‘Saad’s Olive Tree’ wins award at MENA filmfest

The 2021 edition of the Hague Film Festival MENA in the Netherlands has awarded Iranian short flick ‘Saad’s Olive Tree’.

Directed by Ahmad Zayeri, the title received the award for best short film at the fourth edition of the event.

The 22-minute film tells the story of Saad, a boy with big dreams who loves football. He loses his eyes and friends in a mortar explosion and subsequently locks himself up at home. Then his mother encourages him to go out again with so many efforts and creativity.

‘Saad’s Olive Tree’ has so far won the awards for Audience Choice, Best Dubbing, and Best Kid Actor at the Irvington film festival in the US, Best film award at the Earl Court International Film Festival in the UK, and Best Screenplay award at Pakistan’s Asia Peace Festival.

Best Director Award and the jury’s special mention for Best Film at the 14th Manchester International Short Film Festival in the UK and nomination for Best Dramatic Short Film award at the 2017 Taipei Children Film Festival in Taiwan are also among the achievements by ‘Saad’s Olive Tree’.

It has gone on screen at the 6th Delhi International Film Festival in India, the 16th Garden State Film Festival in the US, the 9th Skepto International Film Festival in Italy, and the DYTIATKO International Children’s Television Festival in Ukraine.

According to the official website of the MENA, the festival “aims to portray a contemporary view of the cultural, political, social and artistic attributes of West Asia and Northern Africa through the eyes of filmmakers from these regions.”

The 4th edition of the festival was held on May 20-22, 2021.

AA/MG