People are seen at the 40th Tehran International Short Film Festival in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 19, 2023. The 40th Tehran International Short Film Festival opened in Iran's capital Tehran on Thursday, the official news agency IRNA reported.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

People attend the 40th Tehran International Short Film Festival in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 19, 2023. The 40th Tehran International Short Film Festival opened in Iran's capital Tehran on Thursday, the official news agency IRNA reported.(Photo: Xinhua)

 

People pose for a photo at the 40th Tehran International Short Film Festival in Tehran, Iran, on Oct. 19, 2023. The 40th Tehran International Short Film Festival opened in Iran's capital Tehran on Thursday, the official news agency IRNA reported.(Photo: Xinhua)

 
The 40th Tehran International Short Film Festival opened in Iran's capital Tehran on Thursday, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The six-day event, known as Iran's most prestigious film festival, features two competition sections, namely the Iranian Cinema Competition and the International Cinema Competition, IRNA added.

According to information posted on the festival's website, 58 short films out of the 7,216 submissions from 131 countries have been selected to be screened in the international competition section.

The selected films will compete in the sections of short fictions, animations, documentaries and experimental films.

Mehdi Azarpendar, the festival's secretary and CEO of the Iranian Youth Cinema Society, revealed in August that Spain, India, France and the United States had the most entries.

Azarpendar said 1,787 films were submitted for the national section, comprising 1,185 fictions, 267 documentaries, 222 experimental movies and 113 animated movies.