TEHRAN -- The first literature documentary film festival opened here on Thursday at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Tehran.

The festival is organized to promote the culture of reading books and respecting the efforts of writers and publishers, said secretary of the event Mohammad Moshari, adding, “The submitted works are categorized in the free, students, and review sections.”
“This is the first time Iranian documentary filmmakers are gathered in a program focusing on the issue of books and reading books,” he remarked.
He also explained, “Over ninety works were submitted to the secretariat of the festival of which 16 works are taking part in the documentary section, nine in animation, 14 in side section, 15 in the review section of works by Kiumars Derambakhsh, and 11 in the review section of works by Manuchehr Moshiri.
Derambakhsh’s doc on the Holy Quran’s manuscripts, as well as several documentaries on the lives of scholars Allameh Dehkhoda, Mohammad Moin, Jafar Shahidi, and Badrozzaman Qarib are to be screened during the 5-day event, he stated.
Moshari also mentioned that films on the poet Nima Yushij, and the fathers of Iranian geology Abdolkarim Qarib, Abbas Sahab and Mohammad Hasan Ganji are to go on screen at the review section.
An exhibition of photos illustrating the process of producing and publishing books, as well as workshops on reading books and story telling for children are also arranged.
The festival will continue until November 17 at the Farabi Hall of the Faculty of Fine Arts.