Fajr Film Festival 2019 presents Golden Barberry

The 37th edition of the Fajr Film Festival (FFF) has presented the Golden Barberry award to the feature ‘Watching this Film is a Crime’.

Directed by Reza Zehtabchian, the film that went on screen at the New Look section of the 37th FFF – for first-time directors – was selected as the worst title of the event.

Produced by Mohammad-Reza Shafah, ‘Watching This Movie is a Crime’ is a political thriller centered on a hostage situation.

“All I wanted was five-minute footage in order to defend my wife and daughter later, but they didn’t cut me a break… The sound of their sirens is getting closer… They’re going to pour in here any second now…” a brief excerpt from the film reads.

The film’s cast includes Amir Aqaee, Linda Kiani, Hossein Pakdel, Mahmoud Pakniyyat, Hamid Ebrahimi, Mehdi Zaminpardaz, and Hamid-Reza Pegah.

The FFF coincides with the Ten-Day Fajr ceremonies across Iran, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Since its establishment in 1982, the FFF has played a vital role in the development of Iranian Cinema.

Supervised by Iran’s Ministry of Culture, the festival hosts veteran directors and new filmmakers from Iran every year.

This is while, the international version of the Fajr Film Festival will be held in April 2019.

The 37th FFF ran on January 30-February 11, 2019, in Tehran and a selection of other Iranian cities.

MG/MG