“They”, a film by Seyyed Morteza Sabzeghaba, received the special award of the Mediterranean section of the festival, which is dedicated to the short films.

The film tells the story of a group of people from the city of Dezful in Khuzestan province, who bid farewell to the city as they make their way back to their families during the Iran-Iraq war. However, during this vulnerable moment, they are unexpectedly ambushed by the enemy’s jets.

“The Melody of Loneliness” by Samira Azimian won the best animation award, while “A Butterfly Is Knocking on Window” by Mohammad Hassani named the best social film.

“Daybreak” by Yasser Yari, “Katvoman” by Hadi Sheibani and “Silence Again” by Mohammad Alavi were also screened at the festival, which was held from July 4 to 9.

Photo: A scene from “They” by Seyyed Morteza Sabzeghaba

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“Punch Drunk” by Adel Tabrizi was honored in the Movies category during the closing ceremony of the festival on Sunday.

In 1996, Mahtab lives in Tehran along with her 10-year-old child, Erfan. She has been divorced from her husband, Morteza, who is in jail. Mahtab has enrolled her child in a karate class so that he does not end up like his father as far as his character is concerned. Erfan’s only interest is cinema and could not care less about sports. Hassan Khoshnood, the tough and serious karate instructor with his dictatorial methods causes Erfan to, one day, run away from the karate academy in the middle of exercises.

In this section, “Un Coach Come Padre” by Italian director Massimiliano Finazzer Flory won the best film award.

“Hamid’s Symphony” was awarded the honorable mention in the Movies & TV Football – Feature section.

Directed by Jafar Sadeqi, the documentary chronicles the life story of a former Iranian football star, Hamid Alidoosti.

He is one of the first legionnaires of Iran football. Alidoosti is also a master in cinema and literature, the result of his life is his daughter Taraneh, a cinema superstar who won several major international awards.

The award for best film in this category went to “Crazy for Football” by Volfango De Biasi from Italy.

Directed by Sadeq Hosseinkhani, “The Winner” received the honorable mention in the football short film category.

It follows a footballer girl who faces some problems in her life due to playing soccer with some boys from other countries.

Photo: Hamed Behdad acts in a scene from “Punch Drunk” by Adel Tabrizi.

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“For the Clean Up” directed by Mohammad Moravvej and “Naji” by Hossein Torkjush will be competing in the short film section of the festival, which will take place in Kingston from June 24 to 26.

“For the Clean Up” follows a fallen-from-grace old man trying to change things for the good while “Naji” tells a story about human trafficking.

“Duchenne Boys” has been chosen to be screened in the documentary film section.

A personal narrative documentary that follows its creator, Sohrab Kavir, as he returns to Iran, battling survivor’s guilt after the deaths of three of his brothers. Once there he embarks upon an epic quest to form a virtual football team made up of young sufferers of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, the same disease that took his brothers.

Kavir has previously said that he made the short documentary to raise public awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Directed by Elika Abdollahi, “Pass”, is a fascinating drama about a poor woman that shows everyone is not trustworthy. This film is competing in the student films category.

This section also features “Viewpoint” by Mohsen Mohammadi.

A young, unmarried couple goes out on a date, and both of them are carried away by a neon sign on a billboard and a challenge grows heated. Both read it as something new, and every time they see it as well, they keep playing this game until the word on the billboard doesn’t even matter to them. They try to reach a collective conclusion, which binds both of their minds together. Finally, they agree on a false and nonexistent matter, and the word is something else.

KIFF aims to support independent production companies and is dedicated to providing a new supportive platform that allows both established and emerging independent filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work to the industry, the organizers said.

In addition to film screenings, the festival will host an extensive program of workshops, Q&A sessions and special events that will allow aspiring, interested and passionate talent to learn more about the industry and develop new skills.

Photo: Reza Banafshekhah acts in a scene from “For the Clean Up” directed by Mohammad Moravvej.

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The closing ceremony of the festival, which took place in the town of Trento, was organized on Thursday.

“Holy Bread” directed by Rahim Zabihi won the award for best documentary.

The film tells the story of the hard life of people who smuggle goods in order to support their families. Because of this, they are forced to hike arduously in the mountains, putting their lives on the line. The father of a household may be swept to his death by an avalanche, or hit by a soldier’s bullets.

“I Won’t Remain Alone” was given the award for best short documentary.

Directed by Yaser Talebi, in this documentary, an elderly disabled couple living in a small village in the northern part of Iran, faces an unfathomable tragedy when their youngest son falls into a coma after an accident. Defying the Islamic traditions of burial, overcoming problems of red tape, and turning devastation into hope, the parents agree to donate their son’s organs. Five years after their brave decision, a film crew visits them and records their slow path of reconciliation with death – or rather, their acquaintance with eternal life.

“Congenital” co-directed by Saman Hosseinpur and Ako Zandkarimi won the award for the Film for Our Future category.

