Turkish fest awards Iranian-French ‘Ballad of a White Cow’

The 11th edition of the International Crime and Punishment Film Festival in Turkey has awarded Iranian-French feature ‘Ballad of a White Cow’.

Directed by Maryam Moqaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, the 105-minute movie won the Student Jury Award.

‘Ballad of a White Cow’ received the award in the Golden Scale Feature Film Competition judged by a jury headed by Iranian director and actress Niki Karimi.

The movie is about Mina, a woman whose life is turned upside down when she learns that her husband Babak was innocent of the crime for which he was executed.

The authorities apologize for the mistake and offer the prospect of financial compensation. Mina starts a silent battle against a cynical system for her own and her daughter’s sake.

Just as her money is running out, a stranger named Reza knocks at her door, saying he has come to repay a debt he owed to Babak. Mina is guarded at first, but increasingly lets Reza into her life, unaware of the secret that ties them to one another.

The cast list of the movie includes Moqaddam, Alireza Sanifar, Farid Qobadi, Lili Farhadpour, and Pouria Rahimi-Sam.

‘Ballad of a White Cow’ was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival in the US, the Melbourne International Film Festival in Australia, the Edinburgh International Film Festival in Scotland, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, the Der Neue Heimatfilm in Austria, where it won the award of the city of Freistadt, and stood on the third spot at the Competition Audience Award section of the 71st Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in Germany.

It also went on screen at the Calgary International Film Festival in Canada, the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, the Stockholm International Film Festival in Sweden, the Braun Schweig International Film Festival and the Women's Worlds film festival, both in Germany, the Thessaloniki International Film Festival in Greece, the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain, where it won the Pilar Miró Award for best new director, and the Zurich Film Festival in Switzerland, where it received the Jury Award.

The 2021 edition of the International Crime and Punishment Film Festival was held on November 26-December 2.

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MG/MG