Tehran (IP) - Tehran International Short Film Festival (TISFF) is the only short film festival without fees among about 130 in the world, which are Oscar eligible, the event's president says.

Iran PressIran news: For the first time in the history of Iranian cinema, a festival, namely the Tehran International Short Film Festival, has been added as a qualifying festival in the Short Films categories this year at the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Sadegh Mousavi told Iran Press.

Speaking on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the 38th TISFF held in the Iranian capital on October 19, he added: "This means that the winner of the international section of the Tehran International Short Film Festival will receive a grand prize and will be introduced directly to the Academy Awards list."

"This happens at various festivals around the world. In Asia, a total of 7 countries have this condition. Among Muslim countries, only Iran, Egypt and Turkey, have this possibility," said the event's president.

"We are the only qualifying Oscars festival in the world that registers for free, and from March every year, the register for our international section begins," he added.

This year, 6402 films from 128 countries were registered for the festival for free, of which 58 foreign and 5 Iranian films are competing in the international section, which will be running until Sunday, and the winner of the international section will be introduced to the Oscars festival.

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After the Tehran International Short Film Festival was qualified by the Academy Awards, 2,000 more films were submitted than in previous years, Mansour Jahani, media officer of the festival, told Iran Press.

Many filmmakers will be present at this festival, and this year, the festival jury includes four first-grade judges, each of whom is participating in the top qualifying festivals for Oscars, Jahani added.

Tehran's festival has been a springboard for the most popular figures of the Iranian cinema, including Asghar Farhadi, a two-time Oscar winner, Bahman Ghobadi and Reza Mirkarimi, he said.

The opening ceremony of the 38th Tehran International Short Film Festival was held on Tuesday in Iran Mall Cinema Complex.

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