Iran, China to boost cinematic and cultural ties

TEHRAN,April 12(MNA) -- A cinematic delegation led by the Chinese ambassador to Tehran visited the Iranian minister of culture and Islamic guidance and discussed the ways to boost mutual cinematic and cultural ties during a meeting on Tuesday. Chinese Ambassador Yu Hongyang referred to the active participation of China in the previous edition of the Tehran International Book Fair and said that a number of Chinese publishers have been scheduled to attend the book fair this year. Iranian Culture Minister Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini also invited the Chinese ambassador and media to attend the opening ceremony of the book fair on May 1. Yu Hongyang said that China will hold cultural week in Iran in near future and expressed his hope for holding Iranian cultural week in his hometown as well. Hosseini pointed to the Silk Road as a sign of the ancient relationship between two countries saying that the two countries have experienced good diplomatic relations since 40 years ago. He proposed the establishment of an Iranian cultural center in China to boost political, cultural and economic relationships between the two countries. Hosseini also announced holding of an Iranian film week in China saying that Iranian movies have focused on moral issues since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Yu Hongyang invited the cast and crew of the Oscar-winning film “A Separation” to the 2nd Beijing International Film Festival. The Chinese delegation also asked Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Javad Shamaqdari to assign “A Separation” to be the opening film of the festival. They also met the director of the Farabi Cinematic Foundation Seyyed Ahmad Miralaii and discussed further cinematic cooperation with each other. At the end of the ceremony, both parties signed cultural and cinematic agreements to boost bilateral relations between the two countries.