Iranian ‘Skier’ nominated for APSA prize

The 11th edition of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) has nominated Iran’s ‘The Skier’ in the Best Youth Feature Film category.

The organizers announced the nomination of Fereydoun Najafi’s ‘The Skier’ (The Skater) on Wednesday.

‘The Skier’ is about a boy from Iran’s Kouhrang County who faces problems on his way to take a little ibex to a tribal ritual in a snowy remote region in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province.

This road movie is an ethno-fictional film that colorfully documents vanishing tribal traditions, painting a portrait of the ethnic community of the Bakhtiari people of southwest Iran.

The positive and determined central character is an example of an empowered young child.

Director Fereydoun Najafi finely executes the challenging task of directing children and animals (the goat is almost never off screen) in the rarely-seen snow-covered landscapes of Iran.

The Iranian House of Cinema (Khaneh Cinema) submitted the film along with eight other Iranian titles to the 11th APSA.

The Iranian contender will race with ‘Big Big World’ by Reha Erdem from Turkey, ‘Jasper Jones’ by Rachel Perkins from Australia, ‘The Seen and Unseen’ by Kamila Andini from Indonesia, and ‘The Summer Is Gone’ by Dalei Zhang from China.

In 2016, ‘Starless Dreams’ by Mehrdad Oskouei won best feature documentary at the APSA, while ‘Daughter’ by Reza Mirkarimi, ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’ by Majid Majidi, and ‘Breath’ by Narges Abyar were nominated in different categories.

Covering one-third of the Earth, the 70 countries and areas of the Asia Pacific stretches from Egypt in the west to the Cook Island in the east, from Russia in the north to New Zealand in the south.

They are home to 4.5 billion people and produce half the world’s film.

Established in 2007 and headquartered in Brisbane, APSA is an international cultural program driven by Brisbane City Council through Brisbane Marketing endorsed by UNESCO and FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

The 11th APSA will present the awards to the winners in Brisbane, Australia, on November 23.

MG/AI