Ammar Festival holds special screenings

On the opening day of the 9th annual Ammar Popular Film Festival (APFF), two of the festival’s feature films were granted special screening privileges after high audience demand.

‘Friday Flower’ and ‘Mahmoud’ were two of the festival’s feature films that were given additional time slots for screening due to popular demand from the audience.

‘Friday Flower’ directed by Mohammad-Reza Haji-Gholami narrates the story of a teenager who has a hard time getting along with immigrant Afghan youth.

When he finds out that one of the boys’ fathers was a veteran in the war against Daesh (ISIS) as a Guardian of the Shrine, their friendship kicks off with interesting events taking place along the way.

‘Mahmoud’ directed by Ali Zoheiri, chronicles the life of Guardian of the Shrine martyr Mahmoud Morad Eskandari.

Eskandari was a 19-year old who volunteered to be deployed to Syria in order to fight Daesh (ISIS), persistently following up on his case until his wish was eventually granted.

Guardians of the Shrine, also known as Holy Shrine Defenders, are a group of soldiers who volunteer to defend sacred Muslim sites and shrines against terrorist attacks committed by terrorist organizations such as Daesh (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, among others.

APFF is aimed at raising awareness and social responsibility in various issues including problems facing society and human suppression.

The festival seeks to provide an atmosphere where independent filmmakers and intellectuals can congregate in order to take part in various workshops, discuss issues facing the world, and have their voices heard by a global audience.

The event is currently underway in Tehran and other cities until January 10, 2019.

MB/FM