TEHRAN-The 10th Iranian Film Festival Zurich (IFFZ), which kicked off on September 11 in Switzerland, is showing contemporary and classic films of Iranian cinema in different sections.

The festival highlights include contributions from emerging women filmmakers and an all-female jury evaluating 12 films, including world premieres, ISNA reported.

The notable films in competition include “The Last Birthday” written and directed by Navid Mahmoudi, “In the Arms of a Tree” by Babak Khajehpasha, “The Great Yawn of History” by Aliyar Rasti, “Green Plum Season” by Ali Bayat, “Melody” by Behrouz Sebt Rasoul, and “Cause of Death: Unknown” by Ali Zarnegar.

This year’s festival edition is dedicated to the memory of Dariush Mehrjui, the master of Iranian New Wave cinema, and his wife Vahideh Mohammadifar.

In the Classic Films section, seven milestones of Iranian cinema are explored. They include “The Cow” by Dariush Mehrjui, “The Brick and the Mirror” by Ebrahim Golestan, “A Simple Event” by Sohrab Shahid Saless, “Chess of the Wind” by Mohammad Reza Aslani, “Captain Khorshid” by Nasser Taqvai, “Close-Up” by Abbas Kiarostami, and “Travelers” by Bahram Bayzaie.

By building a cultural bridge between nations in Switzerland, IFFZ showcases a diverse selection of contemporary Iranian films, making it the only festival in Switzerland dedicated to Iranian cinema. 

The IFFZ is being organized to fill the cultural gap between Iranians and Swiss as well as the many foreigners living in Switzerland. Each year the festival presents the Swiss audience with a selection of the best contemporary feature films, fiction, and documentaries from all generations of Iranian filmmakers in Zürich. 

The IFFZ defines itself as a platform for presenting the Iranian culture and tradition and for building a bridge between different cultures using the universal language of art – and especially the 7th art, cinema.

The nine-day celebration of Iranian cinema and culture will conclude on September 19.

SS/SAB