Iran’s ‘The Recess’ claims award at Progeny Short fest

The 18th Progeny Short Film Festival in the US has bestowed an award upon Iranian short film ‘The Recess’.

Written, produced and directed by Navid Nikkhah-Azad, ‘The Recess’ succeeded to grab the Best Short Film Award at the American screening event.

‘The Recess’ is about a 17-year-old school-girl who runs away from school to watch the football match of her beloved club.  

Sahar, along with three of her friends, is planning to exit the school during the break in order to watch the match between Esteghlal FC and Al Ain FC at Azadi Sports Complex.

Mozhan Kordi, Reyhaneh Naieean, Niloufar Shokouhinia, and Ghazal Khalili are on the cast list.

‘The Recess’ is the recipient of numerous awards from previous participations, including the Best Performance Award for Kordi at the Living Skies Student Film Festival in Canada in March, and the Best Short Film Award at the Oxford Film Festival (OxFilm) in Mississippi, the US, also held in March.

The short drama received the award for best short film at the 24th Johns Hopkins Film Festival, the 12th IndieFEST Film Awards, as well as the 15th San Francisco Frozen Film Festival, all held in the US.

Recently, ‘The Recess’ appeared at the 11th Festival Nacional de Cine Estudiantil (FENACIES) in Uruguay’s capital Montevideo, the 28th Adana Golden Boll International Film Festival in Turkey and the 43rd Lugo Film Week (SICA) in Spain.

On December 14, 2021, Nikkhah-Azad’s film will also go on screen at the International Social Film Festival of Castilla-La Mancha in Spain.  

Translated into ‘El Recreo’ in the Spanish language, the 12-minute short film ‘The Recess’ will soon hit the screen at the 15th Crossroads International Short Film Festival in Turkey.

The Progeny seeks to uplift filmmakers producing thought-provoking content showcasing a diverse range of styles, genres, and interests.

The event takes place annually in Blacksburg, Virginia, hosted by Virginia Tech’s School of Performing Arts.

The 18th Progeny fest wrapped up in Virginia on October 2, 2021.

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