[custom_adv] The Fajr International and Fajr Film Festival are annual film festivals, held every February and April. [custom_adv] The festival, started in 1982, is under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture and Guidance. It takes place every year on the anniversary of the revolution. [custom_adv] There were 90 feature films submitted for the 29th edition of the festival in 2011. The festival has been promoted both locally and abroad through television, radio and webinars with previous speakers coming from the United States, United Kingdom and Germany. [custom_adv] Organizations contributing to the event include the Farabi Cinema Foundation, film foundation, Press TV, HispanTV and multi-lingual film channel IFilm (TV channel). [custom_adv] From 2015 on, the festival has been separated into a national festival in February and an international one in April, with the national one being notable for premieres of the most important domestic movies. [custom_adv] During different editions of Fajr, brilliant auteur filmmakers such as Costa-Gavras, Francesco Rosi, Theo Angelopoulos, Mario Monicellli, Moustapha Akkad, Darius Khondji, etc… have taken part in the festival and have been presented with lifetime achievement awards. [custom_adv] The festival has celebrated world cinema’s prominent figures by holding the commemoration ceremony for them in the past years. [custom_adv] Moreover, the festival will have a special look at the works that are emphasizing the expansion message of justice, global peace and moral and human values. [custom_adv] The festival also places particular emphasis on introducing films from the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and Anatolia, and focuses on works inspired by the true teachings of the divine prophets with a message of peace and friendship. [custom_adv] Participants compete for a special prize called Golden Simorgh in the competing sections of the festival. Symbolizing a perfect human being, knowledge and wisdom “Simorgh” is a mythical bird and an iconic legend from Ancient Persia in Iranian culture. [custom_adv] It plays an important role in Persian literature, and its first presence has documented back to the epics of Ferdowsi’s Shāh-Nāmeh (Book of Kings) and mystical works of Farid al-Din Attar’s “The Conference of the Birds”. Honor Diploma and Golden Plaque are the other prizes awarded in the festival. [custom_adv] The awards include the Golden Simorgh for the best film and the Silver Simorgh for the best director, script, actor, actress and the best technical achievement in photography, editing, music, custom design or set design. [custom_adv] ccording to the entry form, the titles in the Cinema Salvation competition section should experience their premiere screening in Central Asia and the Middle East regions.