Phoenix Awards announces winners

Mehdi Jafari’s war movie ’23 People’ has won award at the 8th Phoenix Cinematic Awards in Iran.

The film, that has recently succeeded to grab Golden Simorgh for Best Film with a National View from the 37th Fajr Film Festival, has once again succeeded to win the jury’s nod and took home the Best Film Award from the 8th edition of the Phoenix Cinematic Awards.

’23 People’ manifests the bravery and heroism of some 23 teenage boys who were prisoners of Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

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 cost them eight years of incarceration.

‘Midday Adventures: Trace of Blood’ by Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian was also selected as the second Best Film at the Awards ceremony and received an award too.

Since its establishment, the Phoenix Cinematic Awards has been held annually to screen selected films for the film critics who review them from the Islamic revolution point of view.

This year edition of the cinematic event was held February 22, 2019.

AA/MM