ifilm’s ‘Kimia’ director nominated for Artist of the Year

Iran’s Art Bureau has nominated ifilm’s ‘Kimia’ director, Javad Afshar, for the title of Islamic Revolution Artist of the Year.

The bureau announced five cultural figures as final nominees to compete for the title.

In addition to Afshar, painter Hassan Rouholamin, singer Gholam-Reza Sanatgar, graphic designer Mohammad-Saber Sheikh-Rezaee and writer Mohsen Kazemi have been nominated.

Afshar received the nomination for his docudrama ‘Gando’ which is a spy series on the case of Iranian-American journalist Jason Rezaian.

Rouholamin was nominated for creating a painting in memory of Quds Force commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani who was martyred during a US air raid in Baghdad on January 3.

Sanatgar was nominated for his songs ‘Qassem Is Still Alive’ and ‘O Iran’.

Kazemi received the nomination for writing the memoirs of Kazem Darabi, an Iranian suspect in the 1992 Mykonos Restaurant assassinations case in Berlin, in a book titled ‘Teahouse Painting’.

The Islamic Revolution Artist of the Year for 2019 was due to be announced during the 6th Islamic Revolution Art Week on April 9; however, the Art Bureau postponed the event due to the coronavirus outbreak and there are plans to hold a ceremony in the case of suitable situation.

The Art Bureau is to organize the art week as soon as possible.

The art week is organized every year to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of documentarian Morteza Avini who was killed by a landmine in 1993 during his last trip to the former Iraq-Iran war zone in southwest of Iran while making a documentary about soldiers who were still listed as missing in action.

Born in 1968, Afshar graduated in directing. He has directed several ifilm series, including ‘Dirty Money’, ‘Jaber bin Hayyan’, ‘The Edge of Fire’, ‘Like a Mother’ and ‘Brother’.

MG/MG