Top tips about award-winning weekend film

As ifilm puts one of the best Iranian award-winning movies on this weekend’s playlist, here’s a review of renowned filmmakers’ and actors’ viewpoints on ‘Standing in the Dust’.

The 2016 film, directed by Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian, chronicles the life of Iranian war commander Ahmad Motevasselian, from childhood to the wartime, and eventually to when he disappeared (believed to have been abducted by pro-Israeli forces) in Lebanon, when he was serving as a military attaché of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The commander is believed to be alive and imprisoned in Israeli prisons, although the Zionist regime has never officially admitted the abduction, despite all the evidence available.

The movie’s original version has used real voices of many martyrs from the time of the Iraq-Iran war, recorded during their live wireless conversations or elsewhere in their speeches.

Here are some famous Iranian filmmakers’ and actors’ comments about the movie:

Behrouz Afkhami, director: If martyr Avini were alive, he would like to make a movie like this film.

Behnoush Bakhtiari, actress: the most realistic perspective on war that I’ve ever seen. A must see.

Shabnam Moqaddami, actress: a must see. Definitely, a must see.

Seyyed-Reza Mirkarimi, director: technically very well and in terms of the storyline, courageous. One that depicts the unrivalled heroic personality, Ahmad Motevasselian, very realistically and honestly.

Narges Abyar, director: An effective, innovative film among war movies; a breakthrough that will trigger more different movies to be made in the future; a realistic and believable flick, from the human traits’ standpoint.

Reza Kianian, actor: good screenplay, good directing, good acting; let’s say all is triple good. It’s for a few years in a row that young filmmakers surprise cinema lovers. I cried when I saw such professionalism. I’d bow to all these young experts.

The film swept several awards at the 34th Fajr Film Festival, including the best film award, and was nominated in several other categories at the same edition of the festival.

Stay with ifilm this weekend to watch ‘Standing in the Dust’.

MF/MG