Hafez Awards announces Kiarostami award nominees

The 18th edition of the Hafez Awards, honoring the film industry and TV productions as Iran first indie award event, has revealed nominations for Kiarostami award of the year.

The nominees include 'Isolation' directed by Morteza-Ali Abbas-Mirzaei, 'Home' (Eve) directed by Asghar Yousefinejad, 'Bridge of Sleep' directed by Oktay Baraheni, 'Simulation' directed by Abed Abest, and 'Khargioush' directed by Mani Baghbani.

Kiarostami award, a fairly new award at the Hafez Awards, is dedicated to the filmmakers who apply experimental and innovative indexes in their first films.

The award gala will be held in Tehran on August 13, the organizers announced on Sunday.

Iranian film critic and producer Ali Moallem was the founder of the event, annually organized by his Persian cinematic monthly Donya-ye Tasvir, meaning the world of picture.

Moallem passed away due to a heart attack in 2017 but the publication and awards were kept alive by Moallem’s widow, Azar Memarian, and his son, Omid.

Kiarostami has won many awards including the Palme d'Or he snatched at the Cannes Festival in 1997 for his film ‘Taste of Cherry’.

The late writer-director has been widely hailed as a pioneer of the Iranian New Wave.

He is mostly known as a screenwriter, film editor, art director and producer as well as a poet, photographer, painter, illustrator, and graphic designer.

The veteran Iranian filmmaker who passed away on July 4, 2016, following a heart attack at the age of 76, was honored at about 300 film events around the world.

MG/FM