The award for Best Documentary Film went to ‘Lotus’ by Mohammadreza Vatandoust for a moving short film that combines great cinematography with poetic storytelling, according to the event’s organizers.
In April of 2010, after the construction of the Lafour dam, Lafourak and several other villages were flooded under 80 meters of water. ‘Lotus’ narrates the story of one old woman who has waited 12 years for permission to cross the lake to an island where the last resident of Lafourak waits for her.
The award was presented to Vatandoust by Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Federal Supreme Council of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Sharjah.
In its second iteration, held from December 14 to 21, Sharjah Film Platform screened more than 50 short and feature films by local, regional and international filmmakers in the narrative, documentary and experimental categories.
‘Lotus’ had previously won two awards at the 8th edition of Nature and Cinema Exhibition ‘ForadCamp’ in Spain, as well as Best Director Documentary award at the 18th Beirut International Film Festival in Lebanon, and the ‘Artistic Vision Award’ at the 16th Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in the US.
MS/SABA55212