TEHRAN-The 11th Islamic Revolution Art Week opened on Wednesday during a ceremony with the presence of cultural officials and artists at the holy shrine of Imam Khomeini (RA) and the grave of martyr Morteza Avini.

During the ceremony, a musical group performed, flowers were laid at the grave of martyr Avini, and a portrait of the martyr was unveiled.

Seyyed Ali Mirfattah, the creator of the portrait of martyr Avini, expressed at the event: “If this work and portrait have any blessing or virtue, it is due to the esteemed name of Avini, who truly holds a rightful place in our hearts.” 

He further stated, “I intended to begin a series of portraits called ‘Wall of Faith,’ envisioning to depict the faces of all those who have rights over me and to whom I owe a debt, especially those from the contemporary era whose faces we know. I intended to create a collection and hold an exhibition under this title. Each time I prepared a list of names, Morteza Avini’s name was at the top.”

“We are deeply indebted to and grateful for all martyrs, but martyr Morteza Avini has played a particularly significant role in the thoughts, work, and lives of many of us,” he mentioned. 

Following the unveiling of martyr Avini’s portrait, Mostafa Mohaddesi Khorasani, a prominent poet of the Islamic Revolution, recited a ghazal he composed on the day of Seyyed Morteza Avini’s martyrdom for the audience.

As part of the opening ceremony, a large number of cultural officials and artists from the Art Bureau gathered at the holy shrine of Imam Khomeini (RA) to renew their commitment to the ideals of the Imam and the Revolution.

The art week is organized by the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization every year to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of documentarian Morteza Avini.

Art exhibitions and workshops, and theatrical musical performances are being organized during this week.

Avini was martyred by a landmine in 1993 during his last trip to the former Iran-Iraq war zone in southwestern Iran while making the documentary “A City in the Sky” about the fall of Khorramshahr and the liberation of the southwestern Iranian city during the Iran-Iraq war.

He became famous for “The Narration of Triumph” and was called “the master of martyred writers” by his colleagues and war veterans due to the fervent narrations he wrote for his documentaries.

Avini has been commemorated by various Iranian personalities and organizations on different occasions.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei participated in his funeral procession that began on Tehran’s Qarani Street at the Revayate Fath (Narration of Triumph) Cultural Institute, which was established by the Leader’s order in 1991 to produce films on the Sacred Defense.       

The Cinéma Vérité festival, Iran’s major international event for documentary films, also honors films on the war and resistance every year with Avini Awards in a special section.

SAB/