Iranian-Australian fest screening ‘Drowning in Holy Water’

‘Drowning in Holy Water’ has been competing at the 10th edition of the Iranian Film Festival Australia (IFFA).

The movie went on the Australian screens in Perth and Brisbane and will be screened in Sydney and Melbourne this June.

Produced by Jamshid Mahmoudi and directed by Navid Mahmoudi, the film narrates the story of some young Afghans who have traveled to Iran in the hope to immigrate to Europe.

Rona and Hamed are two young Afghans who are in love with each other. Searching for a better life, they have decided to immigrate to Europe but they have to make a big decision to make it happen; a decision that relates to their religion and beliefs.

A tagline of the film reads, “Rona: Hamed, don’t fear the sea. If you are afraid of anything, it’s more likely that it will happen to you.

Hamed: I don’t.”

The director’s statement reads: “Immigration goes back to my childhood time when I just wanted to go to school but we moved to Iran because of the war in Afghanistan. War destroys everything, leaving people with a world of loneliness. Amidst that, all miseries happen to love! Love is a great sin for women in my land, an unforgivable sin that has to be hidden from others. It is that big and in contradiction with people’s beliefs that can even end up beheading girls!”

The cast of the film includes Ali Shademan, Neda Jebraeeli, Matin Heidarnia, Sadaf Asgari, Sogol Khaliq, Alireza Ara, Amir-Reza Ranjbaran, Khayyam Vaqar, Peyman Moqaddami, Mahtab Jafari, Farid Eshaqi, Mahya Rezaee, Fatemeh Mirzaee, and Alireza Mehran.

The movie was screened at the 38th Fajr Film Festival, winning nominations in two categories of the best actor and actress in a leading role. ‘Drowning in Holy Water’ also received the Kim Jiseok award at the Busan International 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.

Read more:

‘Drowning in Holy Water’ releases trailer

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Iran’s ‘Drwoning in Holy Water’ reveals poster

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MG/AG