Iran filmmaker Mehrjui awarded French Chevalier medal

Tehran, Nov 11, IRNA - Award-winning Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui was presented the French Chevalier medal on November 9. According to Tuesday's edition of 'Iran Daily', the artist, who received the honor, the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, from the French ambassador in a ceremony in Tehran, said, “The recent screening of my movie ‘Cow’ in France, has had a great influence on introducing Iranian cinema in that country.” Born in 1939 in Tehran, Mehrjui graduated from the UCLA in Philosophy and Film Studies in 1964. Mehrjui not only established modern Iranian cinema but he also introduced realism, symbolism and the sensibilities of art cinema. Mehrjui is regarded among the intellectual directors of Iranian cinema. As a director, screenwriter, producer, and film editor, he has received over 50 national and international awards. Most of his works are inspired by literature and adapted from Iranian and international novels and plays. One of his credits is ‘The Cow (1969) which was his second feature length production after his debut in 1966, ‘Diamond 33’. The film won the International Critics Prize of the Venice Film Festival in 1971. It was the first award for the Iranian motion picture industry in an international event./end