'Iran Oscar submission hails peace'

On the heels of ‘Breath’ selection to represent Iran at Oscars 2018, director Narges Abyar says her film hails peace.

The female director told local media on Wednesday that it is a blessing that a woman can represent Iran at the Academy Awards, adding the film “praises imagination and peace.”

‘Breath’ shows how hopes and dreams of many Iranian children shattered by the flames of the war that Iraq lit in 1980.

The story of the film begins in the late 1970s in a suburb of Karaj, where Bahar, Nader, Kamal and Maryam live with numerous colorful dreams of their childhood along with their father and granny. The mother of the household, however, died a few years ago.

The father, who suffers from asthma, works for a shoemaking company. In her dreams, Bahar, who narrates the story of the film, wishes to treat him when she becomes a doctor.

Iranian actors and actresses Gelare Abbasi, Pantea Panahiha, Mehran Ahmadi, Jamshid Hashempour, and Shabnam Moqaddami star in ‘Breath’.

The flick won Crystal Simorgh for Best Film with National View as well as Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Shabnam Moghaddami) at the 34th edition of the Fajr Film Festival in 2015, in Tehran. It has also been honored at various international cinematic events.

FM/AG