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Speaking to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on the sidelines of the event, Widrich said, 'Tehran International Short Film Festival is a strong signal for the support and freedom of an art form outside of commercialization through streamlined multinational media corporations.'
'Iranian artists and Iranian cinema have a very high reputation in the world. We hope to see more works from Iran, but Iranian films have the same problems like European films, competing against mainstream taste for the audience's time,' he said referring to Iran cinema position in the world.
'Of course, everybody knows Abbas Kiarostami who worked with my co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière in Paris. I also remember fondly “When the Kid was a Kid” by Anahita Ghazvinizadeh,' he added.
Expounding on the status of short films in Austria, he said, 'Thanks to a funding program for short and avant-garde films in Austria, many short films are being produced. 1990 filmmakers also founded Sixpack Film which is a very successful promotion and sales organization for Austrian short films helping to gain international recognition.'
'As in most European countries, in Austria we do have public funding by national TV (ORF), plus federal and city-financed film funds. There are always more ideas than Euros, but we are happy this system exists,' Widrich reiterated.
Elaborating on the role of short films to understand each other, he said, 'Short film is never main stream. Short films compared to feature films are like songs compared to an opera: a song is not a small opera and an opera is not a list of songs.'
'Short and feature films are very different distinctive art forms, each of its own unique value. Film festivals have become an important roof for all kinds of art films to find their audience,' he noted.
'Iranian Youth cinema Society (IYCS) organizes Tehran International Short Film Festival every year in October (TISFF).
It is one of the oldest short film festivals not only in Iran, but also in the region.
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