The big film news in Iran this week primarily concerns the momentous winners honored at the Fajr Film Festival. Among the winning nominees, two films seem to have risen to the top of the pack: Bahram Tavakoli’s The Lost Strait and Houman Seyedi’s Sheeple.
The Lost Strait, which took home Best Film, is a military drama that takes place near the end of the Iran-Iraq War, telling the story of the Ammar Battalian and their defense of the region of Fakkeh. Director Tavakoli takes home his fifth Fajr Film Festival award overall, but also received his first Best Director award, arriving to him ten years into his career.
As for Sheeple, a crime drama about a drug-dealing family, Seyedi won Best Screenplay, as well as the Audience Award for Best Film, Best Sound Mixing, and the Art and Experience Best Film Award, an accolade which is unique to the annual festival. The film is led by actor Navid Mohammadzadeh, who has found his way into a number of newsworthy films of late, including No Date, No Signature.
The hope is that, with these honors in tow, both films will hopefully be available to moviegoers in other countries in the near future. For now, The Lost Strait joins At Damascus Time (which we wrote about last week) for screening opportunity at the European Film Market, the component of the Berlin International Film Festival which pursues wider international distribution for its entrants.
Cover photo: Sahar Dowlatshahi won the best supporting actress award for her roles in “Cold Sweat” and “Istanbul Junction”
