Centennial of the Iranian Cinema     The alternative films continued their pace steadily with the screening of films such as The Bride of the Sea produced by the late Arman (1965), Siavash at Persepolis produced by the late Ferreidun Rahnoma (1967), Brick and Mirror produced by Ebrahim Golestan (1967), The House of God produced by Jalal Moghaddam (1966), The Husband of Ahoo Khanom produced by Davood Mollapour (1968). With the screening of the films Kaiser and the Cow produced by Masoud Kimiaie and Darioush Mehrjouie in 1969, alternative films established their status in the film industry. Attempts for organizing a film festival that had commenced since 1954 within the framework of the Golrizan Festival, bore fruits with the Sepas Festival in 1969 and the endeavors of Ali Mortazavi which resulted in the formation of the Tehran World Festival in 1973. In the year 1978, the pre-revolution cinema disappeared from the arena just like all other pre-revolution cultural manifestations.   The photos of the film stars of the period were burnt with the cinemas in the frenzied revolutionary fires. With the success of the revolution in February 1978, a new current swept the Iranian cinema. In 1979, under the able guidance of Imam Khomeini, the first committee of cinema authorities was convened to set up the guidelines for cinema in conformity with the norms of the Islamic revolution. Profound shifts in the values of the film industry took place gradually. The deletion of elements relating to the pre-revolution cinema resulted in acute dearth of specialists and the film screening industry turned into a loss making industry. The auction of cinema theaters and the pertinent legal difficulties in the latter part of the seventies and early eighties created further difficulties for post revolution film industry. The imposed war in 1980 further elevated the difficulties. However, it was during these turbulent years that the Iranian cinema was reborn and rejuvenated.   The commencement of the Fadjr Film Festival in 1982 is an indication of the support and guidance provided by Islamic Republic to the legitimate film industry. With the production of the film The Repentance of Nasouh in 1983 by Mohsen Makhmalbaf , film makers such as Rasool Mollagholipour, Mohammad Reza Honarmand and Shahriar Bohrani commenced work at the Islamic Artistic Propaganda Constituency. Ebrahim Hatami Kia, the producer of the film Identity in 1987, heralded the birth of a new generation of post revolution film makers. With the screening of the film The Runner produced by Amir Naderi at the international film festival at Nantes, France, in 1985, the Iranian cinema entered a new phase in its history. The Free Cinema which was founded by Basir Nasibi in 1969 and had fostered film makers such as Nasser Gholamrezaie and Kianoush Ayari, commenced operation in the eighties under the auspices of The Youth Film Association of Iran and began production of short films. With the end of the eight year old war in 1988, another current overtook the Iranian film industry, attracting innumerable viewers to itself. The film Bride, produced by Behrooz Afkhami in 1990, is an example of a storytelling and attractive films, the productions of which have increased in recent years.   In 1988, with the screening of Abbas Kiarostami's film “Khaneh Doost Kojast (Where is the friend's house?), a product of the The Institute for Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults, the Iranian cinema, supported by the “Farabi Cinema Foundation, persued the trend set by the film The Runner with added frenzy. The perseverance and enthusiasm of young and experienced film makers, whose charismatic films actively participated in international film festivals, resulted in the attraction of additional world attention towards Iranian films. The film Under the Olive Trees produced by Abbas Kiarostami found its way to the film festival competition held at Cannes in 1997. The Iranian films reached the zenith of their splendor in the international arena during the year 1997 when the film Taste of Cherry produced by Abbas Kiarostami became the joint winner of the Cannes Palme d Or award at the festival. Along with the assumption of power by the reformist government on 22 May 1997, the Iranian cinema also entered a new phase of its entity. These are the years when the producers, directors and actors are having a proportional share in the success of their films. The Iranian cinema has entered its hundredth year while the first draft of the cinema law is being evaluated by the Majlis (the Iranian Parliament). Today Iranian cinema has a High Policy Making Council that was set up in 1999. It is celebrating its centenary when all the vocations in the industry have their own trade unions. Foreign investment in Iranian films is on the rise and a new generation of film makers such as Bahman Ghobadi and Samira Makhmalbaf has entered the scene. Our congratulations and tributes to the Iranian cinema on the occasion of its hundredth birth anniversary.