Australia’s APSA to host Iranian ‘Beloved’

The 13th edition of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia has set to host acclaimed Iranian documentary ‘Beloved’.

The Iranian documentary is named as one of the titles vying for best prize at the 2019 edition of the APSA.

Directed by Yasser Talebi, the documentary is about the difficult but favorable life of an 83-year-old mother named Firouzeh who runs a unique life in the Alborz Mountains in north Iran.

Firouzeh hikes across the rugged landscape carrying bundles of wood. When she was a young girl, a marriage was arranged for her with an older man, with whom she had 11 children. Now, none of her children come to visit her and her attempts to get closer to them remain futile.

The 63-minute documentary has attended many global events, including the 2018 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the 16th Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in the US, the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, the 37th Fajr Film Festival in Iran, the 38th International Istanbul Film Festival in Turkey, the 16th Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia, and the 67th Trento International Film Festival in Italy where it won the jury special mention and a UNESCO honorable mention.

Most recently it received the best feature documentary award and a diploma at the 15th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival in the Republic of Tatarstan, a special mention at the 25th Shanghai TV Festival in China, and a nomination at the 33rd Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival in Estonia.

‘Beloved’ has also taken the first place among the top five mid-length films selected by the Canadian audience at the 26th Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto and received the best photography award and the High School Students Award at the Journey Section of The 14th Sole Luna Doc Film Festival in Italy.

The 13th APSA will be held on November 21 in Brisbane. According to the event’s official website the nominees will be announced in mid-October.

Established in 2007 and headquartered in Brisbane, APSA is an international cultural program driven by Brisbane City Council through Brisbane Marketing and endorsed by UNESCO and FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

Last year, Iranian titles, including ‘Bomb, a Love Story’, ‘Tale of the Sea’, and ‘Ava’ won three awards at the 12th APSA.

MG/AG