- Iranian filmmaker Babak Nabizadeh’s short production ‘Empty Handed but Standing Strong’ (Dast E Khali Del E Por) won the top prize at the First Erbil International Film Festival that took place from May 30 to June 3, 2014.
The film was selected from among 28 short productions participating in the event from Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, The United Kingdom and several other countries.
The 14-minute film is the story of an old man who is a newcomer in a village, and the way he cherishes hope and faith in his life.
- Short film ‘The Fish and I’ directed and acted by Babak Habibifar won the Best Film Prize at the eighth annual Short Story Film Festival held in the State of Rhode Island in the United States on November 29.
Previously, the film had been awarded the prize for the best original film at Uhvati Film Festival in Serbia.
Moreover, the Iranian short film won three different awards at Soria International Film Festival in Spain too.
‘The Fish and I’ recounts the story of a blind man trying to save his fish. Babak Habibifar is the writer, director, editor, actor and composer of the film.
- The Venice Film Festival jury gave a screenplay award to Iranian director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad's Tehran-set ‘Tales’ on September 6, 2014.
‘Tales’, compromising seven short episodes, depicts the integrated lives of different characters from her previous movies that are now connected to one another in some ways. The movie, hailed by critics for its moving exploration of what it means to be human, addresses social problems in a realistic approach.
- Top prizes at the Busan International Film Festival were shared between Iranian director Hooman Seyedi's ‘13’ and Korean Kim Daehwan's ‘End of Winter’.
Both winning productions which were competing in the New Currents section took a $30,000 prize for first or second-time Asian filmmakers. The Prizes for this section were chosen by a jury headed by Academy Award winning Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi.
‘13’ recounts the story of a young, troubled boy who leaves home following the disputes between his parents and has to learn to cope with the violence that surrounds him.
Iranian filmmaker Safi Yazdanian’s debut feature film ‘What's the Time in Your World?’ was also awarded Critics International Federation (Federation Internationale de la Press Cinematographique) FIPRESCI at Busan Film Festival.
- ‘With Others’ directed by Nasser Zamiri was awarded the Young Critics Jury Award at the 16th Mumbai Film Festival in India.
Nasser Zamiri’s feature film recounts the story of a woman who cannot conceive a child after her repeated miscarriages and when her relationship with her husband reaches a critical point they decide to look for a surrogate mother which is a highly sensitive issue in their society.
‘With Others’ is Zamiri’s first feature film to achieve an international recognition. Previously, it has been screened at the First Films World Competition Section of 38th Montreal World Film Festival in Canada and the Competition Section of 17th Religion Today International Film Festival in Italy.
- ‘Endless Road’, directed and produced by Abbas Rafei, received special jury award at the 11th International Moscow Film Festival 'Shining Angel', which was held on November 1-8 in Moscow, Russia.
The movie is the story of a young cleric whose fiancé is attacked by acid thrown into her face. The young cleric, who studies the science of judgment, looks for the acid attacker and kills him with the help of his friend. Struggle between good and evil leads to an endless road in his life.
- Shahram Mokri’s much-acclaimed movie ‘Fish & Cat’ won the Best Director prize at Hanoi Film Festival held in the capital of Vietnam on November 22.
Fish & Cat was also chosen as the best feature film in Prague International Film Festival held from January 7 to 12, 2015 in capital of Czech Republic.
A Novin Film’s production, ‘Fish & Cat’ has participated in many international events so far and won numerous awards. It narrates the story of a number of students who have traveled to the Caspian region in order to participate in a kite-flying event during the winter solstice. Next to their camp is a small hut occupied by three cooks who work at a nearby restaurant.
- Nima Javidi’s ‘Melbourne’ scooped the Best Director, Best Script, and Young Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the 52nd Gijón International Film Festival, Spain.
Melbourne, in a suffocating atmosphere, recounts the story of a young Iranian couple who are about to leave for Melbourne to continue their studies there. But before leaving, and in the hustle of preparing for the trip, they neglect taking care of a baby they are in charge of, and this leads to the baby’s death.
Javidi’s ‘Melbourne’ which was also awarded the Best Script at the 2014 Gijón International Film Festival, was inspired by something that happened for one of his friends, whose baby had fallen into such a deep sleep that they could not wake her up and assumed her dead.
- Maziar Miri’s ‘Painting Pool’ was awarded Best Feature Award at the Second Sharjah International Children's Film Festival in the UAE.
It also received the Audience Award for Best Film at Iranian Film Festival Australia (IFFA) 2014.
Publicly screened in 2013, ‘Painting Pool’ received UNESCO Award at the seventh annual Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA). It narrates the story of a couple, Maryam and Reza, who are different from the normal people around them and encounter a big challenge in proving others that they have resolved the difference by the miracle of love.
- Teymour Ghaderi’s ‘It Hits upon the Roof’ won the special award of Switzerland’s courtoujours short film festival that took place from February 19 to 21, 2015 in the city of Geneva.
The short film ‘It Hits upon the Roof’ competed with representatives from Russia, France, Tajikistan, Belgium, Portugal, Egypt, Mexico, and Switzerland and managed to scoop the jury’s special award and a cash prize of 1,500 Swiss Francs.
Produced by the Art Forum of Kurdistan province, Qaderi’s narrative short movie depicts the life of a young boy who tries not to let his mother wake up by gathering the raindrops falling of their dripping ceiling into his hands.
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