Yusef Jalali
Press TV, Tehran
Russian blockbusters are screened in Iran for Iranian viewers. It's the first edition of Russian Film Days; a cinematic event that aims to introduce the Russian cinema to Iranian cineastes and help boost cooperation between Iranian and Russian filmmakers.
The three-day event kicked off by screening Don’t Bury Me without Ivan. Directed by Lyubov Borisova, the 2022 film features the life of the founder of fine arts in the Russian Republic of Yakutia, Ivan Popov, and his friend, who is in a state of lethargic sleep.
Elsa’s Land by Yuliya Kolesnik and Are You Alive? by Ildar Yagafarov will also be screened during the festival.
The three films are among the latest and top-rated blockbusters of the Russian cinema. The event was co-organized by Iran's Farabi Cinema Foundation and Russian's Union of Cinematographers.
Several Russian filmmakers and cinema experts, including the cast and crew of the films screened during the festival also attended the event to sit and talk with their Iranian counterparts.
Last year, a similar event dubbed Iranian Film Days was held in Russia, with the goal of introducing the Iranian cinema to Russian filmmakers and enthusiasts.
Tehran and Moscow are already strategic political partners. Now organizers say this cinematic event helps extend this partnership to national and cultural levels by expanding the cooperation between Russian and Iranian filmmakers.