‘Special Award’ honored at Ammar

Sayyed Ali Sayyedi’s ‘Special Award’ has been honored at the 9th edition of Ammar Popular Film Festival in Iran.

The festival honored the feature film ‘Special Award’, which narrates the story of a child who wishes to have a bicycle, but his family cannot buy him the bike due to a financial hardship. He takes part in a cultural competition organized at a mosque that awards the winner a bicycle.

However, no movie taking part in that Feature Film section managed to grab the lantern for best film.

In the Medium-Length Films section, director Yusef Jafari received the Lantern for Best Director for his movie ‘Needle’.

Meanwhile, the Special Lantern of this section was given to ‘Mastoureh’, made by Elham Hadi-Nejad.

The festival also awarded the short films ‘#Don’t Send’ by Saman Ghanaemi and ‘It’s at an End’ directed by Reza Keshavarz.

Several documentaries also grabbed awards in the prestigious festival.

The 9th edition of Ammar Popular Film Festival kicked off on December 30, 2018 and wrapped up in Tehran on January 10.

The festival goes against the promotion of “individualism and extreme enjoyment without caring about the society's troubles and other human suppression,” the event’s official website reads.

The festival aims “to raise real awareness and responsibility among the general public,” the website said, adding that the event’s mission is to create an atmosphere in which independent filmmakers and thinkers can gather together.

SQ/MM