India’s Kerala fest to show Iran’s ‘Ballad of a White Cow’

Iranian movie ‘Ballad of a White Cow’ has been set to go on screen at the 26th edition of the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK) in India.

Directed by Maryam Moqaddam and Behtash Sanaeeha, the 105-minute 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 Wales One World Film Festival, 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.

‘Ballad of a White Cow’ won the Student Jury Award in the Golden Scale Feature Film Competition at the International Crime and Punishment Film Festival in Turkey.

The IDSFFK is aimed to attract the participation of both filmmakers and viewers in order to create dialogues and debates.

The 26th IDSFFK, which is originally held in December every year, has been rescheduled to March 18-25, 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to be held in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Following the government guidelines, the film festival will be held under Covid-19 protocols.

Read more:

‘Ballad of a White Cow’ releases trailer

Heimatfilm awards ‘Ballad of a White Cow’

‘Ballad of a White Cow’ awarded at Valladolid

Berlinale audiences pick ‘Ballad of a White Cow’

Zurich Filmfest honors ‘A Ballad for a White Cow’

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

France to premiere Iranian film ‘A Ballad for the White Cow’

Berlinale audiences pick ‘Ballad of a White Cow’ reveals photos

MG/AG