Iranian social drama Hush! Girls Don’t Scream directed by Pouran Derakhshandeh which has garnered awards at the 2014 edition of Irvine International Film Festival (IIFF) in the United States and was crowned as best film at the 4th London Iranian Film Festival, has won the Best Film Award and Best Actress Award (to Tannaz Tabatabaei) at 2015 Fiji International Film Festival.
Hush! Girls Don’t Scream narrates the story of a young woman, who awaits trial and death sentence for having murdered a complete stranger. The story unravels the mystery with a focus on the restraining social conventions that place women at a disadvantage when trying to deal with such sensitive issues as sexual assults.
Derakhshandeh is currently in the Turkish city of Ankara to showcase her 2013 cinematic production at Ankara’s first edition of International Family Films Festival.
The annual festival will also screen films from Turkey, Japan, the US, India, China and Australia until May 24. Pouran Derakhshandeh, who has directed 12 feature-length movies and dozens of documentaries over the past four decades, is one of Iran’s most successful female filmmakers.
A Little Bird of Happiness (1987), Passing through the Dust (1988), Lost Time (1989), Love without Frontier (1998), Candle in the Wind (2003), Eternal Children (2006) and Endless Dream (2010) are among her better-known works.