Iran films to compete at US filmfest

The 9th edition of the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema in the US has slated to screen three Iranian films at the competition sections.

Festival organizers announced that ‘Atlan’, ‘An Unfinished Film for My Daughter Somayeh’, and ‘The Endless River’ by Iranian filmmakers will be screened at the event, which is slated for January 5-15.

Moein Karimoddini’s acclaimed documentary ‘Atlan’ tells the story of a horse-trainer, Ali Golnejad, and his Turkmen horse, Ilhan, who face challenges to survive in professional conditions.

Ali plans to marry with the money Ilhan wins in horse racing competitions. However, it is not going well as Ilhan is put under unforeseen conditions and Ali has to fight for his horse’s championships.

‘Atlan’, one of the most successful documentaries of Iran, has participated in many national and international festivals and bagged many international awards, including the best feature-length documentary award at the 4th FrontDoc Int’l Film Festival in Aosta, Italy, best feature documentary at the Moondance Int’l Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado, US, and best film at Iran’s Cinéma Vérité in 2014.

It has been nominated for Best Documentary Director and Best Foreign Language Documentary at Idyllwild.

‘The Endless River’ by Mohammad Mohammadian tells the story of a young boy who is sitting next to a dried-up river, watching the barren land while fantasizing about fishing.

‘An Unfinished Film for My Daughter Somayeh’ by Morteza Payeshenas narrates the story of a Canada-based Iranian family whose daughter, Somayeh, is held in captivity in Iraq by the terrorist group Mujahedin Khalq.

Founded in 2009, the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema (IIFC) is an annual, competitive independent filmmaker-friendly film and arts festival, held in Idyllwild, California.

MG/AI