10th Annual Iranian Film Festival – San Francisco: September 23-24, 2017

Welcome to the 10th Annual Iranian Film Festival – San Francisco, the first independent Iranian film festival outside of Iran. This year, the festival presents 40 films from Iran, USA, Italy, France, Canada…. We are happy and proud to continue our mission to discover and support the next generation of Iranian filmmakers living and working around the world, while we honor the veteran filmmakers for their distinguished careers. Please join us to celebrate the outstanding works of Iranian filmmakers. Passes and tickets are On Sale Now here.

Winners of the 2017 ‘Sepanta Awards’

Best Film: Malaria
Best Director: Parviz Shahbazi, for: Malaria
Best Actor: Ali Mosaffa, for: Duet
Best Actress: Mitra Hajar, for: Wishbone
Best Screenplay: Parviz Shahbazi, for: Malaria
Best Cinematography: Roberto Cimatti, for: Mountain
Best Documentary: Iran’s Arrow, by: Shahin Armin & Sohrab Daryabandari
Best Short Film: Tanavob (Periodicity)
Best Director for a Short Film: Ali Khoshdouni, for: Tanavob (Periodicity)
Best Screenplay for a Short Film: Kaveh Mazaheri, for: Retouch
Best Short Documentary: We Skate in Iran, by: Benjamin Aryani
Best Actor in a Short Film: Homayoun Ershadi, for: Blue Lantern
Best Actress in a Short Film: Katrin Aslani, for: Red Peace
Best Cinematography for a Short Film: Sarkew Mesgari, for: White House
Best Music Video: Where is Picasso, by: Massod Vadiee
Best Animation: The Switchman, by: Mehdi Khorramain
Best Experimental Film: The Big Nothing, by: Kaveh Kazemzadeh

Amir Naderi’s ‘Mountain’ to premiere at IFF

Amir Naderi’s latest film which he made in Italy, will have its U.S. premier at the Iranian Film Festival – San Francisco. Hollywood Reporter, about the film, said: “Timeless beauty of Italian paintings.” Variety called it: “Extraordinary.” Amier Naderi said: “I have always put my characters in difficult situations, but this is actually the most difficult situation ever! The main character’s previous generations have never sought to reverse the situation of living in the shadow of the mountain.” We are proud to show his latest master piece in line with his unforgettable body of work: Runner, Goodbye Friend, Tangsir….

Documentary & Animation Films

Aside from the fiction, Iranian Film Festival pays special attention to the documentary and animation genres with some of the best young talents Iranian cinema can offer. Films such as: Iran’s Arrow – Story of Paykan, Razor’s Edge, The Switchman, Dash Akol, Hezar Afsan, Mrs. Saïdi, We Skate in Iran…..

Sepanta Award

To pay a homage to the father of sound in Iranian cinema, Abdoulhossein Sepanta [1907-1969], who also made Lor Daughter, Shirin & Farhad…we named our award after his name and presented ‘Septanta Award’ in various categories for the first time in 2013. We will continue this tradition by presenting this award to the participating filmmakers every year.

Support Us!

If you like what we do, to continue bringing the best of independent films made by or about Iranians from around the world, support our efforts by sponsoring, advertising, and your contributions. We, Iranians, need to have a strong voice in our host country by unity and representing the best talents any community can offer. This support can be in variety of ways but for sure it benefits the Iranian community.

About Our Website!

Our new website, which you are visiting right now, was created by Ali Tassavor of Nika Labs and his talented team. We encourage you to use their expertise for your marketing and web designs. They are based locally but can be reached from anywhere they are needed.
We also use another Iranian company, Kooche Cinema, for our film restorations, whenever we discover a lost film, for their talent and expertise. They can be helpful in your post production needs as well.

Join Us

We know there are many talented Iranian artists out there, aside from those in film that can share their talent with us in visual art. If you are a photographer, graphic artist, musician…join the festival and participate in whatever capacity the festival can offer you. Drop us a note and be a part of our festival.