Iranian shorts shine in Australian film festival

The 23rd edition of the Canberra Short Film Festival (CSFF) in Australia has awarded a number of Iranian titles.

‘Sleepless’ by Soudabeh Kamrani won Highly Commended honor at the “2 Minute” section while Eqbal Shirazi-Sani received the same award at the Animation section for ‘Greyish’.

Katayoun Parmar grabbed Best Cinematography award of the International section for ‘You're Still Here’ while Ramin Abolsedq received Best Sound Design award of the same section for the same title.

Alireza Qasemi won Best Screenplay award at the International section for ‘Extra Sauce’.

‘Sleepless’ tells the story of a woman who wakes up every night with a child’s cry and ‘Greyish’ is an animation about a woolen old man.

‘You Are Still Here’, co-directed by Parmar and Mohammad Rouhbakhsh, tells the story of a young couple. Their matrimonial life is on the verge of collapse due to the sudden blindness of the man, but they try to hold on to their past to save the life.

‘Extra Sauce’, written and directed by Qasemi, is about Hans, a mediocre, heartbroken actor, who is greeted by an Angel of Death after attempting suicide an hour before his play’s premiere. A sarcastic conversation begins as Hans tries to convince the angel that he should be brought back to the world of the living while the angel enjoys delicious cheeseburgers and lemonade, and gives the actor relationship advice.

Best Film award of the international section went to ‘Portraitiste’ by Iran-born Luxembourgish director Cyrus Neshvad and Lily Landecy from Switzerland was named best director of the event for ‘La Chrysalide’.

Running for 24 years, as a competition-based festival, the CSFF screens the best of short flicks, from Australia and around the globe, across 6 locations in Canberra.

Currently underway, the 23rd CSFF has been slated for September 13-20, 2019.

MG/MG