Hafez Awards announces M.H. Mahdavian as best director

The 17th edition of the Hafez Awards has named Mohammad-Hossein Mahdavian as the best director for making acclaimed political drama ‘The Midday Event’.

The award for best director was presented to Mahdavian during the Hafez Awards ceremony on August 13, 2017.

Mahdavian’s ‘Midday Event’ has also received the best film award at the 35th edition of the Fajr Film Festival in February 2017.

It has also grabbed the audience Crystal Simorgh, the award for best film from the national point of view, as well as the Crystal Simorgh for best set and costume design.

Javad Ezzati one of the actors in ‘The Midday Event’ received one of the three awards in the best actor category.

‘Midday Event’ chronicles parts of a real event, depicting the activities by MKO that led to assassination of several high-ranking Iranian officials in 1981, and the counter-actions by Iranian intelligence services and armed forces to contain them.

MKO (Mojahedin-e-Khalq Organization) is an Iranian political–militant organization in exile that carried out numerous terrorist attacks in the 1980s in order to overthrow the new Iranian government of the time.

This edition of Hafez Awards commemorated Ali Moallem, the founder of the awards who passed away of a heart attack in March 2017.

The 17th edition of the Hafez Award ceremony was held at the Grand Hall of the Interior Ministry in the Iranian capital city of Tehran on Saturday.

MG/MG