Friday 19 April 2024
10:15 AM |

FIFF Announces International Competition Lineup

FIFF Announces International Competition Lineup

The 2019 Fajr International Film Festival has announced the lineup for International Competition (Cinema Salvation).

In total, 30 foreign and Iranian feature and short films are vying for the top prize. The program includes 24 foreign and 6 Iranian titles.

The Lineup:

Feature Films

Sweet Agony 2 | Iran, 2019

Director: Alireza Davoudnejad

Cast: Reza Davoudnejad, Tarlan Parvaneh, Mona Davoudnejad, Zahra Davoudnejad, Sara Louise Kazemi, Homayon Kazemi, Ali Davoudnejad and Moammadreza Davoudnejad

Synopsis

A couple travel from Manchester to London for their daughter’s 18th birthday at an unknown location. As they travel they reflect upon their relationship and how they became estranged from their child.

About Director

Alireza Davoudnejad was born in 1954 in Tehran, Iran. He is a writer and director, known for The Need (1992), Actors Studio (2013) and Khal’e selah (1993).

Some of his movies and awards: Marham (2010): Dubai International Film Festival. Muhr AsiaAfrica Award [Nominee] (2010), Best Film – Feature/ Ferrari (2017): Fajr Film Festival, Crystal Simorgh [Winner] (2017), Special Jury Prize; Crystal Simorgh [Nominee] (2017), Best Director/ Actors Studio (2013): Special Jury Award [Winner] (2013), Best Film, Crystal Simorgh [Nominee] (2013), Best Director/ Behesht az ane to (2000): Crystal Simorgh [Nominee] (2002), Best Director/ Masaebe Shirin (1999): Special Jury Award [Winner] (1999), Best Film, Crystal Simorgh [Nominee] (1999) Best Screenplay/ Khal’e selah (1993): Diploma of Honor [Winner] (1993), Best Directing; Crystal Simorgh [Nominee] (1993), Best Film/ Niaz (1992): Award of the City of Nantes [Winner] (1992); Special Jury Award [Winner] (1992), Golden Montgolfiere [Nominee] (1992); Crystal Simorgh [Winner] (1992), Best Film; Crystal Simorgh [Nominee], Best Director/ Aroos (1991) (writer): Crystal Simorgh [Nominee] (1991), Best Screenplay/ Nantes Three Continents Festival.

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Dance with Me! | Iran, 2019

Director: Soroush Sehat

Cast: Ali Mosaffa, Javad Ezati, Hanieh Tavassoli, Pejman Jamshidi, Siavash Cheraghipour, Kazem Sayyahi, Mehrab Ghasemkhani,Ramin Sedighi, Bahar Katuzi, Pavan Afsr, Shiva Balouchi, Mahyar Pour Babaie, Behrooz Tavakoli

Synopsis

Jahangir’s friends have gathered around to celebrate his last birthday.

About Director

Soroush Sehat was born in 1965 in Isfahan, Iran. He studied chemical engineering and has been working as an actor, screenwriter and director in cinema and television. Dance with me! Is his feature debut.

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The Charcoal | Iran, France, 2019

Director: Esmaeel Monsef

Cast: Hadi Eftekharzadeh, Farid Adhami, Jila Shahi, Yousef Yazdani

Synopsis

In rural northwest Iran, Gheirat, a modest charcoal producer, is pushed into a tragic spiral after his son, sentenced to jail, evades to Azerbaijan.

About Director

Born in 1976 Ardebil, studied cinema, Esmaeel Monsef has directed three short films: Oyan (2010), Under the Colors (2012), Tears (2015) which were presented at Clermont Ferrand France, Teluride USA, Leeds England, Winterthur Switzerland Film Festival. As an editor he has worked on feature films such as, A Minor Leap Down, Without Borders and also documentaries such as I Want to be a King, Wining, The Rock and Slowness.

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A Russian Youth | Russia, 2019

Director: Alexander Zolotukhin

Cast: Vladimir Korolev, Mikhail Buturlov, Artem Leshik, Danil Tyabin, Sergey Goncharenko, Filipp Dyachkov

Synopsis

A simple village boy goes to the front of the First World War with a naive youthful dream of fame and medals. In the first battle he loses his sight. He is left to serve as a listener – he must listen carefully through huge metal funnels and raise an alarm in case of enemy airplanes’ approach. Back then the basis of the Russian Empire army was formed of peasants and working class people with a characteristic appearance, who lived lives of hard physical labor.

