Qoqnus Screen Awards honors winners at closing ceremony

The 10th edition of the Qoqnus Screen Awards has honored its winners at the closing ceremony in Tehran on Saturday.

The gala selected ‘The Sniper’, ‘Yadoo’, ‘Mansour’, and ‘Expediency’ as the top movies of the year during an online ceremony.

All of the selected movies were nationally premiered at the 39th Fajr Film Festival (FFF) in Tehran on January 31-February 10.

Directed by Ali Ghaffari, ‘Sniper’ is about the real-life martyr Abdolrasoul Zarrin, who was known as the cleverest sniper in modern wars during Iraq’s imposed war on Iran.

The sniper, best known for his pinpoint accuracy, inflicted heavy casualties on the Iraqi forces during the 1980-88 war waged by Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein. Zarrin was martyred during the Kheibar Operation in 1984.

“An Iranian sniper has become a nightmare for the officers and commanders of Iraq’s Baath army. Saddam personally puts a bounty on his head. Mercenaries and the most elite forces of Baath army are dispatched on a mission to carry out Saddam’s order…,” a synopsis of the film reads.

The cast members of the film are Kambiz Dirbaz, Amir-Reza Delavari, Alireza Kamali, and Esmaeel Khalaj.

‘Sniper’ won the Golden Simorgh for best film from the national point of view at the 39th FFF.

Directed by Mehdi Jafari, ‘Yadoo’ illuminates the first days of Iraq’s imposed war against Iran in the besieged city of Abadan.

The cast list of the film includes Setareh Pesyani, Akbar Odoud, Reyhaneh Aryamanesh, Reza Nouri, Tahereh Nik-Azad, Maedeh Rami, Ahmad Mosaferi, and Yasin Masoudi.

‘Yadoo’ is the top winner of the 39th FFF by grabbing awards in several categories, including best film and best director.

‘Mansour’, directed by Siavash Sarmadi, tells some untold stories about the eight years of Sacred Defense during the 1980-88 Iraqi imposed war on Iran.

Produced by Jalil Sahabani, it is about parts of the life of martyr Mansour Sattari and the production of the first entirely Iranian warplane.

Iraq invaded Iran on September 22, 1980. The war, which began 19 months after the victory of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, lasted almost eight years and ended on August 20, 1988.

Iranian actor Mohsen Qassabian has played the role of Sattari in ‘Mansour’.

The cast list of the movie also includes Seyyed-Javad Hashemi, Linda Kiani, Qasem Zare, Hamid-Reza Naeemi, and Alireza Zamaninasab.

Directed and written by Hossein Darabi and produced by Mohammad-Reza Shafah, ‘Expediency’ is a police and crime movie that narrates the events of the late 50s in Iran.

The cast of the film includes Farhad Qaemian, Vahid Rahbani, Mehdi Hosseininia, Majid Norouzi, Amir Norouzi, Mehdi Farizeh, Ali Delpisheh, and Nazanin Farahani.

Organized by the Art Bureau of the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization, the Qoqnus Screen Awards honors revolutionary films and cineastes.

Read more:

Fajr filmfest runner ‘Sniper’ unveils trailer

Fajr filmfest runner ‘Expediency’ reveals poster

Fajr filmfest contender ‘Mansour’ reveals poster

Behind-the-scenes released for ‘Yadoo’

MG/MG