The 2021 FIFF winners have been announced. This is the place to be to see who won big at the 38th Fajr International Film Festival.
The curtain fell on this year’s hybrid edition, presided over by Mohammad Mehdi Asgarpour, on Wednesday, 2 June. Charsou Cineplex hosted the virtual closing ceremony at 11:30 am Tehran local time. The most anticipated moments of the awards ceremony included a statement by Director Asgarpour.
Addressing the ceremony, Festival Director said: As you know, due to the global pandemic we had to cancel last year’s festival. We watched closely other festivals and gained valuable experiences along the way. In fact, we also played a part in garnering these health guidelines for others to follow. They helped us organize this year’s hybrid festival – part in-person participation and part virtual.
The award-winning director and screenwriter added: We had over 300 film screening programs as well, while following social distancing measures and health protocols. The number of in-person audiences in different sections were high. It’s very important and valuable that we could organize the festival amid restrictions.
The winners of this year’s festival received their awards online. The festival ran from May 26 to June 2.
The names of the winners for the 38th Fajr International Film Festival are as follows:
International Competition
Best Film
Natural Light directed by Denis Nagy, produced by Inese Boka-Grube, Caroline Piras, Melanie Blocksdorf (Hungary, Latvia, France, Germany)
Best Director
Denis Cote for Social Hygiene (Canada)
Best Actress
Laura Birn for Helene (Finland, Estonia)
Best Actor
Hamid Farokhnejad for Major (Iran)
Best Script
Ferit Karahan, Gulistan Acet for Brother’s Keeper (Turkey, Romania)
Best Short Film
The White Wall by Andrea Brusa, Marco Scotuzzi (Italy)
Special Mention for Short Film
Emergency by Maryam Esmikhani (Iran)
International Competition Jury (Cinema Salvation)
Mirjana Karanovic (Serbia), Brillante Ma Mendoza (Philippines), Laila Pakalnina (Latvia), Elma Tataragic (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Morten Kaufmann (Denmark), Fatemeh Motamed-Arya (Iran), Shahram Mokri (Iran)
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Eastern Vista
Best Asian Film
Asteroid by Mahdi Hosseinivand Alipour (Iran)
Best Director
Alireza Samadi for Staging (Iran)
Best Script
Ameen Nayfeh for 200 Meters (Jordan, Palestine Qatar, Sweden, Italy)
Best Actress
Leetae- Gyeom for I Don’t Fire Myself (Korea)
Outstanding Achievement – Cinematographer of the film
Cao Jinling for Anima (China)
Best Short Film
Bethlehem 2001 by Ebrahim Handal (Palestine)
Eastern Vista Jury (Panorama of Films from Asian and Islamic Countries)
Fatma AL-Remaihi (Qatar), Diana Ashimova (Kazakhstan), Marina Gulbahari (Afghanistan), Mahmut Fazil Coskun (Turkey), Mastaneh Mohajer (Iran)
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First Film Award
Botox by Kaveh Mazaheri (Iran, Canada)
First Film Jury
Dina Iordanova (Bulgaria), Loreta Gandolfi (Italy), Morteza Farshbaf (Iran)
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Muhammad Al-Ameen Award
Fear by Ivaylo Hristov (Bulgaria)
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Interfaith Award
The Dogs Didn’t Sleep Last Night by Ramin Rasouli (Afghanistan)
Interfaith Jury
Magali Van Reeth (France), Magimai Pragasam (India), Habib Reza Arzani (Iran)
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Fipresci Award
200 Meters by Ameen Nayfeh (Jordan, Palestine Qatar, Sweden, Italy)
Fipresci Jury
Aylin Tasciyan (Turkey), Giovanni Vimercati (Italy), Omid Roohani (Iran)
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NETPAC Award
Major by Ehsan Abdipour (Iran)
NETPAC Jury
Italo Spinelli (Italy), Anne Demy Geroe (Australia), Farhad Tohidi (Iran)