Bangladesh fest to receive ‘Walnut Tree’

Iranian movie ‘Walnut Tree’ has been slated to take part in the Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) in Bangladesh.

Directed by Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian, the movie will go on screen at the Asian Film Competition section of 20th edition of the Bangladeshi event.

Based on a true story, ‘Walnut Tree’ is a film about the chemical bombings of a region in northwestern Iran by the US-backed former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

Written by Ebrahim Amini and Hossein Hassani, ‘Walnut Tree’ enjoys famous Iranian actors such as Peyman Maadi, Mina Sadati and Mehran Modiri.

The film previously participated in the Fajr Film Festival and garnered Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Director awards.

‘Walnut Tree’ has already been screened at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia, the Moscow International Film Festival in Russia, and the Shanghai International Film Festival in China.

The flick is also the recipient of the best film award at the 20th Baikal International Film Festival in Russia.

Since 1977, the DIFF has been promoting a healthy culture in the film industry in Bangladesh with the main theme of “Better Film, Better Audience, Better Society”.

Some 200 films from 60 countries compete at the DIFF in the following categories: Asian Competition Section, Retrospective, Bangladesh Panorama, Cinema of the World, Children’s Film, Short and Independent Film, Women Filmmakers Section, and Spiritual Films Section.

The festival’s website states the “DIFF is a bold expression of resistance against the decadence, vulgarity and cheap commercialism that pervades the mainstream Bangladesh film industry”.

The 20th edition of Dhaka fest is scheduled for January 15-23, 2022.

AA/MG