See Another Side To Iran At “IRAN:CI” Iranian Film Festival

The ninth year of the festival brings a selection of the best of contemporary Iranian film to Kino Art and Kino Scala. In photo: “Cold Sweat” will be screened at Kino Art on Jan. 22. Credit: Courtesy of the festival.

Brno, Jan 15 (BD) – Iran is a country that is often in the news, but of which most Europeans have no personal experience. And just as films can give us a window into worlds and lives that are unfamiliar to us, so the Iranian film festival, IRAN:CI, is here to show us a diverse range of perspectives from the best of contemporary Iranian film-makers. Don’t miss this opportunity to see some works that are rarely shown in European cinemas.

In photo: “Fireworks Wednesday” will be screened at Kino Scala on Jan. 21 at 18:00. Credit: Courtesy of the festival.

The IRAN:CI festival was founded in 2012 and over the last eight years of its existence, it has made its mark on the Czech and Slovak cultural calendar. In its ninth year in 2020, the festival will visit Prague, Brno, Bratislava and Kosice, opening with an inauguration ceremony at Prague’s Světozor cinema on January 15th.

The Brno leg of the festival will take place on January 21st-22nd, with feature films being shown over the two days in showings at both Kino Art and Kino Scala, as well as two blocks of short films.

The Brno leg of the festival will take place on January 21st-22nd, with feature films being shown over the two days in showings at both Kino Art and Kino Scala, as well as two blocks of short films. In photo: 1st block of short films. Credit: Courtesy of the festival.

The theme of this year’s festival is “Escape!”. According to the festival’s art director Kaveh Daneshmand: “The festival will again offer a program of carefully selected titles. These internationally recognized works of art bring stories that share one theme: all their protagonists are striving to escape beyond a world of prohibitions and the walls that limit them. The key word of the ninth year of the festival is undoubtedly ‘deliverance’.”

In photo: 2nd block of short films. Credit: Courtesy of the festival.

The festival will present about a dozen films in three categories. The festival jury will focus mainly on the competition category of feature films, and one of the films will be awarded the main prize for a feature film at the end of the festival. However, there will also be an Audience Award decided by members of the public attending the festival.

Last year, the main prize of the festival was won by Pooya Badkoobeh’s “Dressage”, which explores themes of power and hypocrisy.

In addition to the main program, there will also be a rich accompanying program, aimed at bringing Iranian culture closer to film enthusiasts through seminars, discussions and other activities.

The general partner of IRAN:CI 2020 is the Farsi Cinema Center, based in Toronto, Canada, the first independent platform to promote and distribute film production from Persian-speaking regions such as Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan.

Program – Írán:ci Film Festival 2020 Brno

All screenings are English-friendly.

Tue 21.1.ScalaKino Art – TIC Center
18:00Fireworks Wednesday, 104′
18:30
Block of Shorts I, 89′
20:30
The Warden, 90′
Wed 22.1.Scala
18:30
Block of Shorts II, 85′
20:30Castle of Dreams, 86′Cold Sweat, 88′

For more information, see the festival’s Facebook page or official website.

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