TEHRAN- Over 2,300 foreign documentaries from 123 countries have applied to participate in the 18th edition of Iran International Documentary Film Festival Cinéma Vérité, the organizers have announced. 

The deadline for submissions to the international section of this edition of Cinéma Vérité has concluded, attracting a total number of 2,314 entries, ISNA reported. 

Of this number of foreign documentaries submitted to the festival's secretariat, 1,625 works are in the short film category, 500 in the feature-length category, and 189 in the semi-feature section, all vying for selection in this prestigious event, the report added. 

The submitted documentaries hail from a diverse range of countries, including Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Brazil, Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Russia, Argentina, the U.S., China, France, Germany, Mexico, Indonesia, Portugal, and Greece.

In the previous edition of the festival, “The Golden Thread” by Indian filmmaker Nishtha Jain won the main award of the full-length documentaries category, while in the mid-length documentary category of the international competition section, the Lebanese documentary “Kalashnikov Society” by Christophe Karabache won the main award.

The special jury prize of the section was awarded to “Under Construction” from Finland, directed by Markus Toivo.

The short documentary “Vibrations from Gaza” by the Palestinian-Canadian filmmaker Rehab Nazzal was announced as the winner of the short documentary category.

The 18th Cinéma Vérité, Iran’s major documentary film festival will be held in Tehran in December. 

SAB/