Iranian Academy of Arts honors Hadi Hejazifar

The Iranian Academy of Arts (IAA) has presented a Plaque of Glory to the director and actor Hadi Hejazifar.

He received the honor on Tuesday evening for his acclaimed directorial debut ‘The Situation of Mehdi’.

The movie is a war drama portraying the life story of Mehdi Bakeri, the chief of IRGC 31st Shura Division that carried out several major operations during the war. It was critically acclaimed following its premiere at the 40th Fajr Film Festival.

The academy established the IAA Plaque of Glory in 2021 to recognize an outstanding work recently done by an artist.

After director Majid Majidi who received the plaque in 2021 for his movie ‘Sun Children’, Hejazifar is the second artist that has received the honor.

The IAA director Bahman Namvar-Motlaq said “We should appreciate Mr. Hejazifar for recalling some issues that we had forgotten by making the film. The film will be studied in narrative, semiotics and several other issues, and the results will be published in a book in the future.”

In his acceptance speech, Hejazifar said, “Many persons in my family, including my father and uncles, were serving in the 31st Shura Division. When I went to the University of Tehran, my father asked me to make a film about the life story of Mr. Mehdi [Bakeri].”

He said that people from every walk of life joined together to defend their country during the war and express his hope that his film could bring the hearts of the country’s people closer together.

Born in 1976, Hejazifar made his cinematic debut in 2004 with the movie ‘Father Field’ directed by Rasoul Mollaqolipour.

Hejazifar gained a nationwide fame after appearing as Commander Ahmad Motevasselian in 'Standing in the Dust'.

Some of the movies in which he has appeared are ‘Midday Event’, ‘The Woodpecker’, ‘Lottery’, and 'Damascus Time'.

Hejazifar’s performance in 'Standing in the Dust' won him a nomination for the Best Actor in a Leading Role from the 18th Iran Cinema Celebration in 2016.

He was also nominated for the Best Actor in a Supporting Role for appearing in 'Midday Event' at the 19th Iran Cinema Celebration and the 35th Fajr Film Festival in 2017.

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MG/MG