“Esau”, a Russian-Israeli-British drama by Pavel Lungin was selected as best film.

“Diversity” by Martina Huismann and Marc Eggers from Germany won the best short film award.

The Spirit of Faith Grand Prix went to “Man of God” by Yelena Popovic from the United States.

The film depicts the trials and tribulations of Saint Nektarios of Aegina, as he bears the unjust hatred of his enemies while preaching the Word of God.

Elaheh Nobakht, the producer of the acclaimed Iranian documentary “Beloved”, was a member of the jury at the 24th Religion Today Film Festival.

Photo: A scene from “Holy Bread” directed by Rahim Zabihi.

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“A Hero” will be competing in Icons, a BIFF showcase of the latest films by contemporary iconic filmmakers from around the world.

The film, which won the Grand Prix (ex aequo) at Cannes 2021, is about Rahim who is taken into custody as he is unable to pay his debts. After being granted a two-day parole, he attempts to get his lender to write off part of the debt and withdraw the charges. When Rahim finds a handbag full of gold pieces and returns it to the owner instead of helping himself, he is suddenly celebrated in the media as an upstanding citizen.

“The Absent Director” by Arvand Dashtaray and “Asteroid” by Mehdi Hosseinivand Aalipur will compete in New Currents, a section dedicated to up-and-coming Asian filmmakers’ first or second features that bestows two films with a New Currents Award.

“The Absent Director”, in one continuous take, follows the various members of a young Iranian theater company during their secret rehearsals of Macbeth at their director’s home in Tehran, while he works with them remotely from Paris via video call. Their dream is to submit the play to the Edinburgh Theater Festival on time, but things get complicated when their personal conflicts escalate, and their hidden agendas come into light. The heated tensions reach their climax when a mysterious tragedy threatens to bring their work to a complete halt.

“Asteroid” is about Ebrahim, a 12-year-old boy who lives with his mother and five siblings of all ages in a two-room shack in the heart of the desert, far away from the village.

Aside from feeding the children and obtaining a birth certificate for them, the main preoccupation of Ebrahim and his mother is to build a house in the village so they don’t have to walk all the way back and forth all the time.

“Ballad of a White Cow” by Behtash Sanaeiha and Maryam Moqaddam has been selected to be screened in A Window on Asian Cinema, a section for films of various styles and visions from Asian cinema.

It tells the story of Mina, a young woman who lives alone with her deaf child as her husband was executed for a murder charge a year ago. She tries to get her life together, take good care of her child and make both ends meet. However, her life gets more sorrowful when she finds out that her husband was innocent.

“Cloudy Man” by Shahin Jalali will be screened in the Asian Short Film Competition of the Korean festival, which will open on October 6 with a screening of “Heaven: To the Land of Happiness” by Korean filmmaker Im Sang-soo.

Reza Mirkarimi, the director of the acclaimed Iranian dramas “Castle of Dreams” and “A Cube of Sugar”, is the president of the Kim Jiseok Award Jury at the Busan festival this year.

“Anita” by Longman Leung from Hong Kong will be the closing film of the event on October 15.

Photo: “Asteroid” by Mehdi Hosseinivand Aalipur.

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Directed by Kaveh Mazahei, the acclaimed Iran-German production “Botox” has been selected to compete in the feature film category.

The film follows Akram and Azar, two sisters who lie about the disappearance of their brother by telling everyone he has fled to Germany. As time goes by, however, the “lie” turns into “reality” in Akram’s mind, so that she believes her brother will come back.

“One Night” by Aida Alimadad, “Malakout” by Farnush Abedi and “Gabriel” by Yusef Kargar are competing in the short film section.

“One Night” is about a middle-aged woman named Iran who pursued by the memory of her late husband. Overwhelmed by the grief of his absence, she is driven to an act of fierce melancholy.

The acclaimed animated movie “Malakout” (“Divinity”) produced at the Documentary and Experimental Film Center tells the story of a pianist, who has lost one of his hands and can’t play the piano anymore. Doctors decide to transplant a dead criminal’s hand to his body. The pianist with his new hand starts killing people.

The film has been screened in numerous international events and won several awards, including the Excellence Award at the 18th Hiroshima International Animation Festival.

It also won two honors, including the best director award for Abedi, at the Dead of Night Film Festival in Liverpool.

“Gabriel” is about a middle-aged man who lives with his son. His wife has been lost for some time. All the people are suspicious about her. One day news comes to him and he has to choose one: expediency or conscience.

“Tattoo” by Farhad Delaram has been selected to be screened in the out-of-competition section.

It revolves around a young Iranian woman who wanted to renew her driver’s license, but when the officials noticed a scar on her wrist and her tattoo, they began looking at her with suspicion. Suddenly she is trapped, forced to answer personal questions and exposed to insinuations. The camera captures the growing uneasiness with clinical precision.

The Torino Underground Cinefest comes to an end on Thursday with honoring winners.

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