Raed Faridzadeh: “Cinema is the best medium for the immediate transition of culture”
News December 6, 2023
The head of international affairs of the Farabi Cinema Foundation believes that "cinema is one of the best mediums with which culture is transmitted directly" and this is where international festivals become important.
According to Imna news agency, in the last decades of the second millennium, humanity entered a new era of its historical transformation under the title of "globalization", which created deep changes in various areas and dimensions of man\`s life. Accordingly, one of the most important aspects and Its dimensions are the cultural dimension of human social life, because according to the opinions of many experts of this field, in the process of globalization, even economics and politics find cultural roots.
In this direction, globalization can be considered as an aspect of the increasing culturalization of social life, because the main characteristic of this stage of globalization is cultural pressure. In this direction, an element called film and series as a popular medium plays an influential role, because according to these experts, the important feature of movies as a medium technology is that people not only use this technology to advance their goals, but it also changes people according to certain rules towards their performance, and maybe the influence of Hollywood movies is also from The same direction can be discussed; Due to the capacity and importance of this impact, in recent years we have seen more Iranian films being screened abroad, films that mostly show the civilized and real face of Iran and sometimes black scenes.
What is the process of screening Iranian films abroad?
Raed Faridzadeh, head of International Affairs of Farabi Cinema Foundation, referring to the process of screening Iranian films abroad, told Imna reporter: The foreign screening of a film requires the presence of an international distributor, and in this regard, it is possible to see works and attract the attention of foreign distributors of cultural events and participating in the specialized markets of the image industry.
He continues: In this way, the trustees entered into negotiations with the distributors mentioned above, and in the future, if there is an agreement, the work will be available to the broadcaster for cinema, television, or showing on VOD platforms as well as cultural screenings.
The head of international affairs of Farabi Cinema Foundation explains the necessary conditions for screenings abroad: every work has its own specialized market, and in this regard, the markets of audio-visual products are diverse and different; After signing the distribution contract, every film is allowed to be screened, although the films are screened under the conditions of the target country, for example, China has a lot of restrictions on foreign screenings and only 10% of the screenings are dedicated to non-Chinese films during the year.
Referring to the role of governmental agencies for screenings, Faridzadeh states: Governmental agencies should play a facilitating role in this direction by providing conditions for the presence and activity of the private sector, by creating conditions for exchange and cooperation with countries, and concluding a memorandum of understanding. It emerges in a situation that provides potential facilities to broadcasters and cinema activists, which must be realized.
He continues by pointing to the names of some institutions and organizations active in this field: the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the Cinema Organization and its affiliated institutions, such as the Farabi Cinema Foundation, the Center for the Development of Documentary and Experimental Cinema, the Youth Cinema Association, the Scientific section of the Vice Presidency in the department of creative industries and trade organization for cultural export are among the departments that can play an important role in this field.
The head of international affairs of the Farabi Cinema Foundation points out: that the path of film screening is long and difficult because thousands of visual products are produced every year, and in this path, the issue of competition, creating a relative advantage, measuring the audience's taste and the extent and number of activists in this field are among the notable things.
Cinema is the best medium for an immediate transition of culture
In the end, Faridzadeh talks about the importance of screening Iranian films abroad: cinema is one of the best mediums through which culture is transmitted immediately and through which customs, traditions, lifestyle and moral and cultural values can be transmitted. Maybe it is hard to find another medium that can attract a wide audience; in this direction, however, more efforts should be made to achieve favorable conditions.