About Director

Born in 1988, Alexandr Zolotukhin studied directing at Kabardino-Balkarian State University under Alexander Sokurov’s supervision. His short film, Nerovnaya strochka (2014), was screened at Locarno as a part of the Programma Speciale Sokurov. A Russian Youth was included in the programme of the Berlinale Festival. According to filmmaker, he was very interested in this topic and wrote the movie script by himself during the studies. Alexander Sokurov acted as the artistic director of the project. Zolotukhin noted that he did not strive to achieve the reproduction of historical background with perfect accuracy. He explained that the idea was to show the image of the First World War It is focused on the people who are about to face many catastrophes of the tragic 20th century. The main actor is a boy from the orphanage in Saint Petersburg.

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A Shelter Among the Clouds | Albania, Romania, 2018

Director: Robert Budina

Cast: Arben Bajraktaraj, Esela Pysqyli

Synopsis

Besnik is a lonely shepherd and devoted Muslim, haunted by unfulfilled love. He is the son of a Catholic mother and formerly Communist father whom he takes care of in an Albanian village in the mountains. Up here, Christians and Muslims have found a way to co-exist peacefully. Even after the discovery that the old mosque used to be a church and that the building was actually shared by the two religions in the past, the calm of daily life can be preserved – with Besnik’s help. After the death of his father, however, drastic changes threaten Besnik’s multi-faith family and the shepherd is forced to seek his own path.

About Director

Robert Budina works as an independent film producer and director. He graduated from the Theatre Directing department in the Academy of Arts and has directed and written several theater plays. Together with Sabina Kodra he formed the ERAFILM Production Company in 2001. Robert has filed numerous roles as executive producer, supervisor production in various international coo productions. A Shelter Among the Clouds is his second feature film after the Lulebore (2005) short film, and his first feature film Agon (2012) (Albanian entrance Academy Award Best Foreign Feature 2014), which screened at more than 20 festivals around the world.

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Before the Frost | Denmark, 2018

Director: Michael Noer

Cast: Jesper Christensen, Clara Rosager, Ghita Nørby, Elliott Crosset Hove

Synopsis

As winter approaches in rural 1850s Denmark, an old farmer (Jens) and his family face starvation. With the harsh circumstances and the prospect of yet another tough winter, Jens agrees to ally with the neighbor family in a marriage between his daughter and their son. However, when the rich farmer at a nearby farm wants to buy Jens’s land, he sees a chance to provide him and his family with an even better life.

About Director

Michael Noer born in 1978, Denmark. He studied at the European Film College and later at the National Film School of Denmark, where he graduated from the documentary programme in 2003. His 2007 documentary, Vesterbro, received a Special Mention at the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival. Co-directing with Tobias Lindholm, Noer made his narrative feature debut with the 2010 prison drama R, which won the Bodil Award for Best Danish Film and the Robert Award for Best Danish Film and earned them the Robert Award for Best Director. He subsequently directed Northwest and Key House Mirror, which were released in 2013 and in 2015, respectively. In 2017, his first English-language film, Papillon, a remake of the 1973 film, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2018, Before the Frost, his fifth feature set in 19th-century rural Denmark, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. It also competed at the Tokyo International Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize and the Award for Best Actor.

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Belonging | Turkey, Canada, France, 2019

Director: Burak Çevik

Cast: Çağlar Yalçınkaya, Eylül Su Sapan

Synopsis

In a voice-over delivered in the sober tone of a confession, a man reconstructs the murder of his future mother-in-law. Acting on the wishes of her daughter, his lover, he hired a contract killer to murder her because she opposed their relationship. All that the film shows are the many locations that make up the tragedy: a tidy apartment, the bus station in Ankara, the parking lot, the hallway, the murder victim’s bed… On the way back to Istanbul, the motorway by night becomes a screen onto which the terrible inner torment of someone with a life on his conscience is projected. Then the film changes perspective and shows how the lovers met and what preceded the bloody deed. These seemingly harmless images and conversations become charged by the viewer’s prior knowledge, as if in a psychosis.

About Director

Burak Cevik (1993, Istanbul) received his BA in Film Faculty at the Istanbul Bilgi University. He founded Fol Cinema Society and curated experimental and art house film screenings. Currently he is teaching at Istanbul Bilgi University. Turkish filmmaker-producer-screenwriter-editor Burak Çevik has premiered his second feature, Belonging, in the Forum section of the 69th Berlin Film Festival. After presenting his remarkable feature debut, The Pillar of Salt, at the previous edition of the Berlinale, the young director has returned to the German gathering with his most personal work yet, based on the criminal case that his family was embroiled in 15 years ago.

