Resistance theater festival presents Soleimani Awards

The 17th edition of the Resistance Theater Festival in Tehran has announced the winners.

The winners received their awards during a ceremony at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall last week.

‘Where Are You Ebrahim?’ by Leili Aaj won Soleimani Award, the special prize of the event.

The organizers established the award in memory of Commander Qassem Soleimani, the chief of IRGC Quds Force, who was martyred during a US airstrike in Baghdad on January 3.

‘Where Are You Ebrahim’ is about Ebrahim Hadi, a volunteer who made heroic endeavors to evacuate the remains of numerous Iranian soldiers from the battlefields during the Iraq-Iran war (1980-1988).

The awards for best actress and best actor in the main competition section were respectively presented to Mahnaz Roudsaz and Ali Farahnak for their roles in ‘Liliet’ by Mohammad-Reza Shahmardi.

The award for best playwright was also presented to Shahmardi for ‘Liliet’ while ‘The Bodies’ brought the award for best director to Alireza Maroufi.

In the street section, Simin Behfar won the award for best actress for her role in ‘Gravel Path’ and ‘6599’ brought the awards for best actor and best director to Iman Nazifi and Masoud Barahini, respectively.

The ceremony also honored Morteza Vakilian, actor and street theater expert, with a lifetime achievement award.

The best teamwork award was presented to ‘Epidemic’ by Saeed Badini and Hourad Habibi received the children’s special award for narration of ‘Years before That Event’.

The ceremony also paid tributes to theatrical figures Kourosh Zarei (actor and director of the Art Bureau’s Center for Dramatic Arts) and Nasrollah Qaderi (dramatist).

In the student section, Vida Mousavi won the awards for best actress and best director for ‘Behesht, Hakimallah’ while Mohammad-Hadi Ataee received the award for best actor for his role in ‘Silent Scream’.

The street theater performances were held in open spaces with the audiences observing health protocols.

The Association of the Revolution and Sacred Defense Theater organizes the annual festival in collaboration with some other institutions.

The 17th Resistance Theater Festival went online due to a spike in the number of coronavirus cases in Iran.

MG/MG