“FIAPF welcomes the major Iranian festival, Fajr International Film Festival, as a new FIAPF-accredited competitive non-specialized film festival,” the association tweeted on last Friday.
Iran is the sixteenth international festival accredited by the FIAPF in this category, which contains festivals such as Berlinale, Cannes and Venice.
In a letter sent to the Fajr festival on Tuesday, the Iranian House of Cinema, which is the official guild of Iranian cineastes, congratulated the organizers.
The house said the endorsement opened a new chapter in the history of the festival, and added that this recognition can help improve the economic condition of cinema and the films participating in this event.
Critic Shadmehr Rastin, who is also the writer of the acclaimed movie “So Simple”, called the FIAPF accreditation of the Fajr Festival marks the beginning of traversing a difficult route.
“From now on, no longer can we change the date and structure of the festival,” he told the Persian service of MNA.
“We must undertake a series of dos and don’ts and apply some universal standards, and meeting these standards can foster audience trust,” he added.
Based on this accreditation, Rastin also noted, “We cannot cut or change scenes from the entries to festival anymore without permission from their writers and directors.”
The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films), created in 1933, is an organization composed of 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audiovisual production countries.
Its secretariat is located in Brussels, Belgium. The FIAPF is also in charge of regulating international film festivals, including some of the world’s most important ones.
Source: Tehran Times