The film festival of six Caspian Sea littoral states, titled 'Varesh International Film Festival' opened on Monday in the northern Iranian city of Babol and wrapped up on May 3.
Republic of Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Iran were the international competitors of the film festival.
During the award ceremony, attended by several Iranian and foreign officials, dignitaries, filmmakers and guests, the full lineup of winners in various competition categories were announced.
National Competition:
**Best Research
Festival Trophy, Diploma of Honor and Cash Prize (4mn tomans) for Best Research: Armin Isarian for “Mysteries of the Lake”
** Best Script of Fiction Film
Festival Trophy, Diploma of Honor and Cash Prize (4mn tomans) for the Best Script of Fiction Film: Reza Jamali for “Sara’s Voice”
** Best Directing of Animation Film
Festival Trophy, Diploma of Honor and Cash Prize (5mn tomans) to the Best Directing of Animation Film: Malihe Gholamzade for “Tangle”
**Best Directing of Documentary Film
Festival Trophy, Diploma of Honor and Cash Prize (5mn tomans) to the Best Directing of Documentary Film: Elham Maroufi for “330cc of Memories”
** Best Directing of Fiction Film
Festival Trophy, Diploma of Honor and Cash Prize (5mn tomans) to the Best Directing of Fiction Film: Fatemeh Tousi for “The American Bull”
** Best Film:
Festival Trophy, Diploma of Honor and Cash Prize (5mn tomans) to the Best Film: Armin Isarian for “Mysteries of the Lake”
**Jury Members Special Award:
Jury Members Special Award and Cash Prize (3mn tomans): “Burnt Water” by Morteza Motouri
Jury Members Special Award and Cash Prize (3mn tomans): “Hamja” by Mehdi Qanavati
Jury Members Special Award and Cash Prize (3mn tomans): “Willed” by Ashkan Khalilnejad
Tarneh-va Competition:
**Animation Section:
The jury members did not consider any film worthy of the prize.
**Fiction Section:
The jury members did not consider any film worthy of the prize.
**Documentary Section:
Tarneh-va Trophy and Cash Prize (3mn tomans): Mohammad Asgarkhahn for directing “Uncle Asadollah (Khalo Assadollah)”
**Jury Members Special Award
Jury Members Special Award and Cash Prize (3mn tomans): Ali Ahmadi Zarrinkolai for directing “Beyond High Cliffs”
Jury Members Special Award and Cash Prize (3mn tomans): 'Vars' by Javad Vatani
International Competition Common Heritage:
**Fiction:
Best film: “The Crying of Tanbur” by Anisa Sabiri (Russia)
Jury members’ special appreciation for best cinematography: “Faith” by Tatiana Fedorovskaya (Russia)
**Animation:
Best film: “The Theory of Sunset” by Roman Sokolov (Russia)
Jury members’ special appreciation: “The Myth of Haftvad Worm” by Asghar Safar (Iran)
**Documentary:
Best film: “13 kilometers” by Vitaly Chernov (Kazakhstan) and “How Big Is the Galaxy” by Ksenia Elyan (Russia)
Jury members’ special appreciation for best character: “The Weaver” by Mohammad Ayreek (Afghanistan)
Jury members’ special award for best film: “Takleef – The Day of Duty” by Ali Farahani (Iran)
Special Section Hirkani Forests
Festival Best Film Award, UNESCO diploma and Cash Prize (4 Million Toman): Yaser Talebi for directing “Last Breath”
Festival Best Award for Directing a Documentary Film, UNESCO Diploma and Cash Prize (3 Million Toman): Reza Majlesi for directing “Where Do We Go?”
VIFF Secretary’s Special Award:
Festival Secretary’s Special Award and Cash Prize (3 Million Toman): Shahrooz Tavakol for directing “Navajesh”
Festival Secretary’s Special Award and Cash Prize (3 Million Toman): Hadi Ahmadi for directing “Dada Saltaneh”
Iranian Critics and Writers Association Award:
Trophy for Best Film: “Mysteries of the Lake” by Armin Isarian, “Willed” by Ashkan Khalilnejad
Iranian Short Film Association (ISFA) Award:
Trophy for Best Film: “The American Bull” by Fatemeh Tousi
Documentary Filmmakers Directors Guild Award:
Trophy for Best Film: “Sons of Sinbad” by Reza Haeri
Head of Policymaking Council of VIFF, Mahamoud Shalouei, Special Award:
Trophy for Best Film: “Lotus” by Mohammadreza Vatandoust
MS/PR