TEHRAN -- Veteran Iranian actors Ezzatollah Entezami, Jamshid Mashayekhi, Mohammad-Ali Keshavarz, Ali Nasirian, and Davud Rashidi were commemorated during a ceremony in Tehran’s Farhang Theater Hall here on Sunday evening.
Organized by the Farabi Cinema Foundation (FCF), the event also paid tribute to the deceased actor Ali Hatami (1944-1996), the founder of Ghazali Cinematic Town and the director of great hits and TV series including “Mother” and “Hezar-Dastan”.
Speaking at the ceremony, Director of FCF Mohammadreza Jafari-Jelveh said that this is a ceremony honoring masters of art, theater and cinema, and those with years of experience.
“This ceremony is to respect the national cinema, the Iranian traditional cinema and the cinema of hope, which is rooted in the cinema of Ali Hatami,” he added.
The ceremony continued with a music video about Hatami, in which parts of his movies were screened.
Hatami’s great efforts in making Ghazali Town were also depicted in the music video, in which several actors had asked to name the town after Hatami.
Next, actress Leila Hatami, daughter of Ali Hatami, was called on stage to receive her father’s lifetime achievement award inscribed by master of calligraphy Gholamhossein Amirkhani.
The ceremony continued with the paying of tributes to the masters. Entezami and Keshavarz were not able to attend the ceremony due to recent health issues.
Mashayekhi was called on stage where he made a brief speech saying it is too late to honor Hatami now, “he should have been honored when he was alive.”
Nasirian expressed his thanks to the Farabi Foundation, which helped produce films after the Islamic Revolution (1979).
Rashidi also expressed his appreciation to the organizers of the event.
RM/YAW
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