Iran’s ‘Driving Lessons’ wins new award in US

Iranian short ‘Driving Lessons’ has received an award at the 2019 Topaz Film Festival by Women in Film Dallas in the US.

Directed by Marzieh Riahi, ‘Driving Lessons’ won a Jury Prize at the 18th edition of the US festival, Iranian media outlets reported on Saturday.

“Bahareh must have her traditional chauvinistic husband accompany her during driving lessons so that she and her instructor are not left together without a third party’s presence,” a synopsis for the film reads.

The film is starring Linda Kiani, Alireza Sanifar, Salar Khamseh, and Sanaz Mesbah.

‘Driving Lessons’ has grabbed several global prizes, including the Best Short Drama Award at the 2019 “I Will Tell” international film festival in the UK and the Best Short Film Award at the 2019 Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia.

The short film also attended several global events, including the Tampere Film Festival in Finland, the Cartagena Film Festival in Colombia, the Tribeca Film Festival in the US, and the Edmonton International Film Festival in Canada.

‘Driving Lessons’ will also be screened at the 22nd Religion Today Film Festival in Italy next month.

The 18th Topaz Film Festival by Women in Film Dallas took place on September 19-22, 2019.

SQ/MG