Green Civilization of Artists” NGO is the supporter of environment that works on art and environment specially; it was established in 1999 and cooperated in holding cultural events for documentary films, conferences and workshops,” he added.
“Fine Arts works present in the festival are from Brazil and Mexico, organized by the cultural departments of Brazil and Mexico embassies in Iran and will be put on display in galleries in side section of the festival,” Tohidpour added.
For further information, please visit the festival’s website at www.iigff.com.
MS
Your Comment