Iran’s doc ‘Asho’ to go on screen at Fribourg filmfest

Iranian documentary ‘Asho’ has been scheduled to go on screen at the 34th edition of the Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland.

Directed by Jafar Najafi and produced by Maryam Naqibi, ‘Asho’ is about a shepherd boy who is obsessed with Hollywood movies and wants to become an actor.

What could be better than singing your heart out on a hillside? Asho enjoys life in the hills of Iran, where he herds a flock of sheep with his father.

The sheep are all named after famous people: presidents, actors or actresses, depending on their hairstyle.

Asho knows all about the movies – he watches them on his cracked tablet out in the fields. He also wants to be an actor when he grows up. But does he have the qualities of a real star at home?

His sister says that he can’t even eat politely. And first he has to get married to his cousin Pari, who also visits him in his dreams.

Asho plays to the camera like a pro, but when Pari is around he gets embarrassed and slaps her teasingly. Will they make up and be friends?

The colorful clothing and sun-drenched countryside make a stunningly romantic backdrop for the ambitions of the cheerful Asho, an irresistible small-time cowboy who has long been the star of his own film.

The 30-minute doc ‘Asho’ received a special mention at the 62nd edition of the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film - DOK Leipzig in Germany.

Also slated to compete at the 22nd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival in Greece and the 12th Millennium Festival in Belgium, it has gone on screen at some global events, including the 2019 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in the Netherlands, the 17th Big Sky International Film Festival in the US, the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in Germany, and the Cinema Verite in Iran.

The Fribourg International Film Festival is an annual film festival in Fribourg, Switzerland. It is focused on selected cultural films from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Regard d’or is the Grand Prize of the Fribourg event.

The 34th Fribourg was scheduled to be held during March 20-28 but due to the outbreak of coronavirus movies will just be reviewed by the jury.

MG/AG