Iranian Film Festival Australia screening ‘Bandar Band’

‘Bandar Band’ has been competing at the 10th edition of the Iranian Film Festival Australia (IFFA).

A 2020 production from Iran and Germany and produced and directed by Manijeh Hekmat, the 75-minute film is a road movie that depicts flooded landscapes of Iran. The movie is filled with music.

“After a long time, some Iranian women singers are going to enter an unofficial competition in a coffee shop in Tehran. Pregnant Mahla along with the other members of Bandar Band, her husband and one of their closest friends, starts her journey to Tehran from a southern province just when they have lost all they had in the flood. They still keep their hopes alive, however every road they take leads to a dead-end in a flood-stricken land. They intend to go to Tehran, but they wonder if it is just another turn around a vicious circle,” a synopsis of the film, co-written by Hekmat and Mostafa Zandi, reads.

The cast of the film includes Reza Koulqani, Amir-Hossein Taheri, Mahdieh Mousavi, and Pegah Ahangarani.

Mongrel Media Company from Canada is the international distributor of the film.

The movie participated in several global events, including the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada, the Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh, the Mill Valley Film Festival in the US, the Bosphorus Film Festival in Turkey, the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival, the Films from the South Festival in Norway, Catalyst International Film Festival in Ireland, the Hainan Island International Film Festival in China, and the Boston Festival of Films in the US.

‘Bandar Band’ received some awards, including the Best Film award at the International Competition: Innovation in Moving Images section of the Kolkata International Film Festival in India and NETPAC award at the Ulju Mountain Film Festival in South Korea.

The IFFA helps better familiarize the Australian audience with Iranian culture, featuring Iranian stories in movie theaters in the various cities of Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra.

The 2021 edition of the event is underway online and in-person on May 20–June 30.

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MG/AG