Iranian films awarded at Busan Festival

Tehran. (Iranart)- Two Iranian films received awards at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea.

At Kim Jiseok Award went to ‘Drowning in Holy Water,’ directed by Navid Mahmoudi and ‘The Slaughterhouse,’ by Abbas Amini.

The New Currents jury, headed by director Mira Nair, said of the top winner, ‘A Balance’ and ‘Three’: “Both are drawn by deep contemplation on human society, yet each has achieved its own unique cinematic language.”

According to screendaily.com, BIFF chairman Lee Yong-kwan noted that unlike at the festival’s line-up announcement press conference last month, the organizers were able to sit without masks – albeit distanced with plastic screens between them – thanks to the improved circumstances in South Korea with the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today and throughout the festival, organizers worked with a team of medical specialists and Busan City Hall to ensure safety measures were taken against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

“Most of all, I’d like to thank the citizens of Busan and our audiences who demonstrated world-class civic awareness for everyone to see. I’d say this year’s edition was ‘a festival of the audiences’,” he said. He also thanked all the overseas filmmakers who participated in video call Q&As and talks as well as local filmmakers, of whom “100 percent came down to Busan to participate”.

According to Variety, the festival operated a hybrid format, with most events shifted online due to the coronavirus outbreak alongside a handful of in-person screenings at the Busan Cinema Center. It reported that over its 10-day run (October 21-30) it had attracted 20,100 visitors to its onsite screenings. It's aggregate online visitors numbered just 30,200 for its BIFF Forum, Asia Contents Awards, the Asian Film Awards, and the Master Class lecture.

“Although the total number of festival audiences remained approximately 18,000 due to 25 percent occupancy for each theater, it was a noteworthy number that shows the love and support of the audience for the Busan International Film Festival,” festival organizers said at an end of session report. “9 out of 10 films that screened at the Busan Cinema Center BIFF Theater were sold out, including ‘Soul,’ ‘Summer of 85,’ ‘In the Mood for Love,’ and ‘The Asadas.’ Films that received acclaim from overseas film festivals, such as ‘Minari,’ were also sold out.

Source: Iran Daily