Canadian filmfest hosting Iranian short ‘Are You Volleyball?!’

Iranian feature ‘Are You Volleyball?!’ has been going on screen at the 2018 edition of the Regina International Film Festival (RIFFA) in Canada.

Directed by Mohammad Bakhshi, the film features a group of Arabic-speaking asylum seekers who try to make their way to the border in an English speaking country.

They get into a conflict with border guards every day up until a deaf-mute child becomes a catalyst for better communication between the two sides.

‘Are You Volleyball?!’ has attended several internationally acclaimed film events, including the Kinolub International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Poland, the FICTS - Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs in France, the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Japan, the Children’s Right International Film Festival in Turkey, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Speechless Film Festival in the US, the Bangladesh Film Festival, and the New York Film Festival in the US.

The film has so far won awards such as Best Film Prize from the Al-Nahj Film Festival in Iraq, Best Film and Best Screenplay awards at the Short Film Competition section at the US Forum on Law, Culture & Society, Best Film at the BCN Sports Film Festival in Spain, Best Editor award at the Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest in Romania, Best short Film Award at the Unknown Film Festival in Russia, and Best Short Film Award at the Changing Face International Film Festival in Australia.

Aimed to inspire and motivate people to discover the world through the art of motion pictures, the RIFFA is to build an internationally recognized film art organization that empowers, entertains and educates our diverse community as well as to build community capacity in the cinematic arts that encourage human connection, innovation, and self-expression through storytelling.

The 4th edition of the Regina International Film Festival has been slated for August 14-18, 2018.

MG/MF