Chicago, Busan film festivals honor Jalilvand, Gharaei

EghtesadOnline: Two Iranian films have won international awards from festivals in Asia and America.

News ID: ۷۷۹۹۶۱

23 October 2017

“No Date, No Signature” directed by Vahid Jalilvand received an award at the Awards Night of the 53rd International Chicago Film Festival on October 20, and “Blockage” by Mohsen Gharaei was awarded at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, October 21, according to ISNA.

The Chicago event granted its award of the New Directors Competition section to ‘No Date, No Signature’, Cinematicket.org reported.

Premiered at the 35th Fajr Film Festival in Tehran in February, the film then won three awards. It added two more honors in the Horizons section of the 74th Venice Film Festival in September, Financial Tribune reported.

In his second feature film, Jalilvand “coaxes brilliantly understated performances from a superb cast for this compelling meditation on guilt and grief,” the festival website wrote about the film.

A seemingly minor traffic collision has far-reaching consequences in this story of a well-meaning medical examiner haunted by the death of a child he could have prevented. As the story unfolds, his fate becomes inextricably tied to that of the grieving family.

The cast includes Navid Mohammadzadeh, Amir Aghaee, Hedieh Tehrani, Zakiyeh Behbahani, Saeed Dakh and Alireza Ostadi.

Since inception in 1965, the Chicago Film Festival has grown to become a world-renowned annual event. The 53rd edition of the festival will continue screening movies until October 26.

New Currents Award

In its international premiere, Mohsen Gharaei’s “Blockage” was announced the winner of Busan International Film Festival’s New Currents section.

The film together with the South Korean film “After My Death” directed by Kim Ui-Seok was the joint recipient of the award.

According to a statement by the jury panel, “both films are tightly scripted, and display vivid detail and excellent craftsmanship”. The jury was headed by American filmmaker Oliver Stone. Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi was among the jurors.

‘Blockage’ narrates the story of Ghasem, a temporary worker who cracks down on illegal street vendors in Tehran. His hot temper always invites trouble, and he was caught extorting money from some stall owners, impeding his chance to renew his contract with Tehran Municipality.

Hamed Behdad, Baran Kosari, Mohsen Kiaee, Nader Fallah and Giti Qasemi are in the cast.

The New Currents section provides a platform for promising Asian directors to showcase their works.