“China has signed co-production agreements with 22 countries. Similar agreements between Iran and China are in the works, and will be signed by the end of this year,” said Miao Xiaotian, GM of the China Film Co-Production Corporation on Monday, Variety reported.
Miao was speaking at the Shanghai International Film Festival, which is hosting a six-title Focus Iran section and panel discussions on deeper co-operation.
Reza Mirkarimi, director of Iran’s Fajr International Film Festival, gave an overview of Iranian film, covering its history and modern operation. One notable segment of the presentation he gave was a segment called “Who Calls the Shots,” in which he explained the organizations and government bodies that oversee the Iranian industry, with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance at the top of the list.
“China and Iran share so much in common when it comes to their social ecology and creative ecology,” said film director Jiang Haiyang.
Wang Yibing, CEO of Dirty Monkey Films Group, said that “China and Iran’s film industries share a passion for realist topics,” adding, “Each country’s complicated social structure and large population provide fertile soil for creativity.” Wang’s company produced the social-realist drama “Dying to Survive” in 2018, which enjoyed widespread critical and commercial success.
“Governments can work to promote the cooperation between countries, but the implementation should be done by filmmakers. Filmmakers need to have more dialogue. Maybe a movie on children’s topics can be a starting point of our collaboration,” said Kamyar Mohsenin, the Fajr festival’s manager of international relations.
The lineup for this year’s Shanghai Film Festival includes 'Castle of Dreams' ('Qasr-e Shirin') from Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi. The feature is about a 42-year-old man, Jalal, who murders a family in a car crash. The murder, however, is considered as involuntary manslaughter in court.
‘Life Again’ by Iranian director Reza Fahimi is also taking part at the festival. ‘The Graveless’ directed by Iranian filmmaker Mostafa Sayari has been named by the festival organizers as one of the seven nominees for best film in this year’s Asian New Talent Award.
The 22nd edition of Shanghai International Film Festival is underway in China from June 15th to 24th, 2019.
MS/PR