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Bille | Latvia, Lithuania, Czech Republic, 2018

Director: Inara Kolmane

Cast: Arturs Skrastins, Ruta Kronberga, Elina Vane, Lolita Cauka

Synopsis

A family film based on the book Bille by Vizma Belševica. This is a sorrowful but life-affirming and witty story, full of hope. It shows the process of maturing of a child and her attempts to come to terms with the world in late 1930s Latvia. Bille lives in a world where the poor have their streets and the rich have theirs. She has learned to cope with poverty but is deprived of her mother’s love; relatives take care of Bille but keep reminding her regularly that she is a good-for-nothing who won’t achieve much in her life…. This hurts Bille, but the girl has a dream – to prove herself and break loose from the bondage of feeling inferior. Bille’s personal growth passes through complex and tragic stages of Latvian history. The actual Bille – Belševica herself – managed to find her way in life. Dreams can come true.

About Director

Inara Kolmane (born Inara Miļevska on July 1, 1961) is a Latvian director and producer. She graduated from Riga Secondary School in 1979. In 1982 graduated from Riga Technical School of Culture and Education. In 1994, graduated from the St. Petersburg Theater, Music and Cinema Institute, TV Department. Kolmane has been an editor and producer at Riga Videocentre. Produced several films from 1988 to 1991. In 1991 together with several other employees of Riga Videocentre founded Nine Film Studio. In her 2018 Grand Kristap Prize, her film Bille was recognized as Best Feature Movie. Inara Kolman’s husband is a writer, Arvis Kolmanis, who has also been a screenwriter for her directed films. She has two sons, Nauris and Rihards, whose music is used in Kolmane’s films.

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Erased | Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, 2018

Directors: Miha Mazzini & Dusan Joksimovic

Cast: Judita Frankovic, Sebastian Cavazza, Izudin Bajrovic, Doroteja Nadrah, Silva Cusin

Synopsis

Ana gives birth at the local hospital and everything goes well. There is only a small problem with the paperwork – her file is not on the computer. A temporary loss of data seems to be caused by a software glitch, nothing to worry about. Within a few days, Ana is entangled in a web of bureaucracy of Kafkaesque proportions: not being in the computer means no social security, no permanent address and no baby. She is brutally forced to leave a newborn girl alone at the hospital without any right to visit her until everything is sorted out. All of a sudden Ana is a foreigner, even though she has lived in Slovenia all of her life. Legally, she doesn’t exist. So, her child is an orphan. And orphans are put up for adoption.

About Directors

Miha Mazzini (born 3 June 1961 in Jesenice, Yugoslavia) is a well-established author and screenwriter in Slovenia, with thirty published books, translated in ten languages. He possesses a Ph.D. in anthropology from the Institutum Studiorum Humanitatis and has an MA in Creative Writing for Film and Television at The University of Sheffield. He is a Voting member of the European Film Academy, but only now, at the age of 57, is he debuting with a feature-length film, Erased, which had its international premiere in Tallinn Black Nights’ First Feature Competition.

Dusan Joksimovic was born on December 11, 1963, in Belgrade, Serbia. He is a Cinematographer and was nominated for Gopo award for Best Cinematography.

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Irina | Bulgaria, 2018

Director: Nadejda Koseva

Cast: Hristo Ushev, Martina Apostolova

Synopsis

Irina is a part-time waitress in a small Bulgarian town. On the very same day when she is fired, her husband gets into a serious accident. Irina’s family is trapped in poverty. To make ends meet, she becomes a surrogate mother. Fights, despair and the seed of life growing in her belly bring on another wave to this rough and wrecked life. Slowly, Irina discovers what it means to love and to forgive.

About Director

Nadejda Koseva was born in 1974 in Sofia, Bulgaria. After graduating from the National Academy for Theater and Film Art she directed the short fiction novel The Ritual, part of the omnibus film Lost and Found which premiered at Forum Berlin IFF 2005. Nadejda Koseva’s next short fiction film Omelet won a Special mention at Sundance Film Festival ’09 among other awards worldwide. Her latest short film Take Two traveled around the world after winning a Special mention at its premier at Sarajevo IFF ’11.Irina is her debut feature film. In 2005 together with Svetla Tsotsorkova she founded the production company Front Film. Front Film produced the short fiction film Waltzes and Tangos from the Village of Whitewater (dir. Ivan Vladimirov) – Locarno IFF ’07, the feature films Buffer Zone (dir. Georgi Djulgerov), Thirst (dir. Svetla Tsotsorkova)’- San Sebastian ’15, EFA Discovery nomination ’16 and Ship in a Room (dir. Lubomir Mladenov) – Tokyo IFF ’17, Competition.

