TEHRAN-The 43rd Fajr Film Festival commenced on Thursday, with an opening ceremony at Tehran's Vahdat Hall. The event was attended by the Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Seyyed Abbas Salehi, along with numerous artists and cultural figures.

At the ceremony, the festival paid tribute to three veteran figures in Iranian cinema including filmmaker Sirus Alvand, actor Reza Babak, and voice actor Manoochehr Valizadeh, IRNA reported.

The first tribute was dedicated to honoring Sirus Alvand, which coincided with his 74th birthday. After a video clip showing his work as a screenwriter and director was played, he was honored on stage with the presence of filmmaker Fereydoun Jeyrani, movie critic Javad Tusi, the festival secretary Manouchehr Shahsavari, and the honoree’s daughter Mahoor Alvand.

“When Sirus Alvand entered the professional cinema industry, he paid attention to the concept of family and portrayed it as a safe haven. He has never had a pessimistic or negative outlook in his films,” Tusi said.

Then, amid the applause of the audience, Sirus Alvand appeared on stage. Expressing his gratitude, he stated: “I am glad that this tribute is happening while I am still alive”.

Alvand began his career as a film critic and screenwriter and directed his debut film “Sanjar” in 1971. He is among the filmmakers of the pre-Revolution era who are still working. Some of his films were among box-office hits. In 1992, he won a Crystal Simorgh for best director for “Once and for All” at the 11th Fajr Film Festival.

“Cargo” (1987), “The Face” (1995), “The Corrupted Hands” (1999), “The Intruder” (2001), and “Blood Orange” (2010) are among his other notable films.

In 2019, a ceremonial event in his honor was held at Iran’s House of Cinema to recognize his significant contributions to the Iranian movie industry. 

The second tribute was dedicated to Reza Babak, with director Marzieh Boroumand and actor Mohammad-Reza Sharifinia in attendance. A video clip was first played including an interview with Babak.

Speaking about him on stage, Boroumand said: “Reza Babak has played a fundamental role in all children's works in theater, TV, and cinema. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t have had so many children's works”.
  
Babak then stated: “I already said everything in the video clip that was shown, but here, I just want to remember my father, my mother, and my wife, who was one of a kind”. 

He recited a poem for his late wife and added: “Tonight, I saw joy and exuberance in my friends and fellow artists, and I hope you always remain joyful”.

Reza Babak, 79, has played in over 60 movies and TV series. Some of his movies include “Ballad of Tara” (1979) by Bahram Beyzai, “Heritage” (1988) by Kazem Balouchi, “A Singing Cat” (1990) by Kambuzia Partovi, and “In the Color of Purple” (2004) and “Invitation” (2008) both by Ebrahim Hatamikia. “Ziba Barbershop” (1990-1991) by Marzieh Boroumand and “The Safe” (2009) by Maziar Miri are among his well-known series.

The next tribute was dedicated to Manouchehr Valizadeh, the renowned dubbing artist, who could not attend the ceremony due to health conditions. However, a recorded interview with him was played, which was followed by the audiences’ applause.  

In the interview conducted by the festival committee, Valizadeh reflected on his career and concluded his words with the phrase: “Greetings to cinema”.

Valizadeh, 84, is a dubbing manager, voice actor, voice-over artist, and actor. He has lent his voice to hundreds of films. 

Iranian people know him well for dubbing famous actors such as Robert DeNiro in “Godfather 2” and “Taxi Driver,” Keanu Reaves in “Matrix” trilogy, Tom Hanks in “Forrest Gump,” “Green Mile,” “Saving Private Ryan,” “Sally,” and “Captain Phillips,” Adam Sandler in “50 First Dates” and “Click,” Toshiro Mifune in “Seven Samurai,” Nicholas Cage in “The Rock,” John Travolta in “Pulp Fiction” and “Killing Season,” Jim Carrey in “Dumb and Dumber,” “Fun with Dick and Jane,” and “Sonic the Hedgehog,” Will Smith in “Enemy of the State,” “Pursuit of Happyness,” “I Am Legend,” and “I, Robot,” and Tom Cruise in “Magnolia,” “Collateral,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” and … as well as famous characters in children’s animations and series including Lucky Luke, Woody, Puss in Boots, and Garfield 

Also at the ceremony, the winners of the best teaser, poster, and photo categories received their awards.

The 43rd Fajr Film Festival is running from January 31 to February 10 in Tehran. The lineup of films in the Iranian Cinema Competition section includes 33 films, with 13 being directorial debuts. Additionally, four animated films have been chosen for a special competition category.

Some notable entries include “Tears of the Lagoon” by Mehdi Jafari, “Justice” by Abolfazl Jalili, “All Alone” by Amir-Hossein Saqafi, “Call Me Ziba” by Rasoul Sadr-Ameli, “King of Roles” by Shahed Ahmadlou, “Setareh’s Husband” by Ebrahim Irajzad, “The Hunter” by Javad Afshar, “Closure” by Soheil Movaffaq, and “Prophet Moses” by Ebrahim Hatamikia.

In the animated film category “Legend of Sepehr” directed by Emad Rahmani and Mehrdad Mehrabi, “Dolphin Boy 2” by Mohammad Kheirandish, “Zal and Roudabeh” by Mohammad-Ali Sajjadi, and “Juliet and the King” by Ashkan Rahgozar will compete for the top award.

Jury members, featuring prominent figures such as filmmaker Kamal Tabrizi, actor and producer Bahram Radan, veteran critic Reza Dorostkar, director Alireza Raeesian, and filmmaker Narges Abyar will evaluate the films in the competition. The winners of the Golden and Crystal Simorgh awards will be announced at the closing ceremony of the festival on its last day.

Iran's annual Fajr Film Festival has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It takes place on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

From 2015 to 2022, the festival was bifurcated into two festivals, the national section in February and an international one held in April.

In the past three years, the national and international segments were merged again, with the combined festival taking place in February.

However, according to an announcement by the festival in December, the national and international sections of this edition of the Fajr Film Festival are separated again and the exact date of the international section will be announced in the near future.

Photo: Marzieh Boroumand (L) and Mohammad-Reza Sharifinia (R) attend the honoring ceremony of Reza Babak (C) at the opening of the 43rd Fajr Film Festival, Thursday, January 31, 2025.

SS/SAB