Saloojee comments, "We are pleased to have hosted the first South African Film Festival in Iran and to have had some of South Africa's most talented filmmakers travel to here to attend this event. We are delighted to have initiated dialogue between filmmakers from Iran and South Africa through the festival and it is our intention to make the South African Film Festival in Iran an annual event.
"We are also thrilled to have had Yesterday open our festival with producer, Anant Singh and director Darrell James Roodt introducing the film and with the great response Yesterday received from the local audience here."
Says Singh, "Iran has a very strong filmmaking community and it was an honour to be able to present Yesterday to an Iranian audience. We are also looking at collaborative partnerships to co-produce films, both in South Africa and in Iran. On the whole the South African Film Festival in Iran was a resounding success."
The South African Film Festival in Iran was attended by a strong contingent of South African filmmakers, among whom were Ian Gabriel (Forgiveness), Khalo Matabane (Conversations on a Sunday Afternoon), Francois Verster (The Mother's House) and Munier Parker (Tamat).
Afsoon Azami, executive assistant to the ambassador in Tehran, stated, "I am deeply moved by Yesterday. It is the first film that I have seen in an African language, yet I felt its powerful message. The story of Yesterday is really touching."
The 11th International Film Festival of Kerala in Trivandrum, India, opened on Friday, 8 December 2006, featuring a retrospective of films produced by Singh and Videovision Entertainment. Among the films being featured are Sarafina!, The Stick, Yesterday, Paljas, Red Dust, The Long Run and Cry, The Beloved Country.
Singh is attending the festival with Roodt, who is serving on the jury of the festival.
"India is the largest filmmaking country in the world, and it is a special honour for me that the Kerala International Film Festival has decided to honour me and with a retrospective of films that I have produced," says Singh.
"This is an accolade that is shared with the thousands of people that have worked on all these films, and the exceptional talents and commitment that went into getting them made. I am looking forward to watching some of the films again, like The Stick which I have not seen in many years," he concludes.
