Salehi, in his message to TISFF, which was inaugurated in Tehran on Jan 20, said the short film is a quatrain of the world of images and the Iranians are forerunners in writing couplets in the world and will be the same in producing short films.
In the meantime, Entezami in his message hailed the organizers of the festival and wished further success for them.
Commenting on holding the festival in an online format, Entezami underscored that good measures have been taken and instead of shutting down and being passive in the face of the Coronavirus phenomenon.
He said the festival organizers have created new opportunities and conditions, including the distancing of different sections of the festival.
Entezami also hoped that a significant part of the works, which in terms of quality and quantity, will be considered more and better than the performance of young filmmakers last year.
Presided by Sadeq Mousavi, some 63 short films will vie in the international section of the event from 19 countries including France, India, US, Spain, Germany, Ghana, China, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, Turkey, Australia, Bulgaria, Denmark, Russia, South Africa, Belgium, Kazakhstan as well as Iran.
The short films will also stream online for filmgoers during the event, and winners will be announced on January 25.
In this year edition, over 4,986 foreign and 1,700 Iranian short films were submitted to different sections of the festival.
In the meantime, 146 Iranian films are competing in the national sections of the event which include feature, documentary, experimental and animation.
MNA/PR