'Saad’s Olive Tree' bags two awards from UK fest

Iran short ‘Saad’s Olive Tree’ has won two awards in the 14th edition of the Manchester International Short Film Festival, Kinofilm Festival in the UK.

Directed by Ahmad Zayery, the 2017 flick won the second prize for ‘Best Director’ and the jury’s special mention for ‘Best Film’ in the international section of the British event.

Saad is a Syrian boy who loves football with big dreams. He loses his eyes and friends in a mortar explosion and because of that he locks himself up at home, until his mother, with so many efforts and creativity, encourages him to go out again, in an innovative way, with the help of the inhabitants of the neighborhood who still remain in this war torn town.

The film has so far in 2017 won the ‘Audience Award’, the ‘Best Dubbing’ and ‘Best Kid Actor’ from Irvington film festival in the US, the ‘Best film’ award from Britain’s Earl Court international film festival, and the ‘Best Screenplay’ award from Pakistan’s ‘Asia Peace’ festival. It was also nominated for the ‘Best Film’ title in Taipei children film festival 2017 in Taiwan.

Out of more than 1,000 entries, the festival selected 260 short films for the weeklong feast for eyes organized in 37 unique short film and themed programs.

The 14th edition of the Manchester International Short Film Festival was held November 18 to 26, 2017 in Manchester, UK.

MF/MF