Ali Mosaffa’s ‘Absence’ wins at St Andrews filmfest

Iran, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic’s feature film ‘Absence’ has been awarded at the St Andrews Film Festival (SAFF) in Scotland.

The fourth edition of the Scotish film event has bestowed its best editing award to Hayedeh Safiyari for her work in ‘Absence’.

Written and directed by Ali Mosaffa, the 100-minute movie is about an Iranian man who visits Prague to investigate his father’s youth in the city.

He finds himself in the shoes of a third man who is almost dead and happens to be of Iranian origin.

‘Absence’ won a runner-up film prize at the Asian film competition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival in India.

The cast list includes Magdaléna Borová, Zuzana Krónerová, Klára Melísková, Adam Vacula, Zuzana Stivínová, and the director.

The SAFF is the first international film festival in the historic town of St Andrews where cinema was first unveiled in 1895. 

The event aims to create a new and unique platform for self-expression, to facilitate the visibility and development of Scottish filmmakers to an international audience, and to bridge the gap between aspiring and established filmmakers within the industry.

This year’s edition of the festival was held on November 30 to December 11, 2022.

AA/FM