Brazilian Curta Cinema Festival awards Iranian ‘Animal’

The Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival – Curta Cinema – in Brazil presents an award to the acclaimed Iranian short film ‘Animal’ by Ark brothers.

Bahram and Bahman Ark won the best direction award of the Brazilian event held in Rio de Janeiro.

The 15-minute film is about a man who wants to pass the border unlawfully; so he hunts a ram and decides to escape disguised as the animal.

Ark brothers’ film won the second prize in the Cinéfondation category at the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival and the best short film award at the 21st Avanca Film Festival in Portugal.

‘Animal’ was picked the best film at the 34th Tehran International Short Film Festival and was also named best short at the 19th Iran Cinema Celebration.

The short film has so far gone on screen at a number of international film events, including the 37th Cambridge Film Festival in the UK, the 18th San Diego Asian Film Festival in the US, the 40th Poitiers Film Festival in France, the 46th du nouveau cinéma Film Festival in Canada, and the 40th Denver Film Festival in the US.

The 32nd Valencia International Film Festival in Spain, the 18th Izmir Short Film Festival in Turkey, the 13th Fantastic Film Festival in the US, the 18th Calgary International Film Festival in Canada, as well as the 23rd Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina are among the other international experiences of ‘Animal’.

The Curta Cinema has, since 1991, been one of the main showcases for short films in Brazil where more than 300 films of the most diverse genres and nationalities are shown annually.

The program is made up of Brazilian and international competitions, regional panoramas, themes, genres, and special focus programs dedicated to the production of a specific country.

The 2017 edition of the Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival was slated for November 1-8.

MG/MMF