TEHRAN -- The 8th edition of the Tehran International Sport Movies and TV Festival kicked off Tuesday evening with a ceremony held at the Enqelab Sports Complex.

Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs, Mohammadreza Jafari-Jelveh and director of the festival Alireza Savar spoke briefly at the opening ceremony.
Jafari-Jelveh said that the festival provides a good opportunity to introduce both cultural and media aspects of sports, “Sport is not only an art, but also a medium itself. Sports has also helped to reflect cultures (of different nations) over the years.”
Savar next noted that this event is created to introduce filmmakers and sport movies to the world, helping to increase the number of films as well, adding, “A total of 200 productions from previous editions were submitted to the Milan Sports Film Festival, and managed to grab several awards.”
“If we try to make better use of domestic potentials, we would be able to establish a better position for ourselves in the world of film productions and sports,” he remarked.
Afterwards, a message from International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge was read at the ceremony. Next, the secretary of the festival Mohammadreza Mulla-Mohammad read the message of Sultan Fahd Abdulaziz, the vice-president of the Islamic Solidarity Sport Federation (ISSF).
The ceremony continued with tributes paid to Mohammad Fuladgar, head of Taekwondo Committee, and filmmaker Reza Nezamdust and Siavash Zarrinabadi.
Filmmaker Majid Majidi was also honored and the ceremony ended with Majidi’s movie “The Colors Fly”.
The festival will continue until September 26 at the Sepideh and Kanun cinemas, and also at the Olympic National Committee.