Iranian ‘The Snow Calls’ wins Serbian honor

The 30th edition of the International Festival of Ethnological Film in Serbia has honored Iranian documentary ‘The Snow Calls’.

Made by Marjan Khosravi, the 49-minute documentary film was screened at the student film category of the Serbian event received an honorable mention.

The jury of the event published a statement on Friday, reading “Special mention for student film goes to an intimate portrait of the family and the position of a brave woman in a patriarchal environment that keeps us hoping and in suspense at how the family life will change with a new birth.”

‘The Snow Calls’ is about an expectant mother named Mina who has one last chance to deliver a boy after bearing three girls, or her husband will marry another woman according to a tradition in a tribe living in southwest of Iran.

Mina decides not to have an ultrasound scan for fear of the result and the gossip that would ensue.

She is already under enough pressure from her in-laws, although she does still have people on her side too.

As the snowdrifts become deeper, and the outside door will barely open anymore, the atmosphere in the household becomes increasingly oppressive.

Will there be a happy ending with the birth of a son, or are we watching a life that is about to fall apart?

‘The Snow Calls’ has already taken part in a number of global events, including the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in South Korea, the Sevil International Women's Documentary Film Festival in Azerbaijan, the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in the US, where it received the award for the best long documentary, and the Annual USA Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize.

The 30th International Festival of Ethnological Film presented the award for best student film to ‘Kanarta: Alive in Dreams’ by Akimi Ota from Japan and the UK, and the Dragoslav Antonijevic Grand Prix went to Polish filmmaker Maciej Cuske’s ‘The Whale from Lorino’.

The award for the best film was presented to ‘Dark Red Forest’ by Jin Huaqing from China, and ‘Zeneru’ by Andrea Grasselli from Italy received the Dobrivoje Pantelic Award for best film about indigenous culture in an independent production.

“International Festival of Ethnological Film began its life in 1992 with topics presenting mostly national TV production on folklore and customs of the Balkan people. Over the years the Festival shifted to wide variety of issues in cultural and social anthropology around the world,” the official website of the event wrote.

The 30th edition of the festival was held on October 4-8, 2021 in Belgrade.

Read more:

Big Sky filmfest awards Iran’s ‘The Snow Calls’

‘The Snow Calls’ wins award at USA fest

MG/MG