The festival was established after the assassination of Commander Soleimani to commemorate the IRGC Quds Force chief.
A number of officials, including the director of Iran’s Dramatic Arts Center Qader Ashena, Revayat Cultural Foundation director Mohammad Yashar Naderi and Kerman Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance director Mohamamdreza Alizadeh, attended the closing ceremony.
Speaking at the ceremony, Ashena said, “What we possess and are proud of are countless, but we are proud of our martyrs of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war. Commander Soleimani and the other martyrs entered the warzone where ISIS had decided to destroy the Iranian nation.”
He added that he is proud to have such committed and talented artists.
The ceremony continued with honoring several war veterans from Kerman Province and actor Reza Iranmanesh.
For his part, Iranmanesh said that Commander Soleimani was interested in art, and that he had once told him after watching a play, “You were present in the war with your plays, and now you have stood with your art. You should also continue with your art for the future.”
Next the winners were honored on stage.
In the playwright section, “Immortality” written by Asghar Garusi took first prize, while “Wave” by Sajjad Masudi and “Trivia about Hajji Qassem” by Saeid Mohammadi won second and third prizes respectively.
“Tahdigi” written by Kaveh Mahdavi, and “1:20 am” by Pejman Shahverdi also received honorable mentions in this section.
Saeid Badini received the award for best director for his play “General”.
The jury also selected “General”, “Letter to Hajji Qassem” and “Ring” to be performed during the 39th edition of the Fajr Theater Festival.
Saeid Barati was honored as the best actor for his role in the play “Ring” and actress Arezu Jafari was selected as best actress for her role in the play “Letter to Hajji Qassem”.
Mojtaba Khalili received the best stage designer award for the play “Lonely Bodies”.
The festival was inaugurated last Wednesday and troupes from across the country gave performances in Kerman and the villages nearby.
The Association of the Revolution and Sacred Defense Theater and the Revayat Foundation are the main organizers of the event.
Source: Tehran Times