Iran’s Niki Karimi on Turkish festival panel

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Iranian actress and director Niki Karimi has been selected for the jury of the 57th International Antalya Film Festival, running from October 3 to 10 in the Turkish tourist resort, the organizers have announced.

She will be judging the films in the international competition along with Romanian producer Ada Solomon, Turkish director Emin Alper, artistic director of the Tribeca Film Festival Frederic Boyer and Brazilian filmmaker Sandra Kogut.

A lineup of 10 movies has been selected to be screened in the international competition of the event.

Iranian writer and director Masud Bakhshi’s drama “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” is one of the films.

The film is about Maryam, a young woman who has been sentenced to death for murdering her husband, Nasser. Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, so Maryam’s fate will be decided by Nasser’s daughter, Mona, on the country’s most popular televised reality show. 

In front of millions of viewers during Yalda, the winter solstice celebration, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past.

Karimi, 49, has since performed in more than 60 films and won many national and international awards, most notably in San Sebastian, Cairo and Nantes. 

In 2001, she made a documentary, “To Have or Not to Have”. She made her directorial debut feature, “One Night”, in 2005, which premiered in Un Certain Regard at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Her credits also include “A Few Days Later”, “Final Whistle” and “Night Shift”. She made her latest film “Atabay” in Iran’s Azarbaijan. 

Karimi has also served as a jury member for numerous festivals, including Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Karlovy Vary, Edinburgh, Dubai and Damascus.

source: Tehran Times