London Film Festival awards Iran ‘Blockage’

Iranian ‘Blockage’ has won best film award at the London Iranian Film Festival.

Directed by Mohsen Qaraei, ‘Blockage’ chronicles a devastating chaos that occurs to a ferocious, contemptible man who works as a street vendor control officer.

Qasem is a temporary worker who cracks down on illegal street stalls in Tehran. His hot temper always invites trouble, and recently, he was caught getting kickbacks from stall keepers, impeding his chance to re-sign the contract.

His plan to get a truck with his wife’s share of an inheritance from her parents conflicts with her dream to move out of her parents’ house with the same money.

When Qasem argues with a stall owner, the stall owner comes to Qasem’s house deep in the night and makes suspicious demands. He even comes to Qasem’s office and threatens him with a lawsuit.

‘Blockage’ follows a few confusing days in Qasem’s life, who is good at making backdoor deals. It takes the audience’s breath away by chasing the struggles of the protagonist with the opportunity of a lifetime in his hands.

The flick has attended a number of international events so far, winning some awards, including the best film prize at New Currents section of the 22nd Busan International Film Festival in South Korea and six nominations at the 2nd Malaysia International Film Festival & Malaysia Golden Global Awards.

‘Mother of Earth’ directed by Mahnaz Afzali was, meanwhile, picked as best documentary at the London Iranian Film Festival.

The documentary takes a brief look at Hayedeh Shirzadi and her husband’s attempt to put an end to the dumping and burial of urban garbage.

With the fate of the earth as their main concern, 100% of the city of Kermanshah’s garbage is now recycled and the bio waste is made into organic fertilizers.

Shirzadi studied recycling in Germany. She returned to Iran to clean the environment, to stop the destruction of arable land, and to curb air and water pollution.

The award for best short film was presented to ‘Magical’ by Bahador Adab.

‘Axing’ by Behrouz Shoeibi also won the audience award. The film tells the story of Mahsa, an addicted woman who thinks that her daughter is dead, but when finds out that she is alive and lives with her father (Mahsa’s ex-husband) she decides to take her back. This makes her face her ex-husband and his new wife.

MG/AG