Swedish audience award goes to Samadi’s ‘Gaze’

The short fiction ‘Gaze’ directed by Farnoush Samadi has grabbed the Audience Award at the 36th edition of the Uppsala International Short Film Festival in Sweden.

The 15-minute film won the award in competition with more than 300 short films from other countries, ranging from fiction and experimental films to documentaries and animations.

‘Gaze’ is about a woman who witnesses something happening inside a bus while commuting back home from work. She has to decide whether to reveal it or not, according to the website of the festival.

Written by Ali Asgari, the short film has so far represented Iran at a number of globally acclaimed film festivals, including the 70th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland, the 34th edition of the Tehran Short Film Festival in Iran, and the 31st edition of the American Film Institute Festival in Hollywood, the US.

Graduated from The Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome, Samadi wrote a number of short films with Asgari, including ‘More Than Two Hours’ (2013), ‘The Baby’ (2014) and ‘The Pain’ (2015).

She also co-directed ‘The Silence’ with him which was premiered in Cannes 2016. ‘Gaze’ is Samadi’s second short film as director.

Iran’s ‘Animal’ by brothers Bahram and Bahman Ark went on the Swedish screen as well.

Depicting the indignities of migration, the 15-minute ‘Animal’ shows a man who tries to cross a border in the guise of a ram.

The Swedish festival was held on October 23-29, 2017, in Uppsala, near Stockholm, at four cinema theaters located in the city’s classic cinema district.

MG/MF