Ajyal Film Festival audiences pick Iranian ‘Orca’

The Ajyal Film Festival in Qatar has announced the winners on Saturday, awarding Iranian movie ‘Orca’.

Directed by Sahar Mosayyebi, the movie won the audience choice award at the ninth edition of the Qatari event.

A co-production from Iran and Qatar, ‘Orca’ tells the true story of the Iranian swimmer Elham-Sadat Asghari who earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records.

It follows the divorced Elham, who survives a horrific beating at the hands of her husband. Haunted by the traumatic experience and seeking to rediscover herself, she finds solace and salvation in the open expanse of water.

Courageous, determined and encouraged by her father, she soon makes her mark as a formidable endurance swimmer.

In the fight of her life, Elham faces obstacles in search of her ultimate goal, the Guinness world record for swimming the longest distance with her hands bound.

“All the incidents in the film are true; they are real and Elham went through it all. With this film, we are stating facts not criticizing or condemning anyone,” Mosayyebi said in a press conference at the Ajyal event.

She also noted that “Orcas are like human beings; they are very family-oriented and close to each other as well as emotional and sensitive. So naming the film after it was a natural choice.”

Popular Iranian star Taraneh Alidousti played the role of Elham in ‘Orca’.

Ali El Arabi from Egypt won the Hilal Best Feature Film Award for his ‘Captains of Zaatari’, and the Bader Best Feature Film Award of the Ajyal Film Festival was presented to Abdallah El Khatib’s ‘Little Palestine, Diary of a Siege’ from Lebanon, France and Qatar.

Iranian feature ‘A Hero’ by Asghar Farhadi opened this year’s edition of the Qatari event.

The ninth edition of the Ajyal Film Festival, presented by the Doha Film Institute, was held on November 7-13, 2021.

The 2020 edition of the Ajyal Film Festival picked Iranian movie ‘Sun Children’ by Majid Majidi as the best film.

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MG/MG