'Are You Volleyball?!' grabs US award

Iran’s short 'Are You Volleyball?!' has been awarded at the 2018 edition of the Virginia Film Festival in the US.

'Are You Volleyball?!' won the Audience Award for Narrative Short at the 31the edition of the US event recently hosted by the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia in the city of Charlottesville.

Written and directed by Mohammad Bakhshi, the film features a group of Arabic-speaking asylum seekers who try to make their way to the border of an English speaking country.

They get into a conflict with border guards every day up until a deaf-mute child becomes a catalyst for better communication between the two sides.

The short film has received more than 60 awards in Iran and at international festivals in less than a year.

'Are You Volleyball?!' has so far won awards such as Best Film Prize at the Al-Nahj Film Festival in Iraq, Best Film and Best Screenplay awards of the Short Film Competition section at the US Forum on Law, Culture & Society, Best Film at the BCN Sports Film Festival in Spain, Best Editor award at the Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest in Romania, Best Short Film Award at the Unknown Film Festival in Russia, and Best Short Film Award at the Changing Face International Film Festival in Australia.

SQ/MG