Iranian feature ‘Golnesa’ grabs award in Tanzania

Iranian drama ‘Golnesa’ has won an award at the 2nd edition of the Sinema Zetu International Film Festival (SZIFF) in Tanzania.

Written by Vida Salehi, the Iranian 97-minute feature grabbed the award for best screenplay at the World Cinema section of the Tanzanian event.

Besides Best Screenplay, the film was nominated for Best Director and Best Cinematography awards.

Directed by Sattar Chamani-Gol, the Iranian movie tells the story of a young Afghan couple, Golmammad and Golnesa, who are illegal immigrants in Iran.

Working in a traditional brick kiln in the suburbs of Tehran, they have to deal with challenges of illegal immigration as well as various types of routine life hardship.

Saeed Dakh, Saqi Zinati, Yeganeh Rajabi, Ali-Mohammad Radmanesh and Masoud Mohammadi are among the cast.

The film has taken part at some global cinematic events, including the 51st WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival and the 21st Brooklyn Film Festival in the US, the 3rd R.E.D International Film Festival in Norway, the 3rd Slemani International Film Festival in Iraq, as well as the 17th Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh.

‘Golnesa’ has grabbed two awards at the 14th Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema in the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia and the Best Feature Film award at the 7th Global Nonviolent Film Festival in the US.

The 2nd edition of the SZIFF kicked off on January 1, 2019, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The winners were announced on February 23.

MG/AG