TEHRAN -- The 36th Fajr International Film Festival will open at Tehran’s Charsu Cineplex tomorrow with screening Iranian director Majid Majidi’s “Beyond the Clouds”.

The film, which was filmed in India in 2017, revolves around the life of a young boy, Amir, and his sister, Tara, in Mumbai. When on the run from the cops, Amir finds his estranged sister, who, in a bid to protect her brother, lands in jail. Their entire lives are clouded by despair when, unexpectedly, the light shines on them from beyond the clouds.  

A diverse lineup of movies will be screened in Cinema Salvation, the official competition section of the festival; Eastern Vista, a section dedicated to Asian filmmakers; and Cup of Divination, a section dedicated to screening films acclaimed at various international events as well as in several other categories of the festival.

Polish director Joanna Kos-Krauze, Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski, Greek filmmaker Dimitri Athanitis, Indian director and producer Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Italian producer Giovanni Spagnoletti, as well as cinematographer Mahmud Kalari and actress Merila Zarei from Iran, are members of the Cinema Salvation jury.

“A Phone Call to Father” by Seric Aprymov from Kazakhstan, “Little Tito and the Aliens” by Paola Livia Randi from Italy, “Little White Lie” by Tomas Alzamora from Chile, “Night Accident” by Temirbek Birnazarov from Kyrgyzstan, “Beyond the Clouds” by Majid Majidi from India and “The Silent Revolution” by Lars Kraume from Germany are some of the foreign films scheduled to compete in the official competition section.

“Forty-Seven” co-directed by Ahmad Otraqchi and Alireza Ataollah Tabrizi, “Hattrick” by Ramtin Lavvafi, and “The Lost Strait” by Bahram Tavakkoli are the Iranian movies in this section.

The festival organizers will also host a number of guests from across the world. 

Oscar-winning American filmmaker Oliver Stone will be attending the festival, while Palestinian director Rashid Masharawi will promote his latest movie “Writing on Snow” at the event.

Italian film score composer Nicola Piovani and his fellow actor Franco Nero who is best known for his role in “Django”, Sergio Corbucci’s 1966 spaghetti western, have also been invited to the event.

In addition, the festival will be hosting representatives from the FIAP (International Federation of Film Producers Association) and FIPRESCI (The International Federation of Film Critics).

Other foreign guests are coming from a number of Asian festivals in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and several other countries.

Students from international film schools in 50 countries have applied to attend the festival’s Dar-ul-Fonun educational course this year. 

Dar-ul-Fonun aims to discover emerging talents among film students in Iran and other countries.

The festival will be running in Tehran until April 27.

Photo: A scene from Majid Majidi’s “Beyond the Clouds”

RM/MMS/YAW