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Joel | Argentina, 2018

Director: Carlos Sorin

Cast: Joel Noguera, Diego Gentile, Victoria Almeida, Ana Katz

Synopsis

Unable to have kids of their own, Cecilia and Diego get a call from the adoption agency they registered to, some time ago. So there he is at the table, their brand-new adopted child. Suspicious look, messy hair, Joel is nine – older than Cecilia and Diego had expected. He doesn’t say much more than ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Building a new family life apparently involves a lot of trial and error. A bigger problem is that Joel does talk at school, where he boasts about leading a gangster lifestyle and taking cocaine. The other parents protest about the bad influence he is having on their children.

About Director

Carlos Sorin was born in 1944 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He entered the world of cinema in the early ’70s as director of photography. Sorin made his first feature, A King and His Movie in 1986, and won Silver Lion Best First Work at the Venice Film Festival and the Goya for best foreign language film in Spain. He then directs Daniel Day-Lewis as a crazy dentist in Eversmile, New Jersey (1989). It was written by Sorín, Jorge Goldenberg and Roberto Scheuer. It premiered at the Toronto Festival of Festivals in 1989, but success is not there. Very affected, Carlos Sorin moves away from the sets and is dedicated to the staging of commercials. He returned to the cinema in 2002, after thirteen years of absence, and made Intimate Stories, a drama in which several travelers see their destinies cross in Southern Patagonia. The filmmaker then participates in the collective film 18-j (2004), alongside 8 other Argentine directors before making Bombón: El Perro. Sorin is a regular at festivals, as demonstrated by his return to San Sebastian with The Road to San Diego (2006), where he won the Jury Prize. With The Window (2008), the filmmaker decides to experience a one-location film unlike his previous ones; and then with The Cat Vanishes (2011) and Gone Fishing (2012), he continues to experience in cinema.

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Spring Sparrow | China, 2019

Director: Jingxiang Li

Cast: Shujie Wu, Xinglin Li, Hongyang Ji, Zilong Yang, Shaoqian Luo, Gang Xue, Dongping Ma, Jiali Wang

Synopsis

In 1982, China begins its modernization. Farmers are allowed to sell their crops in the city: the rural exodus starts. Qun, a young man from Hebei Province, dreams of a better future.

About Director

Jingxiang Li was born in 1984 in Beijing. In 2006 she graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in drama performance, then at University of Montreal and Concordia University in Canada, obtaining two Master’s degrees. In 2017, she shot her first film Spring Sparrow.

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Wackersdorf | Germany, 2018

Director: Oliver Haffner

Cast: Johannes Zeiler, Anna Maria Sturm, Fabian Hinrichs, Johannes Herrschmann, Peter Jordan, Florian Brückner, Frederic Linkemann, August Zirner, Sigi Zimmerschied, Ines Honsel, Marlene Morreis

Synopsis

Bavaria in the early 1980s: The economic situation in the town of Wackersdorf is tense. People are losing their jobs and there is no boom in sight. As district administrator Hans Schuierer’s re-election is in danger, a message from the Bavarian State Government is welcome news: The plan is to build a nuclear reprocessing plant in Wackersdorf that would create many new jobs. At first, Schuierer is truly excited and celebrated as a savior by the locals. However he soon becomes suspicious when he realizes how the State Government tries to drastically and illegally mute criticism and nip protests in the bud. He starts to dig deeper and finds out that the plant is by no means as harmless as the government tries to make people believe. Supported by activists and the local priest, Schuierer becomes an outspoken opponent of the planned construction and a figurehead of the protest movement.

