The first international festival of films on the sea to be held in the Middle East will be staged on Iran’s Gulf island of Kish at the end of this month.
A total of 45 films from 15 different countries, aimed at increasing the awareness of viewers of the need to protect the seas and oceans, will be screened during the festival, organizer Kioumars Derambakhsh told AFP Sunday.
Some 2,000 visitors from across the world are expected to attend the festival, notably from Iran's Arab neighbors.
The jury, presided over by Baudouin Varennes, director general of the Toulon International Sea and Exploration Film Festival, comprises film makers from Russia, France and Australia.
"We want to sensitize the public to the problems of the seas and oceans which are threatened by destruction. Iran, bordered by three waters, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, plays a very important protective role," Derambakhsh said.
"Unfortunately, this festival, the first in Asia, is taking place at the same time as the war in Afghanistan which is very close (to Iran). It will take place in the Persian Gulf where American warships are present. The closing ceremony will take place on a ship," he said.
"My dream is to organize the second festival in Afghanistan, which is landlocked, once peace returns", Derambakhsh added.
"Our mission is to save nature, the seas, the dolphins, the sharks but also the corals and the seaweeds which are threatened. War is the destroyer of the environment," he said.
Prices for the entries will be local pearls, Derambakhsh said -- AFP
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