TEHRAN, Nov. 24 (Mehr News Agency) -- Organizers of Tehran's 100-Second Film Festival plan to convert it into an international event.

A number of foreign films have been slated to compete in the two-day event, which will commence on February 19, 2009.

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The motto of this year's festival is "Interrogative Cinema", the secretariat of the festival Fazel Nazari mentioned during a press conference on Sunday.

He went on to say that the festival will have four sections namely Culture, Economy, Society and Resistance.

"The undeniable role of media in modern world will be explored in the Culture Section of the gala," he added.

In the Economy section, art is considered from the aspect of economy since like culture, it has an important role in art. The Social section of the gala will focus on sacrifice and philanthropy as essential elements in human societies, he mentioned.

The Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) is a national honor which will be reviewed in the Resistance Section of the festival. The young generation should be acquainted with these values, he mentioned.

"We held several workshops in other countries including Azerbaijan, Turkey and Syria in order to introduce young filmmakers with this festival," the Executive Secretary of the gala Behnam Bahadori said during the conference.

He went on to say that several countries including Turkey, Azerbaijan, Lebanon, Syria and Cyprus will take part in this edition of the festival.

The 100-Second Film Club is established on the sidelines of the festival, which will be attended by renowned artists. Also, the festival will hold workshops, he mentioned.

At the conference, the Deputy Director of the festival Hossein Rabbani Gharibi said that the jury of the festival is comprised of three groups: experts, juniors and experienced cineastes.

"The festival will also hold a Free Section in which only foreign filmmakers can participate," he concluded.

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