TEHRAN – The Cinéma Vérité festival has announced a lineup of shorts from overseas filmmakers participating in the 15th edition of the major Iranian international festival for documentary films.

“The Fantastic” by Maija Blafield from Finland is one of the films.

In this film, North Korean exiles reminisce over their first impressions of watching forbidden foreign films.

The lineup also includes “My Country, So Beautiful” by Polish director Grzegorz Paprzycki.

It is a documentary portrait of Poland, in which two forces clash representing completely different worldviews: the left wing vision of the country against the homogeneous Poland built by the extreme right. Among these ideologies - people who fight in the name of their own values and principles, there is one main disagreement - nationalism.

Swiss filmmaker Aylin Gökmen will participate in the festival with her latest film “Spirits and Rocks: An Azorean Myth”.

On a volcanic island, inhabitants are caught in an unending cycle: the threat of impending eruptions and earthquakes, and the burden of past traumas loom over them. Some draw upon myth and religious beliefs to interpret their precarious situation, while others demonstrate resilience, rebuilding their villages from the volcanic rocks. Mirroring the ethereal atmosphere of the island’s landscapes, the film gradually takes on the appearance of the stories it recounts.

“Storgetnya”, a co-production between France and Armenia, will also be screened in this category.

Directed by Hovig Hagopian, it is about a doctor in a lab coat and a safety helmet who orders her patients to hop and swing their arms in the dimly lit caverns of an Armenian salt mine, 230 meters underground. In this magically bizarre world, mineral-rich air is supposed to cure their respiratory problems.

“We Have One Heart” by Polish director Katarzyna Warzecha will also compete in the festival.

In this film, when Adam discovers letters his parents exchanged years ago, he takes advantage of the opportunity to find out more about his father, who he never knew, uncovering an extraordinary family secret. 

“The Game” by Roman Hodel from Switzerland, “I Don’t Feel at Home Anywhere Anymore” by Viv Li from Belgium, “The Hole’s Journey” by Ghita Skali from the Netherlands, “In Flow of Words” by Eliane Esther Bots from the Netherlands, “Imagining My Father” by Emil Norgaard Munk from Denmark and “A Year in Exile” by Malaz Usta from Turkey are other films selected to be screened in this section of the festival, which will be held online from December 9 to 16.

Photo: A scene from “I Don’t Feel at Home Anywhere Anymore” by Viv Li.

MMS/YAW