Ojai Film Festival honors 3 Iranian titles

The 22nd edition of the Annual Ojai Film Festival in the US has honored three Iranian flicks.

The Iranian honorees at the 2021 edition of the Ojai are ‘Am I a Wolf?’, ‘SFUMATO’, and ‘Faranak’.

Directed by Amir-Houshang Moeen, ‘Am I a Wolf?’ is an 8-minute animation, in which a number of students are performing a theater titled ‘The Wolf and the Seven Little Goats’. Everybody has a role.

They are totally getting carried away by their roles in a way that the border between reality and theatrical performance is now hardly realized.

Meanwhile, the child acting as the wolf in the story is scripted to be defeated. That makes him feel lonely and annoyed.

As he takes his role too seriously, a bit of chaos startles the group. In the end, the presence of other children and his friends next to him take him out of this mood.

Produced and directed by Amir-Ali Mirderikvand, ‘SFUMATO’ is a 30-minute documentary that narrates the story of the members of a family that live in a village.

The children of the family are of great support and try to cover every need of the family. But they run into troubles and face some obstacles.

In addition to the challenges, the film depicts Iranian culture, the role of children in the Iranian family dynamic, and the role of females in Iranian society.

It explores how one family is breaking free of the traditional constraints by encouraging their daughter in her efforts to obtain a license and drive a motorcycle.

Directed by Mehrnoush Alia and produced by Mohammad Aqebati, ‘Faranak’ is a 16-minute film about a young man who has recently taken a job at a ridesharing company.

He is fired from his previous job, behind on his rent, and abandoned by his wife. Things take an unexpected turn when he gets an unusual passenger—a service dog named Faranak.

After several misadventures, the driver makes a decision that changes his perception of himself and his place in the world.

The 22nd edition of the Ojai event was held in person and virtual on November 4-14, 2021.

Iranian documentary ‘Finding Farideh’ by Azadeh Mousavi and Kourosh Ataee won the honorary award at the 20th edition of the Ojai Film Festival in 2019.

Read more:

‘Finding Farideh’ wins award in US

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