On the occasion of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Iran, the Chinese Embassy in Iran and the Iranian Film Art and Experience Organization jointly held the second "China Film Week" from October 16 to 22, 2021. On the evening of the 16th, the opening ceremony of the Film Week was held at the Iranian Art House. More than 90 people, including Fu Lihua, chargé d'affaires ad interim of the Chinese Embassy in Iran, Zhu Zihao, cultural counselor, Sanei, director general of the Iranian Film Arts and Experience Organization, Tabesh, chairman of the Iranian Farabi Film Foundation, and other friendly people from all walks of life in Iran and some envoys in Iran attended the meeting.
In her opening speech, Fu Lihua positively evaluated the achievements in the development of China-Iran films and the achievements of cooperation, stressing that China is willing to take the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries as an opportunity to carry forward the values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, implement the achievements of exchanges in the field of Chinese and Iranian films, benefit the public, enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, and promote the two ancient civilizations of China and Iran.
In his speech, Sanei said that the film week activities will enhance the Iranian people's understanding of Chinese film art, promote the construction of a platform for Sino-Iranian film exchanges and cooperation, consolidate the cultural exchange ties between the two peoples, and make the cultural exchanges between the two ancient civilizations of China and Iran more prosperous.
At the opening ceremony, Zhang Yimou's work "Shadow" was also screened. The event was broadcast live on Instagram, Telegram and Iran's Hashure Video Network, with an online audience of over 12,000.
The second "China Film Week" event was held in a combination of online and offline methods, and 7 excellent domestic films such as "Return", "Shadow", "Mordauga", "I Am a Passerby", "Birds and Phoenixes", "Tell Them, I Took the White Crane" and "Assassin Nie Yinniang" were simultaneously screened at the Iranian Art House and the mainstream film website Hashure. Under the framework of the Film Week, the "Sino-Iranian Film Master Workshop" was also added, inviting well-known Chinese directors Zhang Yimou, Cao Jinling and Li Ruijun, Rao Shuguang, president of the China Film Critics Association, Wu Tianming's daughter and well-known producer Wu Yanyan, etc., to conduct one-on-one exchanges with well-known Iranian directors Majid Majidi, Nargis Obiarna, Majid Barzergar and well-known film critic Sahar Assal Azad to talk about film experience and artistic understanding, and the relevant videos will be broadcast simultaneously with the film exhibition.
The Iraqi mainstream media such as the Yi News Agency, the University Student News Agency, the Tehran Times, the Citizens' Daily, and the Iraqi Internet celebrities and self-media accounts have widely reported on the Movie Week, which has aroused widespread concern and warm response from the Iraqi society.
(Source: Cultural Affairs Department, Chinese Embassy in Iran)