About Director

Oliver Haffner was born in 1974 in Germersheim, Rhineland-Palatinate. He grew up in Munich and briefly studied Political Science at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, before transferring and completing his studies in Theater Direction at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna. He worked as a director for the stage at the Vienna Festival (Wiener Festwochen), the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, the Schauspielhaus Bochum, Theater Ulm, the Linz State Theatre, Theater Regensburg, and the State Theater of Lower Austria. He studied Feature Film Direction at the University of Television and Film Munich; his graduation film, Mein Leben im Off (2010), was his debut feature film, and appeared in many German cinemas. Wackersdorf is his third feature film, which has world-premiered in the New German Cinema section of the Munich Film Festival. Haffner is a professor of Media-Specific Representation(film-acting) at the Konrad Wolf Film University of Babelsberg and a freelance lecturer at the Music and Arts University in the City of Vienna. He continues to be active in both theater and film. Haffner lives and works in Munich and Berlin.

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Werewolf | Poland, Germany, Netherlands, 2018

Director: Adrian Panek

Cast: Nicolas Przygoda, Kamil Polnisiak, Jakub Syska, Krzysztof Durski, Maksymilian Balcerowski, Sonia Mietielica, Helena Mazur, Julia Ślusarczyk, Matylda Ignasiak, Oleh Shcherbyna, Eugeniusz Malinowski, Werner Daehn, Radosław Chrześciański, Wojciech Namiotko, Danuta Stenka

Synopsis

Summer of 1945, A temporary orphanage is established in an abandoned palace surrounded by forests for the eight children liberated from the Gross-Rosen camp. Hanka, also a former inmate, becomes their guardian. After the atrocities of the camp, the protagonists slowly begin to regain what is left of their childhood but the horror returns quickly. Camp Alsatians roam the forests around. Released by the SS earlier on, they have gone feral and are starving. Looking for food they besiege the palace. The children are terrified and their camp survival instinct is triggered.

About Director

Polish director Adrian Panek, born in 1975, studied Architecture at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. He is also a graduate of Krzysztof Kieślowski Faculty of Radio and Television at the University of Silesia and Andrzej Wajda Master School of Film Directing. He directed many short films, including The Passion of Marian (2006) and My Poor Head (2009), and numerous music videos as well as commercials. In 2011 he made his feature debut Daas with Andrzej Chyra, Mariusz Bonaszewski and Olgierd Łukaszewicz in the leading roles. The film was named the best polish first feature of 2011. Werewolf is his second feature film, which won the Ecumenical Jury Award and the Audience Award at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

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Widow of Silence | India, 2018

Director: Praveen Morchhale

Cast: Ajay Chourey, Shilpi Marwaha, Bilal Ahmad, Noor Jahan

Synopsis

In a conflict ridden Kashmir, a Muslim half-widow finds herself, her 11 year old daughter and ill mother-in-law in a crisis when she attempts to get her missing husband’s death certificate from the government. Now she will have to find the strength to come out from an unthinkable and absurd situation.

About Director

Indian Praveen Morchhale is a director, screenwriter, and producer. After a few years of working as a film and theatre director, he made his feature debut with Barefoot to Goa (2015). Morchhale is hailed by critics as an important filmmaker of the Indian new wave. His second feature, Walking with the Wind (2017), screened internationally at several film festivals. The film won the Best Film Award in Rome in 2017 and the National Film Award for Best Ladakhi Film in India in 2018. Widow of Silence (2018) had its European premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Short Films

Delirium | Iran, 2018

Directors: Vahid & Navid Hoseyni Nami

Synopsis

A man finds a cut off ear in a rainy night and…

About Directors

Vahid Hoseyni Nami was born in 1985, Tabriz, Iran. He studied film directing in college. He has made over 20 short films and documentaries.

Navid Hoseyni Nami, born in 1991, Tabriz, Iran, has a Master Degree in painting from Sooreh University of Tehran. His paintings have been presented in a number of galleries. He has also worked as a set designer and production designer in a few short films.

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Each Other | Iran, 2019

Director: Sarah Tabibzadeh

Synopsis

Our lost ones are constantly seeking us while engraving their footprints throughout the entire life. We cannot locate each other unless through a new pathway or new universe.

About Director

Sarah Tabibzadeh with a BA in Graphic Design, official member of ASIFA has served as a jury member in a number of film festivals including WISFF, Australia in 2017 and Globe International Silent film festival, Tehran in 2016.

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Pause | Iran, 2018

Director: Pegah Ansari

Synopsis

Third person’s word can turn the young couple’s mood.

About Director

Born in 1994, Pegah Ansari has studied graphic design and has a BA in film directing from Cinema and Theatre Faculty of Art University of Tehran. Pause is her debut short film.

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Disrupted | South Korea, 2019

Director: Sun-yong Bak

Synopsis

A factory worker couldn’t find a place to hide his chopped finger.

