TEHRAN – The 4th edition of the Mowj International Short Film Festival with films from 19 countries will kick off on Kish Island tomorrow following a two-day postponement.

A lineup of 41 films in the national section and 20 films in the international section will be competing at the festival this year, director of the festival Ebrahim Hesari said in a press release published on Wednesday.

The films are coming from Sweden, Iraq, Morocco, Spain, Tanzania, France, Lebanon, Austria, Syria, Peru and several others, he added.

Founder of the River Film Festival in Italy Emilio Della Chiesa, film producer Irina Ruiz Figueroa from Panama and actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya from Iran are the jury members of the international section of the festival this year.

Kianush Ayyari, Turaj Aslani, Hooman Seyyedi, Mahvash Sheikholeslami and Mohsen Ostadali are the jury members of the national section. 

Emilio Della Chiesa is a graduate of the School of Architecture (Venice), a cinematographer and Director of River Film Festival, Padova.

Ten years ago Emilio founded the River Film Festival, which has now grown into an international film festival. He has subsequently served as a member of the jury at various other festivals around the world.

Irina Ruiz Figueroa is a graduate of the International School of Film and Television of Cuba. She started making historical documentaries for the Interoceanic Panama Canal Museum. She has also produced several short films, independent documentaries and TV series.

Motamed-Arya, who has played in over 70 films, is famous for her roles in such acclaimed movies as “The Blue-Veiled” and “Gilaneh”.

She has been honored with a Crystal Simorgh for best actress four times at Iran’s Fajr Film Festival, and also has won awards at over 80 international events.

Photo: A poster for 4th edition of Mowj International Short Film Festival. 

RM/YAW