TEHRAN – Twelve jurors will evaluate films across the International Competition and Eastern Vista sections of the 43rd Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF), which is underway in Shiraz, Fars Province.
According to the festival website, the jurors include acclaimed directors, producers, cinematographers, actors, composers, festival programmers, and cultural leaders from Iran, Turkey, France, Oman, Macedonia, Greece, Spain, India, Algeria, Malaysia, and Armenia, among others.
Seven renowned figures will serve on the jury of the International Competition section, including Turkish director and screenwriter Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Iranian cinematographer and director Mahmoud Kalari, Greek filmmaker Angelos Frantzis, Iranian-French composer Christophe Rezai, Spanish film programmer Jose Cabrera Betancort, Indian actor and director Bijaya Jena, and Algerian producer Samira Hadj Djilani.
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s deeply atmospheric and philosophically resonant films have made him a leading voice in world cinema. He has won numerous prestigious awards: “Distant” (2002) won the Grand Jury Prize and Best Actor at Cannes, “Three Monkeys” (2008) earned him the Best Director Award at Cannes, “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia” (2011) received the Cannes Grand Prix, and “Winter Sleep” (2014) won the Palme d’Or.
His visually stunning works explore existential themes, rural life, human relationships, and solitude with slow pacing and poetic realism.
Mahmoud Kalari has defined the visual language of modern Iranian cinema. He has collaborated with acclaimed directors such as Asghar Farhadi, Abbas Kiarostami, and Jafar Panahi. Kalari studied photography in New York and worked for the Paris-based Sigma Photo News Agency.
Recognized by Time magazine among the “15 Best Photographers of the Year,” his work has appeared internationally. He has won four Crystal Simorgh awards for Best Cinematography at Fajr Film Festival. He has shot over 65 films, including Farhadi’s Oscar-winning “A Separation” (2011).
Angelos Frantzis has directed five short films and seven feature films, including “Still River,” which earned him Best Director (2019) and “Eftyhia,” which won Best Film from the Greek Film Academy (2020).
His work has been screened and awarded at numerous international festivals, including Rotterdam, Torino, Hong Kong, Sitges, Sao Paulo, Munich, and Istanbul.
Christophe Rezai, born in Toulouse to an Iranian father and French mother, has been based in Tehran since 1994. Trained in piano, vocal, and music theory, he has composed for feature films, short films, documentaries, and over 300 Iranian TV advertisements. Rezai has collaborated with acclaimed directors including Dariush Mehrjui, Mani Haghighi, Shahram Mokri, and Safi Yazdanian.
He founded the baroque ensemble Aria Music (1996) and the Nour ensemble, performing in Iran and India. Among his awards, he won Best Film Music at the Avignon Film Festival (2003) and the Crystal Simorgh at Fajr Film Festival (2017) for “Negar.”
Jose Cabrera Betancort is an experienced Spanish film programmer with over 20 years in international festival programming and coordination. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Audiovisual Communication and received a fellowship in Cinema from the Royal Spanish Academy of Arts in Rome.
He has worked with MiradasDoc and Transilvania IFF, directed “Tenerife Shorts” for ten years, and programmed for Las Palmas IFF for a decade. Currently, he serves as Head of Film Management at Valladolid IFF and Head of Programming for Bucharest IFF, bringing extensive expertise in curating diverse and compelling cinematic experiences.
Bijaya Jena is a versatile filmmaker and actress with decades of experience in Odia, Hindi, and international cinema. An FTII Pune alumna, she has acted in award-winning films such as “Jaga Balia” and “Holi,” and directed acclaimed films including “TARA” and “ABHAAS (Prologue).”
She has served on juries for national and international film festivals. With expertise spanning acting, directing, producing, and writing, Bijaya brings a rich, cross-cultural perspective and deep understanding of cinema to her role as a juror.
Samira Hadj Djilani is a prominent Algerian film and audiovisual producer and cultural manager. She formerly directed the first private Algerian TV channel “Khalifa TV” and has deep experience in cinema and media production. As founder and president of the Réseau Algérien des Femmes d’Affaires (RAFA), and vice president of the regional women’s network Réseau des femmes leaders du Maghreb (RFLM) for Algeria, she has worked to promote women’s roles in business and culture.
She has also produced films such as “Ahmed Bey,” marking a major Algeria-Iran coproduction, aiming to bring Algerian cinema to international audiences.
Eastern Vista jurors
In the Eastern Vista section, the jury members include Croatian documentary filmmaker Aleksandra Markovic, Russian writer, director and musician Igor Viktorovich Levshin, Iranian actress Hoda Zeinolabedin, Malaysian media and film executive Teng Lee Yein, and Armenian producer Shushanik Mirzakhanyan.
Aleksandra Markovic is a London-based documentary filmmaker, editor, and lecturer originally from Croatia. A graduate of Queen Mary University of London (MA Documentary Film, with distinction), she has directed and edited several short and mid-length documentaries, including collaborations for Al Jazeera’s “Witness” series. Markovic serves as a juror for the International Documentary Association (IDA) and the Immigration Film Festival.
She currently lectures in documentary filmmaking and post-production at SAE Institute London, combining academic insight with extensive industry experience to mentor emerging filmmakers, while maintaining an active career in international documentary production.
Igor Viktorovich Levshin is a Russian poet, prose writer, video director, and musician. He debuted in the late 1980s in the almanac Epsilon Salon (Moscow) and, since the early 1990s, has been regularly published in Chernovik magazine (New York).
He is a prizewinner of the video poetry contest organized by Formaslov and the author of dictionary articles for the Dictionary of 21st Century Culture project. Levshin is also the founder of the Fake Cats Project group and founder/editor of the Telegram channel “7/8,” dedicated to non-mainstream music.
Hoda Zeinolabedin began her professional career in 2005, making her screen debut in the film at the age of 16. A graduate in Graphic Design, Hoda is also active in photography and modeling.
She gained recognition for her role in the TV series “Fall of an Angel” (2011) and earned critical acclaim for her performances in “Cold Sweat” (2017), receiving a Crystal Simorgh nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and “Fragrant” (2022), nominated for Best Leading Actress.
Teng Lee Yein has extensive experience across the region’s entertainment industry. She has produced notable projects, including the Thai horror franchise “3 AM,” over twenty award-winning short films by emerging Southeast Asian filmmakers, and the China–Malaysia co-production “Southern Summer.”
Actively engaged in the international festival circuit, she has served as the Programming Director of the Hainan Island International Film Festival and Director of the International Film Camp 2024 (Asian Film Awards Academy, Macau). Teng has also juried major events, including the Busan International Film Festival, the Asian Project Market, and the Asian Creative Academy Awards.
Shushanik Mirzakhanyan is an experienced Armenian producer and cinema manager. She graduated from the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography, Moscow, majoring in film economics. From 1983 to 2004, she led film crews at Hayfilm Studio, and later served as Deputy Managing Director (2004–2009) and Managing Director (since 2009) of Hayk Documentary Film Studio NCSO.
A member of the Union of Cinematographers of Armenia since 2004, Shushanik has also been lecturing at the Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinematography since 2016. Her extensive experience in production, management, and mentoring emerging talent brings valuable insight to her role as a juror at international film festivals.
The 43rd Fajr International Film Festival continues in Shiraz until December 3.
SS/SAB
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