Iran director Majid Majidi wins award in India

The 23rd International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) in India has awarded Iranian award-winning director Majid Majidi.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave the Lifetime Achievement award of the Indian festival to the internationally celebrated Iranian filmmaker.

Born in 1959, Majid Majidi is a film producer, director and screenwriter. He started acting in amateur theater groups when he was 14.

As an actor, he starred in some movies such as ‘Justification’ (1981), ‘Two Sightless Eyes’ (1983) and ‘Boycott’ (1985).

After appearing in his last movie in 1989, Majidi quit acting and directed a few short films.

His first feature film ‘Badook’ (1991) won him a Crystal Simorgh at the Fajr International Film Festival.

In 1999, ‘Children of Heaven’ (1997) was the first Iranian film nominated to receive an Academy Award. ‘Children of Heaven’ lost the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, but it won many other international prizes.

Afterwards, he wrote and directed ‘The Color of Heaven’ (1999) and ‘Baran’ (2000) which were presented in several international film festivals and received lots of awards.

In 2008, he was one of the five international film directors invited by the Chinese government to create a documentary short film in order to introduce Beijing in preparation for the Summer Olympics.

He has also directed movie ‘Muhammad: The Messenger of God’ (2015) which enjoys domestic and international cast and crew.

Some of Majidi’s masterpieces such as ‘The Color of God’ and ‘Willow Tree’ have been aired by ifilm.

The IFFK, acknowledged as one of the leading cultural events in India, is an annual event held in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).

Launched in 1996, the festival is hosted in November/December every year by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala.

The 23rd edition of the IFFK kicked off December 7 and is set to end December 13, 2018.

AA/MM