Cinema Verite Festival Wraps With Special Day of Screenings

TEHRAN -- The 19th edition of the Iran International Documentary Film Festival Cinema Verite concluded its run at Mellat Gallery and Cineplex on Monday, bringing a day of special screenings that highlighted the breadth and diversity of contemporary documentary filmmaking in Iran. 

The festival, organized by the Documentary, Experimental, and Animation Film Center, took place from December 10 through 16 at the iconic cineplex in Tehran and drew local and international audiences alike. 
On the final day, audiences were presented with 12 distinct documentary titles in scheduled screenings that spanned emotional narratives, personal portraits, and socially conscious works. These films collectively illustrated the festival’s commitment to presenting a multifaceted view of lived experience and documentary innovation.
The day’s program opened in Hall 1 with A Fox Under a Pink Moon, a celebrated documentary by Mehrdad Oskouei. The film, which recently garnered critical acclaim at an international festival, engaged audiences with its inventive form and compelling subject matter. 
At 4:00 PM in Hall 7, Eastern Pilgrim screened, offering audiences an intimate look at its subject’s journey. Later in the evening, Under the Loor Tree was shown at 8:45 PM in Hall 2, completing the trio of major daytime screenings that anchored the festival’s final slate.
Meanwhile, Hall 5 hosted a tight cluster of screenings. Unfinished Dream kicked off the afternoon, followed by Soheil and Fill in the Blanks in succession. Audiences remained in the venue for additional back-to-back screenings of Within the Sun and Rush, underscoring the program’s thematic breadth and pacing.
Hall 2 later presented Agira in the late evening, further rounding out the festival’s diverse offerings. In Hall 11, three documentaries — Her Name is Woman, Moc, and The Winners’ Game — played throughout the day, giving audiences a concentrated dose of narrative and observational documentary styles.
The festival’s final day reflected Cinema Verite’s larger mission to showcase documentary films that challenge, inform, and resonate. Over the course of its week‑long run at Mellat Cineplex, Cinema Verite screened a broad selection of documentaries from both domestic and international filmmakers, framing documentary cinema as an essential medium for storytelling and cultural reflection. 
Beyond screenings, the festival program this year included exhibitions, workshops, and panel discussions that engaged filmmakers and audiences in conversations about documentary practice, innovation, and the role of the documentary form in representing contemporary realities.