Winners of the 35th Fajr International Film Festival (FIff) were announced, with ‘The Home’ from Iran snatching Golden Simorgh for Best Film in the main competition section.
The festival’s awards ceremony took place late Thursday at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall.
According to fajriff.com, Iran’s Culture Minister Reza Salehi-Amiri, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, Director of Iranian Cinema Organization Mohammad-Mehdi Heidarian, plus a large number of A-list Iranian and foreign film directors, producers, critics, journalists, academics, and stars attended the ceremony.
Addressing the participants, the secretary of the festival, Reza Mirkarimi said, “I would like to extend my gratitude to all those who worked round the clock to help me make this up-and-coming event possible. We are now more than ever determined to turn FIff into an annual event for those vying for global peace, justice and dignity both in their films and in their workings.”
Hosted by prominent actor Ashkan Khatibi, the ceremony was broadcast live in both English and Persian.
Full list of winners follows
International Competition (Cinema of Salvation)
Golden Simorgh for Best Film: ‘The Home’ by Asghar Yousefinejad, Iran
Silver Simorgh for Best Director: ‘Ivan D. Gaona, Guilty Men’, Colombia
Silver Simorgh for Best Actress: ‘Margita Gosheva, Glory’, Bulgaria
Silver Simorgh for Best Actor: ‘Stefan Denolyubov, Glory’, Bulgaria
Silver Simorgh for Best Script: ‘The Home’, Asghar Yousefinejad, Iran
Silver Simorgh for Special Jury Prize — Art Direction and Cinematography: Zhu Jinjing (Cinematography), ‘Wang Tou (Art Director), ‘Mr. No Problem’, (China, France)
Silver Simorgh for Best Short Film: ‘Online Shopping’ by Qasideh Golmakani, Iran
Members of the panel of jury in this section were: Florian Gallenberger (Germany), Jessica Woodworth (USA), Lech Majewski (Poland), Mieko Harada (Japan), Uberto Pasolini (Italy), Fatemah Motamed-Aria (Iran), and Rasoul Sadrameli (Iran).
Muhammad al-Ameen Award
‘Babaei’, Mozaffar Hosseinkhani Hezaveh, Iran
Asian Film Awards
Best Asian Film: ‘Returnee’ by Sabit Kurmanbekov, Kazakhstan
Best Asian Director: Shahrbanoo Sadat, ‘Wolf and Sheep’, Afghanistan/Denmark/France/Sweden
Best Asian Short Film: ‘Not Yet’ by Arian Vazirdaftari, Iran
Members of the panel of jury in this section were: Hamida Omarova (Azerbaijan), Omirbaev Darezhan Karazhanovich (Kazakhstan), Zeki Demirkubuz (Turkey), Nejib Ayed (Tunisia), and Kamal Tabrizi (Iran).
Interfaith Award
‘Knife in the Clear Water’ by Wang Xuebo, China
Jury members are Michał Legan (Poland), Katia Malatesta (Italy) and Hojatollah Ayoubi (Iran).
NETPAC Prize
‘The Home’ by Asghar Yousefinejad, Iran
The members of the jury in this section were: Anne Demy-Geroe (Australia), Rolando B. Tolentino (Philipines) and Houshang Golmakani (Iran).
Presided over by Reza Mirkarimi, the 35th edition of FIff took place from April 21 to 28 in Tehran.
