Iranian Film Festival of Chantilly announces winners

The Iranian Film Festival of Chantilly (IFFC) in France has announced the winners of its first edition.

Roqayyeh Tavakkoli’s ‘Mehran’ received the Sorbonne Prize at the IFFC.

The film tells the story of a boy named Mehran who hosts a family from the Iranian city of Mehran which was affected by the 1980-88 Iraq’s imposed war on Iran.

The film is about the hospitability of the people of Yazd during the war.

The feature ‘African Violet’ by Mona Zandi-Haqiqi was also awarded at the IFFC, winning the audience award.

The movie is a about Shokouh, a woman who finds out that her ex-husband, Fereydoun, has been put in a nursing home by his children.

She and her new husband take an unconventional step to take care of Fereydoun in their own home.

Meanwhile, Reza Jamali’s ‘Old Men Never Die’ won the special jury prize at the IFFC.

The first edition of the Iranian Cinema Festival of Chantilly was initially scheduled for March, but was postponed to November due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The festival offers a platform for talented Iranian directors to introduce their works to the world arena.

The IFFC is organized by the Franco-Iranian Center in collaboration with the municipalities of Chantilly and Senlis, and Sorbonne University as well as several Iranian art institutions and film production companies.

The first edition of the event took place on November 4-7.

SQ/MG