A letter from Eugene to Tehran: Let’s know each other better

A letter by Mayor Kitty Piercy of Eugene, in the US state of Oregon has been handed over to Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

The following is the translation of a report by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) on the letter by the American mayor:

Kitty Piercy, the mayor of Eugene, in the US state of Oregon, has written a letter to Tehran mayor expressing satisfaction with the establishment of cultural ties between the Oregon-based Archeological Legacy Institute (ALI) and the Documentary and Experimental Film Center (DEFC) in Iran.

The letter was timed to coincide with the eighth edition of an international festival for documentary films “Cinema Vérité” (November 30 – December 7) in Iran.

The Public Relations Office of the Cinema Vérité International Documentary Film Festival has released the letter which was handed over to Ghalibaf by Richard Pettigrew, the ALI executive director and an honorary guest of the 2014 Cinema Vérité film festival. The letter partly read:

[…] I have heard that the ALI, an Oregon-based institute, has recently started to establish cultural ties with the Documentary and Experimental Film Center based in Tehran. These two institutes have had cooperation through exchanging cinematic works for The Archaeology Channel (TAC) International Film and Video Festival and The Cinema Vérité International Documentary Film Festival which is held in Tehran each year.

I am very pleased that these yearly events have caused our citizens in Eugene and Tehran to get familiar with each other through fruitful exchanges of cultural and artistic works, and to get engaged in a cultural dialogue. I very much hope this contact continues to grow constantly and can serve the interests of the residents of the two cities.

I strongly believe that cultural cooperation between organizers of film festivals in our cities are a positive step toward establishing brotherly ties between the two countries based on good intentions.

Despite the fact that our cities are far apart, geographically, I think we have many things to share with and learn from each other. Hereby, I express my willingness and readiness to have cooperation and consultation with you to explore ways of narrowing the gap between us.

[…]

Kitty Piercy

Mayor of Eugene, Oregon, US