January 16, 2013, Washington, D.C. – The Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA) has teamed up with the Noor Iranian Film Festival (NIFF), the first Iranian film festival competition outside of Iran, to bring the “Best of Noor Iranian Film Festival” to PAAIA chapters around the U.S. The 5^th Annual NIFF, which debuted in LA and enjoyed three special screenings throughout the country, will be visiting PAAIA chapters in Chicago, Houston, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco this year. The event is free for PAAIA members.

NIFF was created with the aim of shedding  “noor,” or light, on Iranian culture and heritage through the medium of cinema, and thus shares PAAIA’s core tenet of image-building. Given the troubling political climate currently surrounding Iran, the festival sees itself as an opportunity to allow filmmakers to create dialogue on a global scale, express themselves, and to build a community of Iranians and non-Iranians who will help preserve and promote the beauty and essence of Iranian culture, past and present. The festival also cultivates and promotes Iranian American talent in Hollywood.

“The tour allows Iranian Americans to enjoy the work of some of the most talented artists within our community, while also offering a more accurate image of our community and Iranian Americans,” said Saghi Modjtabai, the executive director of PAAIA.

In addition to informing people about Iran, Iranians, and Iranian culture, the tour aims to enrich the Iranian American community by providing a creative opportunity for dialogue and collaboration.

“We are excited about our collaboration with PAAIA in bringing ‘The Best of Noor Iranian Film Festival’ to other U.S. cities,” said the co-founder and director of the festival, Siamak Ghahremani. “These screenings will create a platform for the Iranian American community to be able to share a glimpse of our culture and heritage through film with their non-Iranian friends and colleagues.”

A list of selected titles for this tour will be announced in the coming weeks.

NIFF is currently accepting submissions for its 2013-2014 film festival, and we highly encourage the Iranian American community to participate. All films made by an Iranian, all films about Iran, and all films with Iranians in the cast/crew are accepted. The films will premiere in Los Angeles in the fall of 2013 and, like the winners of the 2012 festival, go on tour to different cities throughout the nation.

Be sure to continue to check the PAAIA website for updates about when Noor Film Festival is coming to a venue near you. Click here to learn more about the Noor Iranian Film Festival and the process for submitting a film for the 2013-2014 festival.