US to screen Iran short ‘Are You Volleyball?!’

The 2019 East Northeast International Film Festival (ENE) in the US has set to screen Iranian short ‘Are You Volleyball?!’.

Directed by Mohammad Bakhshi, the film features a group of Arabic-speaking asylum seekers who try to make their way to the border in an English speaking country.

They get into a conflict with border guards every day up until a deaf-mute child becomes a catalyst for better communication between the two sides.

‘Are You Volleyball?!’ has attended several global events, including the Kinolub International Film Festival for Children and Youth in Poland, the FICTS - Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs in France, the Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia in Japan, the Children’s Right International Film Festival in Turkey, the Hong Kong International Film Festival, the Speechless Film Festival in the US, the Regina International Film Festival in Canada, the Bangladesh Film Festival, the New York Film Festival in the US, the Batumi Film Festival in Georgia, the Branson International Film Festival in the US, the International Motion Festival in Cyprus, and the International Film Festival – RapidLion – in South Africa.

The 15-minute film has so far won awards such as Best Film Prize from the Al-Nahj Film Festival in Iraq, Best Film and Best Screenplay awards at the Short Film Competition section at the US Forum on Law, Culture & Society, Best Film at the BCN Sports Film Festival in Spain, Best Editor award at the Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest in Romania, Best short Film Award at the Unknown Film Festival in Russia, Best Short Film Award at the Changing Face International Film Festival in Australia, best short film award at the Yari Iranian Film Festival in Sweden, the Golden Dragon Award for the best short film at the Cardiff International Film Festival in the UK, the Narrative Short award at the annual Virginia Film Festival's Audience Awards in the US, and Best Film Award and People’s Choice Award of the Ascona Film Festival in Switzerland.

The 2019 ENE will also screen ‘The Man Who Forgot to Breathe’ by Saman Hosseinpour and ‘Starvation’ by Zahra Rostampour from Iran.

The ENE celebrates independent films, music, and the green technology industry all at the crossroads of the future to be a part of a diverse and creative global community.

The 2019 ENE is slated for August 23-September 2 in Newburgh, New York, the US.

MG/MG