RAWALPINDI: A two-day Iranian film festival started at the Rawalpindi Arts Council (RAC) on Monday during which award winning Iranian films will be screened with English Translation.

The films have been provided by the Iranian Culture Centre Khanna-i-Farhang under a cultural exchange programme between the two countries with an aim to increase people to people contact between Pakistan and Iran.

On the first day of the event, the super hit Iranian film Bacha Hai Abadi, or Eternal Child was screened, which is written, produced and directed by Pouran Derakhshandeh.

The film tells the story of a young woman who decides to marry a man who has to look after his disabled brother.

She has to then decide whether she should accept the circumstances and the third person in her marriage or move away. Shahab Hosseini, Elham Hamidi, Ahu Kheradmand and Pantea Bahram have performed in film.

Ms Derakhshandeh graduated from the Advanced School of Television and Cinema in Tehran in 1975 with a degree in film directing. She started her career with a documentary for the Kermanshah Television and later for Tehran Television.

A senior official of the City District Government Rawalpindi told Dawn that the special branch of police issues a no-objection certificate before the films can be screened in order to ensure the content of the movie is checked to avoid any untoward incident.

He said the special branch was asked by the home department to check the films before they are screened to the public.

RAC Resident Director Waqar Ahmed told Dawn that the council was working on promoting the various cultures in the region and that the film festival was part of the cultural exchange programme, which will help the people of both countries understand one another.

“Award winning films have been selected to be screened and residents of the twin cities have been invited to the event,” he said.

However, members of the audience said that the films should have been screened with Urdu subtitles or dubbing so that more people would have understood them.

The films ‘So Close So Far’ and ‘The Colour of Paradise’ will be screened in the RAC auditorium on Dec 6.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2016