“Just 6.5” wins added global recognition for Iranian cinema at Tokyo festival
TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Iranian cinema was center stage at the 32nd Tokyo International Film Festival last Tuesday after the award-winning Iranian drama “Just 6.5” received two major honors at the event.
Saeid Rustai won the award for best director and Navid Mohammadzadeh was crowned best actor for his portrayal of Nasser Khakzad, a major drug trafficker in Tehran, in the movie.
“Just 6.5” is about a police squad under the leadership of Samad who has been assigned to arrest Nasser Khakzad.
Rustai received his award during the closing ceremony of the festival, which was attended by Amir Naderi, the New York-based Iranian director who was in Tokyo to hold several workshops.
“It gives me great pleasure to say that I’m coming from a country, which is home to great filmmakers such as Abbas Kiarostami and Amir Naderi, and I’m also happy that I’m being honored in a country where the great filmmaker Akira Kurosawa lived,” Rustai said after accepting his award.
In his speech, Mohammadzadeh dedicated his award to Rustai and said, “What causes this surging of happiness inside me is the presence in the hall of one of the great filmmakers in the history of Iranian cinema, the person who made me and my generation lovers of cinema by his films ‘Impasse’, ‘Harmonica’ and ‘The Runner’; love you dear Amir Naderi!”
The Tokyo festival had also another winner from Iran. Reza Jamali was honored with the Spirit of Asia Award by the Japan Foundation Asia Center for his debut movie “Old Men Never Die”, which was screened in the Asian Future section.
The film tells the story of an Iranian village where nobody has died for 45 years and only the aged remain. 100-year-old Aslan and his friends begin to think suicide is the solution.
“Uncle” by Danish director Frelle Petersen the Tokyo Grand Prix/The Governor of Tokyo Award while the jury gave its special prize to “Atlantis” by Valentyn Vasyanovych from Ukraine.
The award for best actress went to Nadia Tereszkiewicz from France for her role in “Only the Animals”, which won the audience award.
source: Tehran Times