Directed by Mohammadreza Vatandoust, ‘Beloved’ follows the life of an 80-year-old mother named Firouzeh who is fond of her isolated lifestyle in nature with her cows. The film shows her kind and loving character and demonstrates her bravery and strength tackling the hardship of life in the Alborz mountains without the modern comforts of technology. She believes happiness lies in the simplicity of life.
‘Lotus’ by Mohammadreza Vatandoust depicts the survival of one island after a dam flooded a village in northern Iran. It is an "intimate look at the daily routine of an Iranian woman who has survived modestly for twelve years alone in a house at the base of the mountain. She waits for permission to visit the island, which has a grave on it."
The two Iranian films are among the top ten finalists in two sections of Competition Mini-Doc and Feature Competition of the festival.
The American festival this year features a special program for Iranian films, named ‘Stories from Iran’. In addition to the two films, the section includes ‘Aleppo: The Silence of the War’, a co-production with Syria directed by Amir Osanlu, ‘Finding Farideh’ by Kourosh Ataee and Azadeh Mousavi, and ‘Skipper Soleiman’ by Saadat Ali Saeedpour.
The 16th Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, dedicated to documentary films from around the world, will be held on 15-24 February 2019 in Montana, US.
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