TEHRAN – The organizers of the 39th Fajr Film Festival plan to commemorate Parviz Purhosseini and Changiz Jalilvand, two cinematic figures who recently died of COVID-19.

The commemoration will take place at the closing ceremony.

Stage and screen actor Purhosseini’s credits include acting in “Bashu, Little Stranger,” by Bahram Beizai, “Kamalolmolk” by Ali Hatami, “Angelica Ship” by Mohamamd Bozorognia, and “Day of Angel” by Behruz Afkhami.

He was a graduate of acting from the University of Tehran.

Born in 1941, Purhosseini had played in over 100 films, theatrical productions, and TV series in collaboration with famous filmmakers including Bahram Beizai, Masud Kimiai, Davud Mirbaqeri, Ali Hatami, and Kamal Tabrizi.

Voice actor Jalilvand lent his voice to Marlon Brando and Paul Newman in many acclaimed movies. 

Jalilvand had voiced Burt Lancaster, Richard Burton, Bruce Willis, and Ed Harris, as well as some Iranian actors including Behruz Vosuqi, Mohammad-Ali Fardin, and Nasser Malak-Motiei.

He also lent his voice to most of the characters played by Jamshid Mashayekhi in the movies and TV series.

He began his artistic career with theater along with Abolhassan Tahami, who is also famous for his long career in voice acting.

He left the country after the Islamic Revolution and lived in America for about 20 years, however, he returned home and began his voice acting career in 1999.

He had also acted in several films and TV series.

Fajr president Mohammad-Mehdi Tabatabainejad said earlier that the festival, which is Iran’s major film event, will be organized on its regular date from January 31 to February 10, 2021.

Among the members of the jury of the official competition are Nima Javidi, director of the acclaimed drama “The Warden”, and Sareh Bayat, star of the Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar-winning drama “A Separation”.

On the jury also is Bahram Tavakkoli, director of the acclaimed war drama “The Lost Strait”, which was highly acclaimed at the Fajr festival in 2018, earning awards in six categories including best film and best director. He is also the director of “Gholamreza Takhti”, a biopic about legendary Iranian wrestler Gholamreza Takhti.

Mostafa Kiai, director of the comedy film “Motreb”, which has become Iran’s box office hit of the year by grossing 380 billion rials (about $9 million) in 2020, has also been selected for the jury.

The jury is also composed of cinematography director Morteza Pursamadi, producer Jamal Sadatian and cultural manager Mohammad Ehsani. 

This year, in addition, seven productions from the Owj Arts and Media Organization, a major institution that produces revolutionary works in art and cinema, will be screened at the festival. 

They include the spy movie “The Government Expediency” by Hossein Darabi, “Karo” by Ahmad Moradpur, and “Mansur” by Siavash Sarmadi.

Photo: This combination photo shows voice actor Changiz Jalilvand (L) and actor Parviz Purhosseini in an undated photo.
RM/YAW