Iran’s Rassam int’l filmfest to present Gen. Soleimani award

The 2nd edition of the Rassam International Festival of Short Films on Holy Defense and Resistance has announced its plan to present award honoring martyred Iranian General Qassem Soleimani.

The event organizers also stated that the applicants may submit their films and scripts on the subject of the braveries by the martyred general.

The first edition of the Rassam was held in two competition sections of National and International, with 92 countries participating, out of which 44 made into to the international competition.

In the national contest, ‘The Passer’ by Omid Shams and Pouria Pishvaee won the feature prize, while ‘The Caliphate Dream’ by Seyyed-Mojtaba Khiam-al-Hosseini was awarded as the best documentary.

In the international section, Danish ‘I’m Still Alive’ was awarded as best documentary, and Iranian ‘Empty View’ won best animation award, while ‘Heat in Cold’ from Turkey received the best short award.

The holy defense organization of arts and cinematic affairs is in charge of holding the event with the aim to project the culture of sacrifice and resistance against global oppression and reflect a cinema of heroism and noble pursuits, with a distinctive approach towards the defenders of the nation and the defenders of the Holy Shrine in Islamic countries, a description on the festival’s website reads.

The first edition of the event was held on May 2-4, 2018, in Khorramshahr, Iran. The 2nd edition of the Rassam is slated for May 2020.

Soleimani, 62, was killed during a US drone strike near Baghdad International Airport. The general was one of the top military leaders in Iran.

Soleimani was the long-time leader of the elite Quds Force, a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

MG/MG