Noor Iranian Film Festival

The Noor Iranian Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Los Angeles, California, founded by cultural producer Siamak Ghahremani and co-founder Anthony Azizi in 2007. The festival's namesake comes from the word Nur, also spelled Noor, meaning to shed light or "noor," on Iranian culture and heritage through Iranian cinema.{{cite web|last=Noor Film Festival|title=NIFF Mission|url=http://noorfilmfestival.com|publisher=Noor Film Festival|accessdate=9 April 2014}} A non-profit, non-religious, and non-political organization, the Noor Iranian Film Festival (NIFF) was created to shed light, or ‘noor,’ on Persian culture, helping to express the beauty of a culture that is commonly misperceived due to its portrayal in the media.{{Cite web|last=G|first=Vida|date=2014-11-03|title=Noor Iranian Film Festival|url=http://eeworldnews.com/noor-iranian-film-festival/|access-date=2021-02-12|website=The Experience Magazine|language=en-US}} Additional to the main annual festival in Los Angeles, a tour of the program has made several return trips to cities such as Daytona Beach, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.{{cite web|last=de Yampert|first=Rick|title=Noor film festival sheds light on Iran|url=http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20140211/living/140219971|website=News-Journal Online |accessdate=11 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=PAAIA Takes the Noor Iranian Film Festival on Tour|date=23 January 2013 |url=http://www.paaia.org/CMS/paaia-takes-the-noor-iranian-film-festival-on-tour.aspx|publisher=PAAIA|accessdate=11 April 2014}}

The Los Angeles festival has been held at such venues as the James Bridges Theater on the UCLA Campus, Laemmle's Music Hall 3 in Beverly Hills and Magnin Auditorium at the Skirball Cultural Center. It has taken place every year since 2007, with the exception of 2010, where due to Iran's political uprising in 2010, and out of respect for the people in Iran, the festival decided to postpone its 4th festival to 2011. The postponement was also due to a lack of sponsorship and seed money for the festival.{{cite web|title=4th Annual Noor Film Festival Announces Award Winners: "Circumstance" Sweeps Three Categories|url=http://www.prlog.org/11617255-4th-annual-noor-film-festival-announces-award-winners-circumstance-sweeps-three-categories.html|publisher=The Burgett Group|accessdate=11 April 2014}}