Herat Int’l Women’s filmfest awards Iran’s ‘Khatemeh’

The 6th edition of the Herat International Women’s Film Festival (HIWFF) in Afghanistan has presented an award to Iranian documentary ‘Khatemeh’.

Made by Mehdi and Hadi Zarei, the film won Earrings Statue for Best International Feature Documentary Film at the Afghani event.

The documentary is about an Afghan teenage girl who lives in Shiraz, Iran, and reluctantly gets married to her late sister’s husband under the pressure of her family.

After a while, she escapes from home due to her husband and her brother’s torture and beating. She becomes a refugee to the welfare organization of Shiraz.

The Zarei brothers narrate the story of Khatameh's life from the moment she took refuge in the welfare organization's help center to file for divorce.

‘Khatemeh’ won the awards for Best Director for Full-length Documentary and Best Editing at the 12th Cinema Vérité, Iran’s major international documentary film festival.

The Iranian documentary has also gone on screen at some global events, including the Florence Film Awards in Italy, the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival in the US, the Fico Nova International Film Festival in Spain, and the LIFE AFTER OIL International Film Festival in Italy, where it received a Special Mention of the Jury in the Human Rights Feature Movie section.

Launched in 2013, the HIWFF presents films about women and/or executed by women, aims to highlight the power of women in different life situations, the festival organizers believe in promoting a positive image of women struggling with dignity to make a change in their environment.

The closing ceremony of the gala was held last month in presence of Afghan Minister of Information and Culture Tahir Zahir and Iranian filmmaker Narges Abyar, a jury member for the International Narrative Feature Films Competition.

Read more:

Iranian cinema shines at Herat Int’l Women’s filmfest

‘Khatemeh’ awarded jury special mention at Italian fest

MG/MG