Iran’s ‘Breathing’ wins HAPPIFEST award in US

Iranian title ‘Breathing’ has been picked as Judges Award Narrative Short Winner at the 15th edition of the Annual Houston Asian American & Pacific Islander Film Festival (HAAPIFEST) in the US.

Directed by Farshid Ayyoubinejad, ‘Breathing’ is a short film about a group of stone factory workers who hide in a dark room every time an insurance inspector pays the factory a visit, but this time the scenario goes different.

The short has gone on screen at several global events, including the 2019 Busan International Short Film Festival in South Korea, the 21st Festival Internacional de Cortometrajes de Vila-Real in Spain, the 2019 VICOLI CORTI Film Festival in Italy, the 6th Star Film Festival in Croatia, Festival Internacional de Cine bajo la Luna de Islantilla in Spain, and the Beeston Film Festival in the UK.

It has won a number of awards at events such as the 2018 Lifft India | Filmotsav-World Cine Fest, the 2019 Construir Cine International Labor Film Festival and the 2019 UNCIPAR International Short Film Festival, both in Argentina.

The HAAPIFEST mission is to promote and develop “Asian and Asian-American innovators in the film and entertainment industry, promote Houston as a cultural destination for the arts, and educate wider communities through the visual storytelling of Asians and Asian-Americans.”

The 15th HAAPIFEST was held on June 20-28, 2019 in Houston, Texas, displaying more than 50 new shorts and feature films to highlight and celebrate the diversity of culture, food, and family, to support artists and filmmakers.

MG/AG