Director Shahram Mokri received the award Monday during the closing ceremony of the event in Lisbon.
The Kazakh-German drama “Harmony Lessons” by Emir Baigazin won the festival’s Special Jury Award and “Primaria” by Hugo Pedro from Portugal won the MEO Award for Best Short Film.
“Fish and Cat” is the story of a group of students who decide to camp in a desolate Caspian region where a kite flying competition is held during the winter solstice.
Not far from the camp live Babak and Saeid, two grimly practical cooks. Armed with sharp knives, they roam the forest in search of meat to serve in the decrepit restaurant they run nearby.
“Fish and Cat” is inspired by the true story of a restaurant that served human flesh. Its aesthetic proposal is a tour de force: a film shot in a single take (by the director of photography, Mahmud Kalari), combining formal experimentation and suspense horror filmed with a sense of humor that is rare in Iranian cinema.
The movie had already received the Special Orizzonti Award for Innovative Content at the 70th Venice International Film Festival in September.
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