Greek filmfest screening Iranian movies

The 2019 edition of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival (TIFF) in Greece has been screening Iranian movies ‘6.5 per Meter’ (Just 6.5) and ‘The Warden’.

The Iranian titles are going on the Greek screen at the Open Horizons section of the Thessaloniki event on November 5 and 6.

Directed by Saeed Roustaee, ‘6.5 per Meter’ is a social drama that deals with the issue of illegal drug trade and trafficking.

“Samad is nobody’s fool. The narcotics officer has seen his share of a drug dealer’s lies and games, and his patience has come to run thin. While searching for the infamous drug baron Nasser Khakzad, he and his colleague Hamid scour the streets of Tehran, turning an overcrowded prison on its head ... Director Saeed Roustaee landed a huge Iranian box office hit with his second directorial work. This great action thriller is far more than just a fast-paced, skillfully staged cat-and-mouse game,” the Zurich Film Festival’s website praised the 135-minute ‘6.5 per Meter’.

Payman Maadi, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Parinaz Izadyar, Houman Kiaee, Farhad Aslani, Marjan Qamari, and Mohammad Ali Mohammadi are on the film’s cast list.

Directed by Nima Javidi, ‘The Warden’ depicts an old prison in the late 1960s in southern Iran to be evacuated as it is close to the city’s airport which is under development.

The head of the prison, Major Nemat Jahed, and his officers are in the midst of transferring the prisoners to the new facility.

Produced by Majid Motallebi, ‘The Warden’ was premiered on the opening day of the 37th Fajr Film Festival in Iran.

The film features popular actors such as Navid Mohammadzadeh, Parinaz Izadyar, Atila Pesyani, Setareh Pesyani, Habib Rezaee, Mani Haqiqi, Esmaeel Pourreza and Mohammad-Rasoul Safari.

Score mixing for the film was handled by Adam Schmidt who had previously worked on projects such as ‘The Dark Knight Rises’, ‘Inception’, and ‘Sherlock Holmes’.

‘The Warden’ received the awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Navid Mohammadzadeh), Best Cinematography (Houman Behmanesh), and Best Film at the 21st Iran Cinema Celebration.

The TIFF has become one of the Southeast Europe's primary showcases for the work of new and emerging filmmakers.

The event features the International Section, a panorama of Greek films, the New Horizons program, the Balkan Survey, and numerous retrospectives and tributes to leading figures in the world of film.

The Festival is competitive with the International Section jury awarding several prizes each year, most notably the ‘Golden Alexander’ for Best Feature-Length Film.

The 60th edition of the TIFF has been slated for October 31-November 10, 2019.

Read more:

‘6.5 Per Meter’ int’l achievements

ifilm exclusive report on Iranian feature ‘The Warden’

Tokyo filmfest kicks off with ‘6.5 per Meter’

MG/MG