FIPRESCI Critsics' Perspective on Iranian Independent Cinema (Part- One)

Introduction
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), is a federation of national organizations and unions of professional film critics and independent journalists. Founded in June ۱۹۳۰ in Brussels, Belgium, this federation promotes and develops film culture and protects professional critics. There are members of FIPRESCI from more than fifty countries, and its awards are highly regarded at world-class film festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Karlovy Vary, Locarno, San Sebastian, etc. Iran's independent cinema has won the FIPRESCI award many times at international film festivals so far. A variety of social, political, and cultural themes, along with the experience of new forms in filmmaking, have always attracted film critics' interest in Iranian independent cinema.
There are eleven renowned critics in this collection, FIPRESCI members from all over the world, including France, Germany, Greece, South Africa, Turkey, Madagascar, Pakistan, Taiwan, Cameroon, and South Africa. It discusses culture and art, narrative themes and styles of independent and protest films, the global position, the new generation of Iranian filmmakers, the status of female filmmakers, and the future of independent Iranian cinema.
These Interviews were conducted during the Cannes Film Festival in 2022 and 2023.

About Hamed Soleimanzadeh
Hamed Soleimanzadeh is an Iranian film critic, researcher, filmmaker, translator, and university lecturer. With a Ph.D. in art research focused on film studies, he is now collaborating with the University of the Arts Berlin (UdK Berlin) on film and philosophy as an Einstein Foundation junior fellow.
As an official member of the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), he has served on the jury of many prestigious international film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Gothenburg, Istanbul, Oberhausen, etc. In 2023, he was also the first Iranian to be a voter in the motion pictures section of the Golden Globe Awards.
He has directed six short films and one feature film. In addition, he has written four books and more than forty specialized articles in Persian, English, Spanish, and French in the fields of cinema, theater, culture, art, and philosophy.

An interview with
Aina Randrianatoandro
Erdoghan Mitrani
Holger Twele
Usman Ghafoor
Jean-Max Mejean
Hsin Wang
Pelagie Ngonana
Ron Fogel
Stephen Aspeling
Kostas G. Karderinis
Valerie Ganne

Edited and Translated by
Samareh Khodarahmi

[FIlm Magazine NO605]