The educational and practical workshop titled “Documentary Editing and How to Use Archives” was held on Sunday at Mellat Cineplex on the fifth day of the festival, with the participation of Sami van Ingen, a Finnish documentary filmmaker and film researcher.
At the start of the session, van Ingen said experimental film can be viewed as a form of research within cinematic art.
“You do not know where the filmmaking path will lead, and you discover along the way,” he said.
He added that while filmmakers do not want audiences to feel lost, that sense can sometimes turn into new interaction and thought.
“Concepts that make the audience ask themselves why they are watching this film emerge from experimental and trial-based cinema,” he noted.
Van Ingen went on to say that a unique feature of experimental cinema is the large volume of archival videos available to filmmakers.
“The art of cinema is to place different videos next to each other and present a new scene,” he said, adding that filmmakers can combine diverse footage to create something new.
He also noted that such practices can even benefit the environment by consuming less energy.
The 19th Iran International Documentary Film Festival, known as Cinema Verite, opened on Wednesday at the Mellat Cinplex in Tehran and would run from December 10-16, 2025.
The prestigious event showcases a diverse array of documentary films from across the globe, highlighting various social, political, and cultural issues.
IRNA