The 36th Fajr International Film Festival held a ceremony at Vahdat Hall in Tehran on Thursday by awarding the winners.
In the international competition section, Cinema Salvation, the seven-member jury included Polish filmmaker Joanna Kos-Krauze, Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski, Greek filmmaker Dimitri Athanitis, Indian director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Italian producer Giovanni Spagnoletti, Iranian cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari and Iranian actress Merila Zarei.
The feature film ‘Aga’ directed by Milko Lazarov, a co-production of Bulgaria, Germany and France, won this year’s top prize, the Golden Simorgh for Best Film, Mehr News Agency reported.
Russian filmmaker Alexy German Jr. received the award for best director for the film ‘Dovlatov’, a co-production of Russia, Poland and Serbia.
According to the official website of the event, Iranian production ‘Hattrick’ helmed by Ramtin Labbafi was picked as the winner of Best Script, while Iranian actress Mahoor Alvand was recognized as the Best Actress for her performance in the film.
The Best Actor award went to Croatian actor Leon Lucev for his performance in ‘The Miner’ directed by Hanna Slak, a joint entry from Slovenia and Croatia.
Cinematographer Richard Kendrick won Special Jury Prize for drama/biography ‘Song of Granite’, a co-production of Ireland and Canada, directed by Pat Collins.
‘Faith’ by Tatiana Fedorovskaya from Russia was voted by the jury as the Best Short Film in the competition.
Asian Film Awards
In the Asian Panorama section, the awards for Best Asian Film, Best Director and Best Short Film went to ‘Father and Son’ by Dung Ding Loung (Vietnam), ‘Patio’ Maryam Bahrololumi (Iran) and ‘Pedavore’ by Mohammad Kart (Iran), respectively.
Muhammad Al Ameen Award, for reflecting prophetic ethics and morality, was given to Majid Majidi’s ‘Beyond the Clouds’, a co-production of Iran and India, while the Interfaith Award was granted to ‘Grain’, a co-production of Turkey, Germany, France, Sweden and Qatar, by Turkish filmmaker and screenwriter Semih Kaplanglu.
NETPAC Prize was handed to Iranian film ‘Hendi & Hormoz’ of Abbas Amini. The award, dedicated to promote Asian cinema by spotlighting exceptional films and discovering new talents, was created last year.
Best First Film award went to Iranian filmmaker Pooya Badkoobeh for ‘Dressage’.
Cambodian documentary film director and screenwriter Rithy Panh, 54, was honored with the event’s Peace Prize over his lifetime achievement. Slovenian filmmaker Hanna Slak was also mentioned with an Honorary Diploma. Both Panh and Slak received their prizes from renowned American director Oliver Stone, who was a special guest of the festival.
