Int’l Earth filmfest in Iran announces winners

The first edition of the International Earth Film Festival (IEFF) in Iran has announced the winners.

The awarding ceremony was held on Friday evening in Tehran’s Mellat Park due to the pandemic.

‘Good Lost Days of Calendar’ by documentarian Hojjat Taheri won the award for best feature documentary. The doc is about Keisan, the director of the Togabri Village Council, who is faced with the dilemma of choosing between staying in the village and immigration while he is viewed as a savior by the villagers in their numerous problems, in particular, the water crisis.

The award for best short documentary went to ‘Slow and Sluggish’ made by Delavar Doustanian. The doc is about the troubles, the adventures and the wonders two snails encounter on the long road back home.

‘Haboob’ by Mahsa Samani received the award for best animation. It tells the story of a man and his daughter, who are accustomed to living in harmony and peace with nature, but some disruptions change their lovely little life.

The animation has previously participated in several international film festivals, including the 11th Karama Human Rights Film Festival in Jordan and the 28th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film in Germany.

‘Haboob’ grabbed the award for best short animation at the Jordanian filmfest and a special mention at the German event.

The IEFF promotes environmental issues and sustainable development.

It has been established by the Green Civilization NGO, Ordibeheshte Oudlajan Art and Cultural Complex and Hashure.com, a platform providing video-on-demand (VoD) service, to promote environmental issues and sustainable development.

Some 19 feature and 17 short documentary films were screened during the first edition of the festival, which run online, due to the pandemic, in Tehran on May 15-21.

MG/MG