Iran’s ‘Among the Hills’ to vie at Vesoul filmfest

Iran’s ‘Among the Hills’ has been selected to vie at the 26th edition of the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema in France.

Directed by Mohammad-Reza Keivanfar, the movie is about the adventures of a teacher named Amir.

Amir enters a strange border area. He is supposed to teach in a nomadic school.

This school is an old bus with no students which is rented by the Education Office.

The bus owner comes to take the bus. Amir enters nomadic life and asks the parents to help him keep the school.

He notices the problems of nomadic women and children and faces self-immolation, poor health, ethnic intolerance and hard living conditions for girls in the region.

Due to the difficult circumstances, Amir must decide whether to continue his efforts or return to the city.

“Education is the foundation of any change in the world; particularly on women and children. With the help of women, the world can abandon its prejudices and problems much faster. The film tries to challenge the education system as a major factor in the creation and transformation of culture. I learned from my master Abbas Kiarostami that there is beauty even in the worst conditions. In this film, I try to narrate the problems of women and children in remote areas in a context of visual beauty,” Keivanfar said.

Amir Shams and Elham Jalali who are theater actors play the main roles of the film and the roles of other characters are given to the locals of the region.

Launched in 1995, the VIFF of Asian Cinema (Festival international des cinémas d'Asie) is an annual special-interest film festival focusing on the cinemas of Asia.

The 26th edition of the VIFF of Asian Cinema is slated for February 11 to 18, 2020.

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MG/AG