Red Sea filmfest honors Iran’s ‘Hit the Road’

The 2021 edition of the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia has bestowed two awards on Iranian feature film ‘Hit the Road’.

The awards include a special jury prize as well as the award for Best Cinematic Contribution which was presented  to cinematographer Amin Jafari for his collaboration in ‘Hit the Road’ directed by Panah Panahi.

Panahi’s directorial debut tells the story of a couple and their two sons who take a road journey to a destination that remains mysterious.

‘Hit the Road’ “begins in the middle of nowhere, where an Iranian family makes a pit stop to bury the kid’s phone to avoid surveillance. Through several pit stops and encounters, we explore this family’s riotous dynamic and learn where their destination is,” reads as a summery to the film.

‘Hit the Road’ is the recipient of multiple accolades from various film festivals worldwide, including the silver screen award at the 32nd Singapore Int’l Film Festival (SGIFF), the best movie award at the 2021 Mar del Plata Int’l Film Festival in Argentina and an honorable mention at the 36th Fort Lauderdale Int’l Film Festival (FLIFF) in the US.

The award list goes on with the jury award at the 2021 Ljubljana Int’l Film Festival in Slovenia as well as the best film award at the 65th BFI London Film Festival in the UK.

Iranian feature ‘A Hero’ by internationally acclaimed director Asghar Farhadi was also among Iranian representatives at the Red Sea fest.

Launched in 2019, the Red Sea International Film Festival is an annual film festival which focuses on new storytelling trends, as well as emerging talents from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world and the rest of the Global South.

The 1st edition of the festival was held on December 6-15, 2021 in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia.

To watch the teaser for ‘Hit the Road’, click here.

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