Farhang Foundation Announces Short Film Festival and Competition in Celebration of Iranian Heritage

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:      
Bita Milanian
(310) 746-5429
bitam@sociarts.com

LOS ANGELES, CA, December 3, 2008 (UPDATED since original release on 12/1/08) — Farhang Foundation, a recently established foundation focused on celebrating Iranian art and culture in Southern California, is putting out a call to all filmmakers interested in Iranian heritage to create a short film on the subject and submit it to this festival. SoCiArts.com will be responsible for managing and producing this festival.

“Farhang Foundation’s goal is to celebrate the art, culture and heritage of Iran for the benefit of Iranian-Americans and the community at large here in Southern California.” said Touraj Daryaee, President of Farhang Foundation. “The purpose of this festival is to give aspiring filmmakers a venue to showcase short films that best embrace this worthy goal.  The winner will be featured to the who’s who of the Iranian-American community and beyond at the Farhang Foundation’s Noruz Gala on March 7, 2009, taking place at the magnificent Paramount Studios Lot in Los Angeles.”

For this festival, filmmakers from all walks of life, Iranian and non-Iranian, are welcome to create a five-minute movie of any genre and style, visualizing their unique take on Iranian Heritage. Farhang Foundation defines Iranian Heritage as a way of life and culture that has been passed from one generation to the next in an Iranian influenced environment and is not limited to geographical borders.  It may include elements from the past and present of Iranian arts, literature, music and history.
Filmmakers are encouraged to produce an innovative and empowering video that explores the ancient and contemporary components of Iranian Heritage, while creating a visual experience that sparks the audience's interest in learning more about the culture and history of Iran and how it is applicable and relevant to the world we live in today.

All submitted videos shall be judged for their artistry, quality, originality and most importantly, how much they inspire the audience. 

The winner will receive $5,000USD, as well as travel expenses to attend the award presentation during the Farhang Foundation Noruz Gala, where the winner’s film will be screened.
Additionally, all submitted films will be posted for public viewing on www.sociarts.com/farhangfilmfest.
For more information about the festival and participation guidelines, please visit www.farhangfilmfest.org.

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About Farhang Foundation
Farhang Foundation is a non-religious, non-political and not-for-profit foundation established in 2008 to celebrate the art and culture of Iranian-Americans in its widest extent. The foundation supports academic activities in Southern California by funding university programs, publications and conferences. The foundation also supports cultural programs such as celebration of Noruz and Mehregan, theater, dance performances, films screenings and poetry reading in Southern California. Farhang Foundation, in cooperation with various cultural and academic institutions plans major programs and exhibitions about Iran and its culture. For more info visit: www.farhang.org.
About SoCiArts.com
SoCiArts.com is a grassroots, virtual community dedicated to artists from around the globe to share their work, blog their ideas and send their message out to a broader audiences. SoCiArts.com believes that artists are architects of life; they know how to break the old conservative boundaries and build remarkable new ideas. SoCiArts.com encourages artists to create a positive impact in the world through art by sharing their work in this forum and elevate their society, community, family and audience to a higher level of consciousness.  For more info visit: www.sociarts.com.