At the tenth ISFA Awards that was held on August 7th 2019 at the Museum of Cinema with Armin Isarian serving as director, The ISFA Emblem was awarded to Parviz Kimiavi, the renowned Iranian pioneer filmmaker. The ISFA emblem is awarded to one of the great Iranian filmmakers by the Iranian Short Film Association.
The official ISFA website reports that at the ceremony, which was attended by short film professionals, filmmakers and cinema figures, a compilation of Kimiavi’s work was screened, followed by Hamid Jafari, filmmaker and Kimiavi’s friend, reciting a letter Kimiavi had written for the Iranian Short Film Association.
A section of that letter reads: “This year marks my 80th birthday, and I’m glad to receive such a precious and beautiful gift as the ISFA Emblem from the young generation of filmmakers. Wish my generation had the same attitude towards its predecessors such as Fereydoon Rahnama, Ebrahim Golestan, Farrokh Ghaffari, Samuel Khachikian and others.”
Afterwards, the ISFA board of directors: Saeed Pouresmaili, Elham Hosseinzadeh, Mostafa Aleahmad, Mohammadreza Jahanpanah, Kaveh Sajjadi Hosseini and Omid Abdollahi handed the ISFA Emblem and plaque to Yasaman Kimiavi, Parviz Kimiavi’s niece, to send to him.
The plaque reads: “Dear Mr Parviz Kimiavi, your presence has enriched cinema. Your films are trailblazing, innovative and awe striking. Alas, you’re from home at these hard times for the Iranian cinema, but we have your precious works with us, and the future generations will benefit from them as well. Mr Kimiavi, like a skilled alchemist, you have made gold out of the sand dunes in your films, and we are grateful for all these treasures you have brought us.”
Later, Mostafa Aleahmad recounted a memory of Parviz Kimiavi, and criticized the fact that many renowned Iranian filmmakers have left Iran and others are retired at home and asked officials to improve some procedures, so these giants and luminaries have the chance to be present and active in the scene.
Parviz Kimiavi is an experimentalist filmmaker and a pioneer of Iranian new wave cinema. His work includes Mogholha (The Mongols), P Like Pelican, Baghe Sangui (The Stone Garden) and Iran Saraye Man Ast (Iran Is My Homeland), among others