RIFF 2017 to screen Iranian films

The second edition of the Ridgefield Independent Film Festival in the US has scheduled to screen three films by Iranian filmmakers.

The festival, to be held in May 2017, will screen ‘Cradle’ directed by Zaniar Lotfi and ‘The Descendants’ directed by Yasser Talebi.

Also written by Talebi, ‘The Descendants’ is about a relationship. Jacob’s family worries about Farrokh, the son of the family. Farrokh left Iran to continue his studies abroad, but he has not been in touch with them for a long time. Jacob travels to Sweden to look for his son.

Talebi’s movie has so far received a number of international awards, including the best feature film award at the 14th Accolade Global Film Competition Award in the US and the best picture award at the 3rd Ammar Popular Film Festival in Iran.

Also written and produced by Lotfi, ‘Cradle’ is a 5-minute short film that narrates the story of a child who tries to take care of a newborn baby sleeping in a cradle.

“A little girl wants to study but she cannot do it because of her grandfather’s snoring which is not letting her baby brother to sleep. At the end an idea comes to the little girl’s mind,” its plot read.

The festival will also screen ‘Cold Breath’ directed and produced by Abbas Raziji.

The cast and crew of the film are not attending the festival due to Trump’s controversial travel ban of citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations, including Iran.

Launched in 2016, Ridgefield Independent Film Festival, created by local playwright and theatre director, Joanne Hudson, is a site-specific film festival that aims to make the world a more compassionate place through the sharing of stories from around the globe through cinema.

The festival is slated for May 19-21, 2017 to run in Ridgefield, Connecticut, the US.

MG/RSH