Pakistan screening Iranian ‘Zero to Podium’

An Iranian cultural festival in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad has been screening ‘Zero to Podium’.

The cultural festival, opened on Thursday, includes film screening programs, traditional music performances and Persian art exhibitions.

Among the films selected for screening are ‘We Have a Guest’ by Mohammad-Mehdi Asgarpour, ‘Rana’s Silence’ by Behzad Rafiee, ‘Sweetheart’ by Jalal Dehqani, ‘Season of Narges’ by Negar Azarbaijani, ‘Mermaid’ by Masoud Aqababaeean, ‘Track 143’ by Narges Abyar, and ‘Zero to Podium’ by Sahar Mosayyebi.

Mossayebi’s film, premiered at Iran’s Cinema Verite and shown at the documentary competition section of the Fajr Film Festival, is produced by Mahtab Keramati as well as Tahoura Abolqasemi and stars Shahrbanou, Soheila, and Elaheh Mansourian, three Iranian female Wushu champions.

It narrates the story of the sisters, beginning from their homeland in Isfahan Province, ending at the international Wushu competition in Indonesia.

The Mansourian sisters have brought several international titles to Iran from different global and Asian martial arts competitions.

None of the scenes captured in the film is made up. Mansourian sisters- Elaheh, Shahrbanou and Soheila- actually showed their life as it has been.

The docufiction depicts all their hardships and deprivation despite gaining world championship title.

‘Zero to Podium’ has gone on screen at several global events and won national and international honors such as the best director award at the Cinema d’iDEA Film Festival in Italy, best debut feature award at the 27th Raindance Film Festival in the UK, and best documentary award at the 2019 Milano International FICTS Festival in Italy.

ifilm website has published a comprehensive exclusive report on the film. Click here to watch the report.

The Iranian cultural festival in Pakistan is also hosting Avaye Barbod, an Iranian traditional music ensemble led by Faramarz Izi, scheduled to give performances at the Islamabad Club on Monday.

The festival, slated to come to an end on November 30, is organized by Iran’s cultural office in Islamabad and the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.

MG/MG