63 films were requested to participate in the festival which 22 of them were approved for the "Competition of Iranian Cinema" section.[3] For the first time, FIFF had had opening ceremony that took place on 31 January 1998, at the City Theater in Tehran, Iran. Also for the first time, press conference for each film of the competitive sections was held at the Sahra Cinema [fa].[6] elimination of the "Debut Films" section is another feature of festival's this edition.[7]
The "Competition of International Cinema" section in the festival was introduced for the second time. The first time was in 1990.[2] The section was added in order to FIFF accredit by FIAPF as a competitive international film festival.[7]Sheila Whitaker mentioned that this was the first time in the festival's history, held an international competition with an international jury, headed by Abbas Kiarostami.[8] At the closing ceremony, Kiarostami read out a statement in which he made it clear that the jury felt it impossible to give awards to foreign films that could only be screened in Iran with major cuts.[c][8]
The "Iranian Film Market" (IFM) was established and took place during the festival. For example, National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), the central agency of Indian cinema, sent a delegation to the IFM and spent ₹83,864 (equivalent to ₹380,000 or US$4,500 in 2023) at this market.[9]
Critical response
16th FIFF marked by a powerful selection committee that did not allow many commercial films to enter into competition section. An Audience Award also introduced this year. All these made the FIFF regain the credibility it had in the past, i.e. before the politicians not familiar with cinema took charge.[10] However, impact of the former government's policies still remained.[11]