The first edition of International Film Festival of Short Feature Films and Documentaries ‘Ertis Cinema’ was held from 11 to 14 July 2018 in Pavlodar in northeastern Kazakhstan, with participation of three Iranian titles, including documentary ‘Safe Passage’ by Payam Parsafar, and short films ‘Saad’s Olive Tree’ by Ahmad Zayeri, and ‘Chocolate’ by Mehdi Haidari.
Parsafar was notified on August 29 that ‘Safe Passage’ has managed to win the Special Jury Prize for Best Director at the Kazakh film festival. The Iranian documentary had previously took part at Visions du Reel in Switzerland, Videoex in Zurich, Cinemadamare in Italy, and Pure in Russia.
‘Safe Passage’ is a documentary about war and environment, jointly written by Payam Parsafar and Hossein Farrokhzadeh.
The purpose of the Ertis Cinema film festival, according to the event’s website, is to popularize short films in the Republic of Kazakhstan, to identify and encourage talented filmmakers.
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