Iran’s ‘Birthday Night’ to vie at Turkey’s Amity short film festival

Iran’s ‘Birthday Night’ and four other Iranian short films have been set to take part at the international competition section of the 2018 International Amity Short Film Festival in Turkey scheduled to be held later this month.

‘Birthday Night’ will compete along with 16 other shorts from different countries, including Iran, Turkey, France, Belgium, Egypt and Kazakhstan.

Written and directed by Omid Shams, the film narrates the story of two friends and business partners, Ahmad and Ali, who face unexpected challenges on their birthday night.

It is not the first global appearance for the short as it had attended several international festivals, including the Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival in France.

The four other Iranian films participating at the international competition section of the Amity are ‘Forgetfulness’ (Faramoushi) by Fatemeh Mohammad, ‘Gift’ (Hedieh) directed by Sahar Sotoudeh, Ehsan Kaffah’s ‘Image’, and ‘The Sea Swells’ directed by Amir Gholami.

Iran has a strong presence in the event, with Iranian director Kamal Tabrizi being named as a member of jury at the Turkish event and a total of 13 works by Iranian filmmakers taking part at the gala’s sections.

The purpose of this festival is to carry the topic of friendship beyond time by the use of short films that are powerful means of communication.

The first edition of the International Amity Short Film Festival will kick off on December 14 in Turkey's Istanbul and is set to run until December 16.

SQ/MG