TEHRAN – The third edition of the China Film Week opened on Saturday at the Abbas Kiarostami Hall of the Farabi Cinema Foundation (FCF) in Tehran.

Five movies by the new generation of Chinese filmmakers have been selected to be screened at the event running until May 10.

China Film Archive director Sun Xianghui sent a video message to the film festival.

She said that the China Film Archive has organized Chinese film festivals in 16 countries since 2022.

Among the film screened at the events, was “Laborer’s Love”, a classic silent comedy short film produced during the Republican Era, which officially premiered on October 5, 1922 at the Olympic Theater in Shanghai.

The China Film Week will showcase a restored edition of the film for the Iranian audience to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Sun said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chinese Ambassador Chang Hua also thanked the Farabi Cinema Foundation for its contribution to the film week.

He praised the foundation for selecting the Abbas Kiarostami Hall to host the film festival and called Kiarostami a great filmmaker who visited China four times during the two final years of his life.

He said that Iranian filmmakers are frequent visitors to the Shanghai and Beijing international film festivals and have won awards at these events.

Chang also added that Chinese directors have made progress over the past decade and their films have raised awareness of different issues.

The ambassador said that works by Iranian and Chinese filmmakers have entered homes and this development can help improve cooperation between Iran and China on the film industry.

There has been marked progress in the Chinese film industry over the past decade, Chang noted and added that the country grossed $4.36 billion in box office receipts nationwide in 2022. 

Cinema Organization of Iran director Mohammad Khazaei and a group of Iranian filmmakers attended the opening ceremony of the China Film Week.

The film festival opened with a screening of the disaster-adventure film “The Captain” by Andrew Lau.

The organizers will also showcase “Ala Changso” by Gyal Sonthar, “The Climber” by Daniel Lee, “The Wandering Earth” by Frant Gwo and “Ash Is the Purest White” by Jia Zhangke. 

Photo: Cinema Organization of Iran director Mohammad Khazaei (L), Chinese Ambassador Chang Hua (C) and FCF director Mehdi Javadi attend the China Film Week at the Farabi Cinema Foundation in Tehran on May 6, 2023. (FCF)

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