An Iranian-Canadian has made one of the most successful short films of all times.
The T-Shirt, a short film by Hossein Martin Fazeli, has enjoyed an exceptional success on the international stage. Since it’s release a year ago, the film has been screened at 97 international film festivals, winning 30.
The T-Shirt has been awarded various awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Audience Award at such prestigious festivals Like Sao Paulo International Film Festival (Brazil) and Clermond-ferrard (France). Many attribute the exceptional success of the film to its solid and timely script and the way Fazeli has handled the technical aspects of directing. Richard Raskin, the New York film professor and critic calls the film “a mind blower”. The Oscar fest, Clermond describes the films as a ” true representative of the spirit of the short film format”.
T-Shirt has been aired by networks such a ARTE and Canal + in Europe and SBS in Australia. A month ago the film was invited by Sundance Festival to participate in its selection process for 2007. On a related front, Sundance Institute has picked Fazeli as one of its candidates for the prestigious 2008 Sundance International Filmmakers Award.
It is heartwarming to see yet another Iranian succeed on the Internatinal stage. Bravo!
I leave you with a newspaper excerpt on the film after one of the its many successful screenings.
The film tells the story of a T-shirt, of all things. But not just any T-shirt, a T-shirt that offends someone’s’ beliefs. Mark, who is half-American, half-Slovak, walks into a small store in Slovakia. At first he’s happy to find a fellow fan of baseball and the Stars and Stripes on the wall. On his way out, his eyes fall upon an anti-God T-shirt the store clerk is wearing while standing under the American flag. We all know you should never talk religious and politics, hence the chance meeting leads to something far more sinister. There is nothing predictable about this film. It goes where you least expect it to, leaving plenty of twists and turns until the last minute. Best of all it’s a thinker. It gets you mulling over how you can offend others without even realizing it. A wonderfully entertaining and surprisingly thought-provoking piece".
