Iran doc to go on One World screen

Iranian documentary ‘Women with Gunpowder Earrings’ has been selected to go on screen at the 21st edition of the One World Film Festival in the Czech Republic.

Directed by Reza Farahmand, the doc is about Noor Al Helli, a female journalist who covers stories about Syrian and Iraqi women and children in the war against the Daesh terrorists.

In December 2017, the film won the best feature-length documentary award at the 11th Cinema Verite, Iran’s major international festival of documentary. It also brought Farahmand the award for best director at the national competition section.

‘Women with Gunpowder Earrings’ took part at the 71st Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland as well as the 8th ÍRÁN:CI Film Festival in the Czech Republic.

It was nominated for the best film from the audience's point of view at the Germany’s 2018 Dok Leipzig and is on screening schedule at the 15th international documentary film festival ZagrebDox in Croatia.

Jury of the 16th Signes de Nuit International Film Festival in France recently awarded the doc and released a statement on ‘Women with Gunpowder Earrings’ where it hails Farahmand’s bravery for taking the camera close to the subjects, giving the audience a glimpse into the severe tensions on the front line, and people’s suffering.

The jury also commended the film for having succeeded in bringing to light the ambiguity and uncertainty in the words of Daesh supporters.

The One World is one of the largest human rights film festivals in the world, held annually in Prague and other 36 cities of the Czech Republic, with a selection later shown in Brussels and other countries.

The festival deals with quality documentary films on social, political, environmental, media and human rights issues.

The 2019 edition of the One World is slated for March 6-17.

MG/MG