About Director

Sun-yong Bak started his filming career when he was in high school. He is currently studying film at SungKyunKwan University, department of Film, TV and Multimedia.

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Excess Will Save Us | Sweden, 2018

Director: Morgane Dziurla-Petit

Synopsis

In a small village of the North of France, an attack alert has been set off due to the combination of two events.

About Director

Born in France, Morgane Dziurla-Petit studied cinema at La Sorbonne Nouvelle in Paris, and then film production in Cannes. Le Jour (2018) and Excess Will Save Us (2019) are her short films.

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Fish | Estonia, 2018

Director: Jaan Toomik

Synopsis

Life passed on from generation to generation can often turn out to be a cruel paradox.

About Director

Jaan Toomik (born 1961 in Tartu) is an Estonian video artist, painter and award-winning filmmaker, Known for Oleg (2010) and Landscape with Many Moons (2014).

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Good Intentions | United Kingdom, 2018

Director: Anna Mantzaris

Synopsis

After a young woman is responsible for a hit and run, strange and spooky things starts to happen…

About Director

Anna Mantzaris is a Swedish stop-motion director and animator based in London, known for her work with Wes Anderson’s ‘Isle of Dogs’, and her films ‘Enough’ and ‘Good Intentions’.

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Honest | Ireland, 2018

Director: Mathew Roche

Synopsis

A mischievous young boy’s confrontation with Jesus helps restore his honesty.

About Director

Mathew Roche is mostly known as a writer of numerous award winning short films. Honest is his directorial debut.

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Hurlevent | France, 2019

Director: Frédéric Doazan

Synopsis

The wind blows, and browse through the book of the alphabet creatures.

About Director

Frederic Doazan is a French experimental filmmaker and animator. His short film, Supervenus, has been selected and awarded to numerous festivals around the world.

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Mara | Germany, 2018

Directors: Hamid Ghanbariara & Adrianna Wieczorek

Synopsis

A lonely man comes every day from work back home. He tries to interact with his small apartment.

About Directors

Hamid Ghanbariara: Born 1979 in Iran. From 2015 to 2018 he studied at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.

Adrianna Wieczorek: Born 1995 in Poland. Since 2014 she studies at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.

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Nellie | Slovenia, 2018

Director: Gaja Möderndorfer

Synopsis

After Christmas holidays, ruffled family relations push Nellie deeper and deeper into her own imaginary world. The incomprehensible universe of adult conflicts starts to merge with little Nellie’s wonderland.

About Director

Gaja Möderndorfer graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, Italy, and earned her Master’s Degree in film directing at the Academy of Theatre, Radio, Film and Television in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

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Ronaldo | Turkey, 2018

Director: Recep Bozgoz

Synopsis

It tells the struggle of a child who gets excited with football in the middle of Anatolia.

About Director

Recep Bozgöz was born in Konya in 1991. His education in Beykent University Fine Arts Cinema and Television still continues. He also works as an editor and a videographer.

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The Narrator | United States, Russia, 2018

Director: Julia Trofimova

Synopsis

As part of an experimental therapy, a depressed employee must navigate his office job with a personal narrator who speaks aloud his every thought.

About Director

Julia Trofimova was born on 1978 in Kaluga, Russia. She Graduated from New York Film Academy as a screenwriter, and filmmaking courses of Moscow Film School.

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The Stop | Poland, 2018

Director: Bartosz Reetz

Synopsis

Jakub takes his last bus to school in the nearby town to get the results of the secondary school leaving exam. His ultimate visit to school marks the end of one stage in his life and the beginning of another.

About Director

Bartosz Reetz, born in 1984 in Grudziądz, Poland, is a graduate of Film and TV Production Organization at Lodz Film School. The Stop is his authorial debut.

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The World Cup in a Square | Italy, 2018

Director: Vito Palmieri

Synopsis

The Italian national football team doesn’t qualify for the 2018 World Cup. A group of friends decide to have their own World Cup on the main square of their town in the South of Italy…

About Director

Vito Palmieri is an Italian director born in 1978. In 2006 he directs the short Tana Libera tutti, awarded with more than 50 prizes. In 2012 he directs Matilde, presented in Berlinale 2013.

Presided over by award-winning writer and director Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi, the 37th edition of Fajr International Film Festival will be held in Tehran on April 18-26. For further information, please visit our website at www.fajriff.com, or send us an email at info@fajriff.com. We ask you to carefully read the Festival’s general guidelines for submission and participation.

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