The “Poetic Filmmaking” workshop, focusing on cinematic experiences from Iran and around the world, was held on Sunday, 30 November at Honar Shahr Aftab Cineplex in Shiraz as part of the 43rd Fajr International Film Festival. The session was led by Iranian filmmaker Hatef Alimardani and brought together filmmakers, students, and cinema enthusiasts interested in the aesthetics and philosophy of poetic cinema.
At the beginning of the workshop, Alimardani divided his talk into two main sections: poetic cinema and the transmission of experience in filmmaking. He explained that poetic cinema is fundamentally experience-driven and rooted in emotion and rhythm rather than classical storytelling. “Poetic cinema is not primarily narrative or plot-oriented,” he said. “It is a cinema connected to feeling, rhythm, and a slower pace.” He cited the works of filmmakers such as Abbas Kiarostami, Sohrab Shahid Saless, Federico Fellini, and directors of Eastern European cinema as key examples of this approach, noting that poetic cinema deliberately moves away from conventional storytelling structures.
Emphasizing his personal path into filmmaking, Alimardani explained that his journey to cinema began with poetry and music. “I come to cinema from poetry,” he said. “I have worked for many years as a poet and songwriter in the field of music, and that background deeply shapes my cinematic thinking.” He added that ideas do not always emerge from written scripts, but can be born from a single image, a poster, a photograph, or even an unexpected moment.
Alimardani further elaborated on the nature of poetic cinema, stressing the distinction between seeing and merely watching. “Poetic cinema is about seeing, not just watching,” he noted. He rejected the notion that poetic films are inherently inaccessible to audiences, arguing that there is also a form of poetic cinema that remains relatable and understandable. “It’s not true that if a film is difficult to understand, it automatically becomes poetic,” he said. “The key is moving beyond classical narration. Poetic cinema must first pass through structure and then transcend it.”
The 43rd Fajr International Film Festival is currently underway in Shiraz from November 26 to December 3, 2025, hosting screenings, workshops, and discussions that bring together filmmakers and cinema professionals from Iran and around the world.
