According to ILNA, the session of appreciation for the policymaking staff and the secretariat of the 100 Film Festival was held in the presence of a group of the members of the policymaking council and the executive staff of this event at the Hozeh Honari building. In this session, the attendees, while reviewing the experience of holding the recent edition of the festival, discussed this event's capacities for talent discovery, supporting young filmmakers, strengthening the identity of the cinema of the Revolution, and expanding international cooperation.

Mohammad Mahdi Dadman, the head of Hozeh Honari, in this session, while appreciating the executive and policymaking staff of the festival, deemed the holding of this edition at an appropriate quantitative and qualitative level worthy of appreciation and emphasized: the 100 Film Festival must distance itself from stagnation and, while maintaining its identity characteristics, follow the path of development.

He considered three components fundamental for the identity of this festival: talent discovery and introducing the fresh generation of the cinema of the Revolution, maintaining the cultural and content identity of the festival, and making use of the distinctive format of one-hundred-second films.

The head of Hozeh Honari, pointing to the 60 percent presence of first-time filmmakers among the works of this edition, considered this statistic a sign of the festival's attention to the talent-discovery mission and at the same time stated: the quality of the selections and identifying the real talents must always be in priority.

He, stating that the 100 Film Festival must maintain its specific cultural identity, demanded more serious attention to the characteristics that distinguish this event from other short film festivals.

Mohammad Mahdi Dadman also listed the one-hundred-second format as one of the main advantages of the festival and stated: with the expansion of cyberspace, planning for the targeted publication and distribution of the works in this space can help strengthen the position of the festival.

He, pointing to the necessity of innovation after holding 15 editions of the festival, considered the development of international activities and networking among the artists of different countries, especially in line with strengthening cinematic communications in the Axis of Resistance, among the important capacities ahead of this event.

He also, emphasizing the necessity of the festival's alignment with technological developments, introduced vertical productions and making use of artificial intelligence as fields that can be attended to in the future.

The head of Hozeh Honari, in the end, considered the capacity of the young and creative team formed in this edition a ground for creating a new movement in the festival and emphasized the importance of turning the acquired experiences into a lasting path for the future of this event.

Mohaddeseh Pirhadi, the secretary of Festival 100, in this session, while appreciating the accompaniment of Mohammad Mahdi Dadman and the other attendees, described the experience of cooperation with the members of the policymaking council and the festival's executive team as valuable and instructive.

She, pointing to the partnership and accompaniment of the members of the policymaking council in approving the slogan, the sections and the subjects of the festival, said: in this edition about 1,600 works were received which, after being reviewed by a seven-person selection board, the selected works were placed at the disposal of the jury board.

The secretary of the festival, pointing to the average age of 28 years of the participants and the 60 percent presence of first-time filmmakers among the owners of the works, considered this characteristic among the festival's strengths and emphasized its importance in identifying the fresh generation of filmmakers.

She also listed the holding of the festival's first international workshop with the presence of masters from 15 countries among the index experiences of this edition and said: this program, despite the time and financial limitations, was a significant approach in the field of the festival's international activities.

According to Pirhadi, the artists in this edition produced works with different subjects, including about 20 films about Minab.

In continuation, Babak Khajeh Pasha, a member of the policymaking council of the festival, expressing satisfaction with the experience of presence at the 100 Film Festival, stated: this event has a different mood for me from other festivals.

He, criticizing some of the common currents in today's cinema and one of the weaknesses of Iranian art, emphasized: the 100 Film Festival must not be limited merely to the common patterns and established artistic formats, but must be in pursuit of discovering meaning and providing the ground for the emergence of fresh views.

Khajeh Pasha also, pointing to the dominance of the economic view in part of the film production relations, emphasized the necessity of attention to the artistic motivations and concerns of the filmmakers.

He, in continuation, demanded the provision of conditions in which young artists can follow their creative path independently of purely financial considerations.

Mohammad Ehsani, a member of the policymaking council, pointing to the experience of presence in different festivals, especially the events focused on youth, considered the absence of a specific program for supporting the artists after the end of the competitions one of the important gaps of these festivals.

He stated: my observations and experience are of this kind, that the filmmakers who produce their first work with much strictness, after that do not find the possibility of continuing the professional path. The mission of the artistic community is discovering the talents and providing the ground for their growth.

Ehsani emphasized the necessity of designing mechanisms for identifying, educating and guiding young artists: the festivals and the juries can have an effective role in this field; on the condition that, instead of imposing their taste on the artists, they help them find their independent artistic path and language.

He, pointing to the experience of the formation of some artistic currents and the influence of the filmmakers from the previous generations, stressed the importance of the transfer of experience among the artists and added: I demand the creation of a platform for the lasting accompaniment of the experienced figures with the fresh talents.

Mohammad Reza Rezapour, a member of the policymaking council of Festival 100, also, emphasizing the importance of the continuity of the activities done in the international field, demanded the creation of management stability for the achievements of this section to bear fruit.

He considered the 100 Film Festival to have the capacity to become a communication platform among the filmmakers and stated: the communications formed in the recent edition can be developed in the future editions and provide the ground for new cooperation.

Rezapour, pointing to the efforts made in the content and technical fields, considered the necessity of preserving the achievements of the recent edition to be turning them into lasting programs.

Shahab Esfandiari, a member of the policymaking council of the festival, pointing to the existing gap in the path of guiding the graduates of the art fields after entering the professional field, emphasized the necessity of the formation of a coherent ecosystem for growing and supporting the artists.

He considered one of the fundamental concerns of the formation of Hozeh Honari to be providing a space for the activity of the artists who enter the field of art with religious and revolutionary beliefs and convictions, but in the path of professionalization face the feeling of loneliness or rejection.

Esfandiari stated: the gathering of the two goals of professionalization and supporting the young talents is one of the important challenges of the field of culture and art; the festival's officials must use the recognition they have gained of the top talents to attract them in future projects.

He also, on the importance of the transfer of experience by the successful artists, said: the goal of this accompaniment must be helping the artists to find their personal path, not turning them into a similar version of the previous generations.

Ali Hayati, the artistic director of Festival 100, expressing happiness with the presence among the staff of the festival, described the executive team of this edition as young, hardworking, creative and energetic, and expressed hope that the opportunity of continuing the activity in the next two editions will also be placed at the disposal of this team so that the ground for the formation of positive events is provided.

Sajjad Entezari, a member of the festival's selection board, also, pointing to Pirhadi's years of experience in interaction with the artists of the counties, considered the attention to the provincial capacities among the valuable characteristics of this edition.

He stated: part of the members of the executive team were artists and activists who had previously been active in the counties and had found less opportunity to be seen.

Entezari assessed the accompaniment of these forces and the creation of the ground for their participation in a national event as a valuable action, and emphasized the role of the provincial view in strengthening the executive and artistic body of the festival.

The session of appreciation for the policymaking staff and the secretariat of the 100 Film Festival, in total, emphasized this point that a festival's success is not limited merely to holding the event and introducing the selected works; but rather the continuity of communication with the artists, supporting the emerging talents, maintaining the cultural identity and creating new opportunities for production and cooperation can turn its achievements into a lasting current in Iranian cinema.

Source: ILNA News Agency