Religion Today festival screening ‘Holy Bread’

Iranian acclaimed documentary ‘Holy Bread’ has been competing at the Religion Today Film Festival in Italy.

Made by the late documentarian Rahim Zabihi and produced by Touraj Aslani, the documentary is participating in the 24th edition of the Italian event.

‘Holy Bread’ is about some cross-border couriers who try to make ends meet by smuggling goods into Iran.

On foot, they carry their loads along mountain paths that are rocky, steep, and either slippery due to snow or blisteringly hot. Along the way, many of them suffer injuries, die in blizzards, or are shot by border police.

The powerful scenes of the men’s journeys are matched by their harrowing stories. No one chooses to become a cross-border courier; it is simply an unavoidable consequence of not having any other form of work.

The documentarian followed the workers for nine years to document the impact of living like a human pack mule. ‘Holy Bread’ gives exposure to a group of mostly men, who, driven by poverty, hunger, and despair, operate in the margins of society.

‘Holy Bread’ won awards such as the Jury Award at the ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival in Croatia, the Club Alpino Italiano Golden Award for and the Peace and Human Rights Award of the main competition section at the Trento Film Festival in Italy, as well as Special Youth Jury Award at the Ulju Mountain Film Festival in South Korea.

It also went on screen at some global events, including the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in the US, the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Canada, and the Trento Film Festival in Italy.

The 24th edition of the Religion Today Film Festival has been slated for September 22-29, 2021.

This edition of the festival has chosen Iranian filmmaker Elaheh Nobakht as a jury member.

Read more:

South Korean jury honors Iranian ‘Holy Bread’

‘Holy Bread’ scoops awards at Trento Film Festival

Iranian ‘Holy Bread’ wins at ZagrebDox

Religion Today festival to screen ‘Before Darkness’

Elaheh Nobakht to join Religion Today festival as jury member

MG/MG