Iranian feature to compete at Busan festival

The feature film ‘Among the Hills’ has been selected to compete at the 2019 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea.

Keivanfar has previously made some documentaries and short films for which received awards of various festivals. ‘Among the Hills’ is his first feature-length film.

According to the director, late Abbas Kiarostami was the consultant of the film’s screenplay.

“The main idea of the film came to me while I was attending Kiarostami’s classes. He consulted me about the screenplay. The process of writing the screenplay lasted for a year to the end of the course. After completing the screenplay, I started the production” Keivanfar says.

The film narrates the life of Turkmen and Kurmanj nomads who reside in the northeast of Golestan province of Iran. These people live in the Marrveh Tappeh and Khalid Nabi areas. The story centers on a soldier who is dispatched to Marrveh Tappeh and Khalid Nabi as a teacher.

The 76-minute feature, which is experiencing its first international presence, was filmed close to the border of Turkmenistan.

As the director said, the recording process of the work started from 4 years ago and ended in early 2019.

Amir Shams and Elham Jalali who are theater actors play the main roles of the film and the roles of other characters are given to the locals of the region.

BIFF is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia which is held annually in Busan (also Pusan), South Korea. The fest aims to introduce new films and first-time filmmakers, especially those from Asian countries.

The 24th edition of the Busan is slated for October 3-12, 2019.

PR/FM