Filmmaker Majid Majidi to meet fans at Istanbul film festival

Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi will give a masterclass at the 4th International Red Crescent Amity Short Film Festival in Istanbul on Saturday.

Majidi, who was born in Tehran, will share his experiences with cinephiles at the famed Istiklal street's Atlas 1948 Cinema.

Fans will get the opportunity to discuss Iranian cinema in all of its aspects with the director, producer and screenwriter whose films have won many international accolades.

The festival's website, www.dostlukfilmfestivali.com, is accepting applications to attend the session.

Meanwhile, his movie Sun Children, which premiered at the 77th Venice International Film Festival last year, will be screened at the festival on Friday.

Majidi was born into a middle-class family and studied film at Tehran's Institute of Dramatic Arts. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, he began acting in Iranian movies, most notably Boycott, directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf in 1985.

Majidi's Children of Heaven, which was a super hit and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1998, proved to be a watershed moment in his career as a director.

He has directed a number of films including The Color of Paradise, Baran, The Willow Tree, and The Song of Sparrows.

The 4th International Red Crescent Amity Short Film Festival, which runs through Dec. 2-5, is organized in collaboration with Turkey's Culture and Tourism Ministry. Anadolu Agency is its global communication partner.

This year's edition is dedicated to prominent Turkish philosopher Haji Bektas Veli.