Cyrus Int’l Film Festival announces winners

The 5th round of the Cyrus International Film Festival (CIFF) in Toronto has announced big winners.

The Iranian Film Festival, which was renamed to “Cyrus International Film Festival” this year, has revealed the list of its big winners during a closing ceremony held on November 28.   

The award recipients include the following:

Best Film 

‘The Oath’ by Mohsen Tanabandeh

Best Director

‘African Violet’ by Mona Zand-Haqiqi

Best Leading Actress

Fatemeh Motamed-Arya for her performance in ‘African Violet’

Best Leading Actor

Hamed Behdad for his Performance in ‘Castle of Dreams’

Best Screenplay 

‘The Oath’ by Mohsen Tanabandeh

Special Jury Award

‘Old Men Never Die’ by Reza Jamali

 Audience Choice Award

‘Motreb’ by Mostafa Kiaee

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Since its inception in 2015, Cyrus Festival has been an annual celebration of the best of contemporary Iranian cinema. The festival aims “to bring the most acclaimed Iranian films of the year to Toronto’s screens in an effort to present a comprehensive cross-section and showcase the depth and diversity of this national cinema.”

CIFF showcases twenty-two feature films (10 in the Competition Section), four honorary guests, accompanied Q&A sessions, and panel discussions.

The festival’s rich selection of films explores many themes and crosses cinematic genres to elevate and connect with the contemporary aesthetic sensibility of Iranian and Canadian audiences

The film event was held on November 22-28, 2019.

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