Tehran – Two Films from Iran will be taking part in the 11th Apricot Tree International Documentary Film Festival, where Iranian filmmakers also act as ju umpires.
The festival, scheduled to be held from August 30th to September 6th in Yerevan, Armenia, will select “Karun – Iran’s Longest River,” written and directed by Sahand Sarhaddi, Mehdi Bagheri will select “Reluctant Bachelor’s Degree” in the next edition, and director Hadi Afarideh is one of three Jurerinline ju judges.
“Karun – Iran’s longest river” is a joint production in 2024 between Iran, Switzerland and Finland. The 19-minute film competes in the festival’s short film competition section.
On September 22, 1998, Iranian poet Hamid Hajizadeh and his nine-year-old son Karun were brutally murdered at Karman’s house, symbolically referring to Iran’s longest river. A documentary film based on a statement of survivors, sensibly attempts to reconstruct one of the many horrifying, politically motivated events that took place in Iran at the end of the last century, attracting us on a fateful day with the help of detailed shots of objects in Hamid’s research.
Sahand Sarhaddi, 34, is a filmmaker and visual artist. He is a 2023 “Talent of Berlin” graduate and graduated in theater and dramatic literature at the Faculty of Art at the University of Tehran.
In 2006 he began working with several publications as a photographer. His artwork focuses on integrating stories that are not told in history, photography, music and literature. His works have been featured in more than 10 solo and group exhibitions (photography, video art, performance arts, and more). He also directed five short and feature films that were shown at festivals in Iran, Switzerland, France, the UK, the US, Germany, Canada and more.
Sarhaddi joined the Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association in 2020 and is currently a member of the Board of Directors. He is also a member of the film house.
“Recroctant Bachelor” will be shown in the special screening section of non-competitive programs and festivals.
Produced in 2013, the 58-minute film is about the director himself, living with his parents for financial problems at the age of 30, blaming his father for his failures and his life problems.
Mehdi Bagheri, 44, is an editor, producer and documentary filmmaker who studied at the Tehran Film School. He is a member of the Tehland Documentary Filmmakers Association and the Documentary Producers Association.
Bagheri has directed over 30 films and documentary series and has been a member of several film festivals on the ju apprentice. His feature-length documentary has won various awards, including Best Film in the City Section of Cinema Vérité 2016.
Born in Tehran by 41-year-old Hadi Afaride, he began his art career in theater in 1998, and in 2001 he began his art career in cinemas at the Iran Youth Film Association (IYCS). He was named Best Documentary Filmmaker in the first specialized workshop of documentary filmmaking in Iran by the 2006 Documentary and Experimental Film Centre and the Iranian Association of Documentary Filmmakers.
Afarideh has participated in over 140 Iranian and international festivals and has won various awards for his director, writing and researching three short films and 19 documentaries.
He is a member of the Iranian Association of Documentary Filmmakers and the Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA). Currently he teaches films and holds documentary filmmaking classes at IYCS and the Iranian Academy of Contemporary Arts.
The Apricot Tree International Documentary Film Festival takes place annually in Armenian villages from late August to early September. Since 2023, the festival has been held in the village of Debett.
It is a celebration of documentary films of all genres (ethnography, experimentation, animation, etc.) as it is a platform where filmmakers from all over the world can come across ideas and discuss ideas in a friendly atmosphere, live in friendly villagers’ homes, and get the opportunity to experience Armenian culture in close proximity.
For this purpose, the apricot trees do not have red carpets and spectacular rituals. Instead, the festival will be held primarily in the village of Debett, about 2-5 hours from Yerevan. There, participants are housed in villagers’ houses.
Apricot Tree aims to create a cozy and friendly environment where participants bond with each other, their audience, and the local rural population, watch each other’s films to acquire new knowledge about the world, and especially enjoy themselves above all.
Through various excursions to museums and landmarks, festival attendees will be given the opportunity to become familiar with local culture and history. They are invited to hike, explore and share bread with Debet’s kind people.
Apricot Tree has two competitive programs: functional length (over 40 minutes) and short (less than 40 minutes). The festival also has a non-competitive programme that includes a look back and screening of famous films related to the festival’s theme.
SS/SAB