Tehran Times - Iranian cinema has so far won about 3685 awards at international events since the victory of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Iranian film scholar Mohammad Atebbai said on Saturday.


�This means that Iranian cinema has grossed about 18 international awards every week; that is, every week the name of Iran has been acknowledged 18 times around the world,� Atebbai, who is gathering information about Iran�s participation in international film events, told the Persian service of ISNA on Saturday.

The awards were presented at 34,930 international events.

He said that the number of awards Iranian films received at international events over the past year equals the total of awards Iranian cineastes won between 1958 and 1998.

According to Atebbai, Iranian cinema only won 152 awards at global events before the revolution.

�Iranian cinema has shined remarkably at international festivals over the past two years,� he said and added that Iranian films garnered 382 awards in 2015 and 516 awards in 2016.

The films have been sent to international events by the several public sectors, including the Farabi Cinema Foundation, the Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (IIDCYA), and the Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC), as well as eight private organizations and some international distributors.

Atebbai also said that international distributors have helped Iranian cinema gain 50 international awards in 2016 alone.

He noted that the most important awards have been gained by the films sent to international events by private organizations and international distributors.

Photo: Director Asghar Farhadi (L) and actor Shahab Hosseini pose in a�file photo with their awards during a photocall at the 69th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2016, Cannes, France.