‘Malaria’ director wins DIFF award

‘Malaria’ brought Iranian filmmaker Parviz Shahbazi the 15th Dhaka International Film Festival best actor award.

The award was presented to Shahbazi during the closing ceremony in Dhaka on January 20, 2017.

‘Malaria’, Shahbazi’s third cinematic work about Iranian youth, after ‘Deep Breath’ and ‘Trapped’, won the Grand Prix award at Warsaw International Film Festival in 2016.

Starring Saghar Qanaat, Saed Soheili, Azarakhsh Farahani and Azadeh Namdari, the movie narrates the story of two youngsters who find temporary refuge with a band of street musicians in Tehran.

The Iranian feature film made its first international premier at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival in Italy.

‘Malaria’ was also screened at various festivals including Busan International Film Festival in South Korea and the 52nd edition of the Chicago International Film Festival in the US.

Born in 1962, Shahbazi’s debut feature film, ‘Traveler from the South’ (1996) as well as his second film ‘Whispers’ (2000) went to countless festivals and brought him international recognition.

The 15th edition of the biennial Dhaka International Film Festival (DIFF) held from January 12 to 20 this year, screened dozens of Iranian movies, namely ‘Life Plus One Day’ directed by Saeed Roustaei, ‘Daughter’ by Reza Mirkarimi, and ‘Paris, Tehran’ by Kaveh Ovissi.

MG/RSH