Cinema Vérité was earlier supposed to be held during December 8-15, however, it was postponed for a few days due to the spread of COVID-19, said the event’s secretary, IRNA reported.

In an address to an online press conference on Wednesday, the secretary of the festival Mohammad Hamidi-Moqaddam said the festival will be held December 15-22.

Shirdel, who is also a photographer and translator, studied architecture and film direction in Rome. He started his career in filmmaking in 1965.

His 1968 film, ‘The Night It Rained,’ has been awarded in several Iranian and international events.

‘The Mirrors,’ ‘Tehran Is the Capital of Iran,’ ‘Women’s Quarter,’ ‘Women’s Prison’ and ‘Boom-e Simin’ are among his films.

Sheikholeslami’s ‘Pir-e Hara’ was admitted to the 45th International Germany Leipzig Documentary and Animation Film Festival.

‘The Last Bakhshi’ by Fadaian was screened at the Iranian House of Cinema during the 34th Fajr International Music Festival.

A lineup of 30 documentaries will be competing for the Avini Awards during the festival.

The award has been established by the Documentary and Experimental Film Center to commemorate martyr Morteza Avini, the writer and documentarian who chronicled the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, known as the Sacred Defense in Iran.

Documentaries on the Islamic Revolution, the Sacred Defense, and resistance in the region will be competing for the award.

A total number of 25 films on COVID-19 will also be competing in the special category set up this year.

A number of top Iranian and international documentarians and critics will be holding on-line workshops and panel discussions during the festival.