Spanish University to screen 5 Iranian films

Five Iranian films are slated to be screened during a two-day event which is to view various aspects of the Iranian cinema in a critical manner in a seminar in Spain's La Universidad Complutense, Iranian Ambassador to Madrid Morteza Saffari Natanzi said. A Seminar on Iranian cinema opened in La Universidad Complutense Monday in a ceremony to screen five films directed by Iranian filmmakers. The ceremony was attended by Saffari Natanzi. Addressing the event, the Iranian diplomat said that Iranian cinema richness is rooted in the country’s ancient culture, civilization and history. Saffari Natanzi added that the Iranian cinema has turned into a cultural, ethical and spiritual cinema in post-Revolution era. He said that the Iranian cinema had over 26,000 presences in different international festivals and 2,500 international awards in its history, of which 25,500 presences and 2,350 awards pertain to the post-Revolution period. Unlike Hollywood cinema whose films mainly deals with sexual issues and imagination, Iranian cinema highlights morality which deals with realistic subjects in the society as well as paradigms in compliance with the humanitarian values, he said, noting that monotheism, justice seeking and freedom seeking are among the characteristics of the Iranian cinema. ‘Children of Heaven’ directed by Majid Majidi, ‘As Simple As That’ by Reza Mirkarimi, ‘Being 40’ by Ali Reza Raeisian, ‘Gold and Copper’ by Homayoun As’dian and ‘A Cube of Sugar’ by Reza Mirkarimi will be screened and discussed during the event. This is the second seminar on the Iranian cinema, with the first one hosted by the same university last year.