Pune Int'l Film Festival awards ‘Better than Neil Armstrong’

Iranian movie ‘Better than Neil Armstrong’ has grabbed award at the 18th Pune International Film Festival (PIFF) in India.

The short, written and directed by Alireza Ghasemi, has won Best Live Action Short Film Director's award at the 2020 edition of the event.

‘Better than Neil Armstrong’ is the story of four kids who start their journey to the moon with the mission of finding a mysterious place called ‘The Redland’, but the gates of The Redland are being guarded by a mischievous snake.

The short film has taken part at various global film events before — the 2020 Poppy Jasper Int’l Film Festival (PJIFF) in the US, 20th Izmir Int’l Short Film Festival (IISFF) in Turkey and 2019 Lund Int’l Fantastic Film Festival in Sweden, to name but a few.

Qasemi’s film is also the recipient of the Best Cinematography and the Best Movie Soundtrack awards from the 15th Nahal Student Short Film Festival in Iran.

Pune International Film Festival is to give film lovers in the city access to global cinema and spark a cultural exchange.

“With discussions, lectures and master classes on varied topics related to the craft, they try to instill an academic flavor in the festival,” noted by the event’s official website.

The festival was held on January 9th-16th, 2020 in India.

FM/MM