Two awards for Iran cinema at Olympia International Film Festival
Two awards for Iran cinema at Olympia International Film Festival
TEHRAN-The Iranian short animation “In the Shadow of the Cypress” directed by Hossein Molayemi and Shirin Sohani and the feature documentary “Grand Me” by Atiye Zare Arandi have grabbed awards at the 27th Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People in Pyrgos, Greece.
“In the Shadow of the Cypress” won the Best Animated Short Film Award at the event, which concluded on December 7, ISNA reported.
The animation is a complex story of family relationships. When the distance grows between the characters, an unexpected event brings them together again in an exceptionally beautifully written and illustrated way.
Made in 2023, “In the Shadow of Cypress” depicts a former captain suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder who lives with his daughter in a humble house located by the sea. Together, they live isolated from the world and must confront the challenges of their situation. One morning, their lives change forever when an unforeseen event occurs.
A production of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults (known as Kanoon), the animated movie has so far grabbed several major international awards from Academy Award-qualifying festivals.
Recently, it won two silver awards in the categories of Best 2D Animated Short and Best Score in a Short Animation at the 12th Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology (PFCAT), in the U.S. in August.
“Grand Me,” a 2024 joint production of Iran and Belgium, received the Special Mention in the Feature Documentary category of the festival.
The film is about Melina who lives with her grandparents after her parents' divorce. But she wants to be with her mother. On her 9th birthday, she takes her custody case to court, hoping to choose her custodian, unaware of the complexities involved.
The film is a very personal and touching story of a universal theme: a child who must find himself between two parents who are fighting.
In the film, the nine-year-old main character is resilient, funny, and very authentic, as the film's creator does not interfere in any way with the events.
Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People started in 1997 as a bold and innovative festival that would present quality European cinema to children, adolescents, and young people, as well as to educators, parents, and film enthusiasts, in the small provincial city of Pyrgos in the Region of Western Greece.
After two and a half decades of consistent work in the field of children and youth audiences, the festival is recognized as the largest children and youth film organization in Greece, with strong film and audiovisual literacy activities and a clear focus on European content.
Photo: A scene from “In the Shadow of the Cypress”
SS/SAB
source: tehrantimes.com