Finnish Film Foundation keen on collaboration with Iran’s private sector

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Finnish Film Foundation CEO Lasse Saarinen has said that his country is interested in collaborating with the private sector in Iran on joint film projects.

He made the remarks during a visit to the Film Producers Guild of Iran in Tehran on Tuesday, the association announced on Wednesday.

Saarinen, at the head of a Finnish cinema delegation, is in Iran to attend the Finnish Film Week now underway in the three Iranian cities of Tehran, Isfahan and Mashhad. 

He said that the activities of the Finnish Film Foundation are quite similar to those of Iran’s Farabi Cinema Foundation.

He added that the foundation annually receives a sum of about €25 million from the government every year, about €20 million of which are spent on film productions and the rest on protecting international projects.

Director of the Film Producers Guild of Iran Seyyed Zia Hashemi for his part said that joint film productions can help promote cinema in the two countries, while they also can make the people of the two countries familiar with each other.

Jaana Puskala, head of the International Department of the foundation, said that Finnish cinema has actively participated in international festivals such as Berlin and Toronto, and also that foreign companies from France and Germany are mostly after films produced in Finland.

She added that the ground is ready in Finland for a close partnership with Iranian cinema. 

Finnish Ambassador Keijo Norvanto was also attending the meeting. 

A lineup of 16 short and feature movies from Finnish filmmakers are being screened during the program in Iran, which runs until October 4.

source: Tehran Times