The winners were announced virtually last Friday. Also due to the current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival ran virtually this year.  

Directed by Amir-Hossein Torabi, the film is about Negar and Amir-Ali who are going to emigrate, but at the very last moment, they face a critical situation: their son, Bardia, goes missing. Now it is time to unfold all the family secrets.

The film written by Tala Motazedi also won the award for best screenplay and brought Shahab Hosseini the award for best actor.

The best actress award went to Mina Vahid for her role in “One Night in Tehran” directed by Farhad Najafi.

Farshad Mohammadi was selected as best cinematographer for “We Are All Together” by Kamal Tabrizi.

The award for best documentary went to “The Bridge of Victory” by Yasser Talebi. The film is about the construction of Iran’s North-South Railway in 1938 and the countrywide railway, which not only changed West Asia, but it also changed the whole world as it made Iran the “Bridge of Victory” for the Allies against Nazi Germany.

“Ocean Behind the Window” by Babak Nabizadeh was picked as best children’s film.

In the short film competition, the award for best film went to “Mandatory” by Javad Khorsha who also won the award for best director in this category.

The best screenplay award was presented to writer Panah Khodayari for “Pendulum”, while the best actor award went to Reza Mirhashemi for “The List”, and Sadaf Asgari was selected as best actress for her role in “Exam”.

Parviz Rostami won the award for best cinematographer for his collaboration in “Fifth Narcissus”, and “The Feast of the Goat” by Saeid Zamanian was picked as best children’s short.

“Gelak” by Sirus Kaffash was named best short documentary. The film tells the story of a group of girls on Hormoz in the Persian Gulf that, despite all the hardships and sufferings, are not willing to sell the soil of the island, which has medicinal and edible properties. Inspired by the mountains and beauty of the island and using plant colors, they create very beautiful shapes and thus make a living.

The award for best animation went to “Noise” by Mehdi Barqzadegan, and “The Sixth Unit” by Ali Afshari was named best experimental film.

The Iranian Film Festival (IFF) was launched in 2008 to support the Iranian film and culture in the Iranian-American community of the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.

It is the first independent Iranian film festival outside of Iran, with no affiliation to any political or religious organizations.

Source: Tehran Times