Chennai filmfest to screen Iran’s ‘6.5 per Meter’

The 17th edition of the Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) in India has scheduled to screen Iran’s award-winning ‘6.5 per Meter’ (Just 6.5).

Directed by Saeed Roustaee, ‘6.5 per Meter’ is a social drama that deals with the issue of illegal drug trade and trafficking.

Payman Maadi, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Parinaz Izadyar, Houman Kiaee, Farhad Aslani, Marjan Qamari, and Mohammad Ali Mohammadi are on the film’s cast list.

Premiered at the 37th Fajr Film Festival in Iran, the film was screened at several global events, including the 76th Venice International Film Festival in Italy, the 35th Warsaw International Film Festival in Poland, the 2019 Chicago International Film Festival in the US, the 43rd Sao Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil, the 50th International Film Festival of India, and the 60th Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece.

‘6.5 per Meter’ opened the 15th Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland where it won the jury special mention.

“Samad is nobody’s fool. The narcotics officer has seen his share of a drug dealer’s lies and games, and his patience has come to run thin. While searching for the infamous drug baron Nasser Khakzad, he and his colleague Hamid scour the streets of Tehran, turning an overcrowded prison on its head ... Director Saeed Roustaee landed a huge Iranian box office hit with his second directorial work. This great action thriller is far more than just a fast-paced, skillfully staged cat-and-mouse game,” the Zurich Film Festival’s website praised the 135-minute ‘6.5 per Meter’.

‘6.5 per Meter’ also inaugurated the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival in Japan where Roustaee received Best Director award and Mohammadzadeh won Best Actor award.

The movie was also nominated at the 13th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia.

The CIFF is a festival aims at providing a common platform for the film fraternity to show its expression through films; understanding other cultures and project the excellence of this art form; contribute to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of the different nations in the context of the social and cultural ethos; and promote friendship and co-operation among peoples of the world.

Launched in 2002, it showcases international as well as Indian feature films. The festival screens more than 100 international feature films.

The 17th edition of the CIFF is slated for December 12-19, 2019.

MG/AG