As an attempt to promote and present Iranian art and culture in the international community, Sheed is presenting the second annual Persian Film Festival. The festival will be held November 10-12, 2017 at Angelika Film Center – Dallas, 5321 E. Mockingbird Ln.
Persian cinema, and especially Iranian cinema, has been witnessing the emergence of several young and admirably ambitious directors during the past decade. A mixture of young and experienced directors and a different look at the basic elements of cinema has made Iranian movies have a brilliant performance on the international scene.
This year’s festival, organized by artistic director Shahram Mokri, will include six films for public screening and a competitive section featuring nine acclaimed Persian movies, a memorial for the deceased Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami, and an acting workshop. A Golden Closeup award will be presented to the best movie, best director, best actor, and best actress. This award, which is taken from the name of one of Abbas Kiarostami’s movies, is being presented for the first time after this great Iranian director’s untimely passing in 2016. The best movie award will be chosen by the audience while best director, best actor, and best actress will be decided by a notable jury. This year’s jury committee will include film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum, professor Richard Pena, and Iranian film critic Hooshang Golmakani. Publicity managed by Kelly Kitchens.
“Dallas is a diverse metropolitan center with several well-established and emerging film festivals that have nurtured, and in turn are supported by the enthusiastic participation of film-loving audiences. Iranian cinema has consistently garnered both critical acclaim and an avid international following, and it’s our hope that a Persian Film Festival will make a meaningful contribution to the city’s rich film programming. Moreover, in an age of increasing cultural exchange between Iran and the U.S, we hope that a celebration of Iranian cinema will help to connect audiences to modern Iranian society through an array of cinematic expressions,” said Festival Founder, Ehsan Matoori. 