TEHRAN -- New Line Cinema thriller “American History X” (1998) opened the 2nd International City Film Festival at Tehran’s Felestin Cinema yesterday.

Directed by Tony Kaye, the story of the film unfolds through the eyes of Danny Vinyard, who idolizes his older brother Derek. Seeking retribution for his father's murder and burning for a way to vent his rage, Derek finds himself transformed by a philosophy of hate as he turns into a charismatic leader of a local white power movement.

The festival organized by the Art and Culture Organization of the Tehran Municipality is screening ten films from Iran, Japan, France, Spain, India, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Angola in its competition section.

A total of 56 films from Canada, China, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea, the United States, Lebanon, Morocco, and several other countries are competing in the short film section of the four-day festival.

In addition, 11 films from Iran and Lebanon are being screened in a special category, the Beirut-Resistance Section.

Organizers also plan to honor prominent Iranian filmmaker Khosro Sinaii by screening four of his documentaries on Tehran and urbanization.

The festival was established last year in order to promote civic responsibility and improve urban life.