US film festival awards Iranian feature 'Yeva'

Iranian acclaimed drama 'Yeva' has won the award for best feature film at the 2018 edition of the Arpa International Film Festival in Los Angeles, the US.

Directed by Anahid Abad, ‘Yeva’ is the story of a young woman who is forced to flee Yerevan with her daughter Nareh. She would have to stand trial there because she allegedly killed her husband.

Uncle Ruben and the remote village in Nagorno-Karabakh are her last chances to go into hiding. But the villagers recognize her from the days of war when she had cared for the wounded as a doctor at the front.

'Yeva' is a joint production between the National Cinema Center of Armenia and the Iranian Farabi Cinema Foundation in Tehran, where the Iranian premiere of 'Yeva' was held.

The cast members of the war-themed flick, which represented Armenia at the 90th edition of Academy Awards, includes Narine Grigoryan, Shant Hovhannisyan, Marjan Avetisyan.

Notable screenings, awards and mentions of 'Yeva' include the Montreal World Film Festival in Canada, the Mill Valley Film Festival in the US, the Asian World Film Festival in the US, Audience Award at the 2017 Pomegranate Film Festival in Canada, the Tbilisi Int'l Film Festival in Georgia, the Palm Springs Film Festival in the US, the Rafael Film Center in the US, and the Los Angeles Armenian Film Society in the US.

The list goes on with the Bengaluru International Film Festival in India, the International Filmmor Women’s Film Festival on Wheels in Turkey, the Sofia International Film Festival in Bulgaria, the Cleveland International Film Festival in the US, the Best Film and the Best Actor Awards at the 2018 Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia, the Burgas International Film Festival in Bulgaria, the Armenian Film Festival in Australia, the Rolan Bykov Film Festival for Children and Youth in Armenia, the Best Actress Award at the 2018 Kinoshock Film Festival in Russia, and the Cottbus Film Festival in Germany.

The Arpa International Film Festival is one of the leading independent film festivals in Southern California dedicated to cultivating cultural understanding and global empathy by creating a dynamic forum for international cinema.

The event has been slated for November 10-13, 2018, in Los Angeles.

MG/AG