Rasul Mollaqolipur Medal established for Iranian cineastes
Medals named in honor of the deceased Iranian filmmaker Rasul Mollaqolipur are to be awarded annually to deserving cineastes beginning this September.
Cineastes Ebrahim Hatamikia, Reza Mirkarimi, Ahmad Moradpur, and Mohammad Davudi are among the members of the council that has established the medal.
Author Morteza Sarhangi, film critic Akbar Nabavi and Mollaqolipur’s son, Ali, are other members of the council.
Mollaqolipur died of a heart attack in March 2007 at the age of 51. Most of his works directly or indirectly were related to the effects of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, which is known in Iran as the Sacred Defense.
The medals are to be given to a filmmaker, a documentarian and a screenwriter, council secretary Nabavi said during a press conference in on Tuesday.
The award ceremony is to be held each year on September 8, which is Mollaqolipur’s birthday.
“Mollaqolipur began his career making documentaries, so one medal will be presented for documentary cinema during the program, which is being held as a non-competitive event this year,” Nabavi said.
“He was among the pioneers of social cinema Iran and he was committed to the society in which he lived,” he added.
“No state organization is sponsoring this event nor has any organization been asked for financial assistance. The program is being held with the sole support of the private sector,” Nabavi mentioned.
“A group of young people interested in Mollaqolipur volunteered to design posters and other material for the event. We would accept state sponsorship provided that it does not interfere with our objectives,” he mentioned.
Nabavi went on to say that the private sector should sponsor memorial events for great cineastes like deceased filmmaker Ali Hatami and others who are still alive. He also expressed his hope that it would happen in the near future.
He said that they planned to establish a foundation in the name of Rasul Mollaqolipur to conduct further research projects and to hold workshops, but establishing it has not been possible yet due to lack of budget.
Sources: tehrantimes.com
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