Isfahan festival to honor directors Marzieh Borumand, Rasul Sadr-Ameli

TEHRAN –(Iranart) Veteran directors Marzieh Borumand and Rasul Sadr-Ameli will be honored with lifetime achievement awards at the 30th International Film Festival for Children and Youth, secretary of the event Alireza Rezadad said.

He made the remarks in a press conference held at the Film Museum of Iran on Saturday.

Borumand is most famous for her hits “Grandmother’s Home” and “School of Mice”, two popular puppet series from the 1980s.

“I’m Taraneh, 15”, “Waiting for a Miracle” and “The Girl in Sneakers” are among works by Sadr-Ameli.

Rezadad also said that a commemoration ceremony in honor of Abbas Kiarostami and film producer Ali Moallem has also been arranged at the festival.

“There are no plans to divide the festival into two separate festivals, however the films for children and young adults will be judged separately,” he added.

A number of workshops have also been arranged on the sidelines of the festival, Rezadad said.

“Shadmehr Rastin and Mohsen Damadi will be holding screenwriting workshops, while Shahram Mokri is due to hold a filmmaking workshop for children,” he added.

Twelve foreign movies including “My Friend Raffi” by Arend Agthe from Germany, “Little Grey Fergie” by Peder Hamdahl from Norway and “Bo’s Most Exciting Holiday Ever” by Diederik Ebbinge from the Netherlands will be competing in the festival.

Among the highlights are also “Fortune Favors the Brave” by Norbert Lechner from Germany, “Belle and Sebastian” by Christian Duguay from France, “Jill and Joy’s Winter” by Saara Cantell from Finland and “Come Along” by Igor Sterk from Slovenia.

Seven animated films and eighteen short and mid-length movies from Iran, Japan, France, Austria, Russia, Germany, Canada, India and several others are scheduled to go on screen at the festival.

“The Boy and the Beast” by Mamoru Hosoda and “Chieri and Cherry” by Makoto Nakamura, both from Japan, “Long Way North” by Remi Chaye from France, “Hero Quest” by Maksim Fadeev from Russia and “Release from Heaven” by Ali Nuri-Oskui from Iran are among the animated films.

In addition, nine Iranian short and feature-length films and animations will go on screen at the international section of the festival.

They include “The Skater” by Fereydun Najafi, “The End of the Dreams” by Mohammad-Ali Talebi, “The Orangish Tree” by Amir-Hushang Moin and “Dreams in One Day” by Sadeq Javadi.

Also included are “The Win Suddenly Rises” by Edris Samani, “Are You Volleyball?” by Mohammad Bakhshi, “Sweet Dream” by Maryam Abdoli, “Hi” by Mohammadreza Hajigholami, and “Sheyda’s Homework”.

The festival will be running in Isfahan from June 30 to July 6.