Karlovy Vary fest awards Iranian director

The 56th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) in the Czech Republic has honored Iranian director Sadaf Foroughi.

Iranian drama ‘Summer with Hope’ received the Grand Prix – Crystal Globe at the Czech event, the organizers announced on Saturday.

The film tells the story of a young swimmer in the north of Iran who is training for the national championships with his new coach.

But the alliance between the two young men elicits disapproval from the people around them.

Accepting her award Foroughi said “We live in a world full of violence and discrimination; I hope that our stories bring peace and tranquility”.

The special jury award went to ‘You Have to Come and See It’ by Jonás Trueba from Spain, and Beata Parkanová from the Czech Republic won best director award for ‘The Word’.

‘The Word’ also also brought Martin Finger the best actor award, while the awards for best actresses were pesented to Mariam Khundadze and Taki Mumladze for ‘A Room of My Own’ from Georgia.

Adela Komrzy and Tomas Bojar from the Czech Republic received the best documentary award – Proxima for ‘Art Talent Show’, and the Proxima special jury prize was given to the Spanish-Argentine film ‘La Pietà’.

‘Zalava’ by Arsalan Amiri and ‘Like a Fish on the Moon’ by Dornaz Hajiha were the other representatives of Iran at the KVIFF.

The KVIFF is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe’s leading film event.

The festival unveiled its official selection, which comprises 33 films from five continents, screening across three sections, also including Crystal Globe Competition and Special Screenings section.

The 2022 edition of the festival has been slated for July 10-18.

MG/MG