Iran drama ’23 People’ unveils poster

New war drama '23 People' directed by Mehdi Jafari has published first poster.

The historical drama, which is selected to compete at the main competition section of the 37th Fajr Film Festival, will be premiered at the Iranian film event.

’23 People’ manifests the bravery and heroism of some 23 teenage boys who were prisoners of Iraq-Iran war.

The gravity of their selflessness for their country has been the reason for a number of authors and filmmakers to develop projects about them.

In 1983, a group of teenage soldiers who had enrolled to defend their homeland got arrested by Iraqi army. Attempting to show how youngsters were unwillingly sent to the war, Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi president of the time, put on a show and masqueraded as a defender of people’s rights giving the 23 flowers and promising them to be freed soon.

His plans went in vein as the 23 heroes of our story went on a hunger strike which costed them eight years of incarceration.

Shooting for ’23 People’ took place in the capital city of Tehran and the southern Iranian city of Abadan in a three-month course.

The 37th Fajr Film Festival coincides with the ten-day Fajr ceremonies across Iran, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Since its establishment in 1982, the Fajr Film Festival has played a vital role in the development of Iranian Cinema.

Supervised by Iran’s Ministry of Culture, the festival hosts veteran directors and new filmmakers from Iran every year.

The 37th Fajr Film Festival is set to kick off on January 30 and will run until February 11 in Tehran and several other Iranian cities.

AA/MG