Big Muddy filmfest honors Iranian titles

The 42nd edition of the Big Muddy Film Festival in the US has honored three Iranian titles.

‘Driving Lesson’ directed by Marzieh Riahi, ‘One Night’ by Aida Alimadadi, and ‘In Between’ directed by Aliyar Rasti were among the winners that the US event announced on March 2, 2020.

‘Driving Lesson’ won the Best (Long) Narrative award. ‘In Between’ received Best (Long) Narrative Runner Up award. And Best (Short) Narrative Winner award went to ‘One Night’.

‘In Between’ narrates the story of a woman who must find a way to clear herself from being accused of a murder.

A crime scene investigation is in progress. A young woman is made to reenact the events leading up to the tragic death of her friend for a detective and his assistant. She maintains that it was an accident and that she’s innocent, but he has his suspicions that it was not.

Saber Abar, Neda Jebraeeli, Soheila Salehi and Sajjad Hamidian are among the cast members of the film.

‘One Night’ is about Iran, a middle aged widow, who is stalked by a memory from her deceased husband. Overwhelmed by the grief of his absence, she is led to an act of fierce melancholia in order to cope with it.

‘Driving Lessons’, starring Linda Kiani, Alireza Sanifar, Salar Khamseh, and Sanaz Mesbah, is about Bahareh, who must have her traditional chauvinistic husband accompany her during driving lessons so that she and her instructor are not left together without a third party’s presence.

The Big Muddy Film Festival is the oldest student-run independent film festival in the US. It is known for a strong tradition of encouraging independent, innovative, experimental, and documentary cinema that has pushed the language of cinema arts in general. Started in 1979, the Big Muddy remains a significant cultural event in the local community as well.

MG/MG