Dhaka festival to host Iran’s ‘The Sniper’

The 21st edition of Dhaka International Film Festival in Bangladesh has added Iranian film ‘The Sniper’ to official lineup.

‘The Sniper’ by Ali Ghaffari will compete in the International Competition Section of the upcoming edition of the Dhaka film event which will take place in the Bangladeshi capital from January 14 to 22, 2023.

‘The Sniper’ is about the real-life martyr Abdolrasoul Zarrin, who was known as the cleverest sniper in modern wars during Iraq’s imposed war on Iran.

The sniper, best known for his pinpoint accuracy, inflicted heavy casualties on the Iraqi forces during the 1980-88 war waged by Iraq’s former dictator Saddam Hussein. Zarrin was martyred during the Kheibar Operation in 1984.

“An Iranian sniper has become a nightmare for the officers and commanders of Iraq’s Baath army. Saddam personally puts a bounty on his head. Mercenaries and the most elite forces of Baath army are dispatched on a mission to carry out Saddam’s order…,” a synopsis of the film reads.

In addition to Kambiz Dirbaz and Alireza Delavari, the cast list of the film includes Alireza Kamali and Esmaeel Khalaj.

The film received two awards at the 39th Fajr Film Festival in Iran, including Crystal Simorgh for best film from the National Point of View.

Iranian feature film ‘No Prior Appointment’ by Behrouz Shoeibi, Mahmoud Ghaffari’s ‘The Apple Day’ and ‘A Childless Village’ by Reza Jamali,  ‘Water, Wind, Dust, Bread’ by Mehdi Zamanpour-Kiasari, Amir-Abbas Rabiee’s ‘The Opposition’, ‘The Wind That Shakes the Sugar Canes’ by Ebrahim Ashrafpour, Ali Qavitan’s latest film ‘Life & Life’ have also been shortlisted as Iranian competitors of the Bangladeshi screening event.

Since 1977, the DIFF has been promoting a healthy culture in the film industry in Bangladesh with the main theme of “Better Film, Better Audience, Better Society”.

Some 200 films from 60 countries compete at the DIFF in the following categories: Asian Competition Section, Retrospective, Bangladesh Panorama, Cinema of the World, Children’s Film, Short and Independent Film, Women Filmmakers Section, and Spiritual Films Section.

The festival’s website writes, the “DIFF is a bold expression of resistance against the decadence, vulgarity and cheap commercialism that pervade the mainstream Bangladesh film industry”.

The general theme of the festival is ‘Better Film, Better Audience and Better Society’.

Also read:

Kambiz Dirbaz talks to ifilm about his brilliant role in ‘The Sniper’

MM/AG