Farnoush Samadi’s acclaimed short film “Gaze” won a diploma of honor for best short film at Guanajuato International Film Festival, held July 20-29 in two Mexican cities, Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende.
Co-written by Samadi and Ali Asgari, Samadi’s second short film, Gaze, is about a woman who on her way back home, witnesses a crime committed on the bus. The film deals with her struggle over whether or not to reveal the crime.
Marzieh Vafamehr, Amir-Reza Ranjbaran, Pedram Ansari, Safoura Kazempour, Gholamreza Rahimi, Mehrdad Mohammadi, Kiana Asadi, Mehran Elhamifar and Babak Karimi are in the cast.
Samadi and Asgari are both graduates of cinema from the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome.
The two cooperated in several short films and have won awards. They first co-wrote “More Than Two Hours” (2013) and later “The Baby” (2014), both directed by Asgari, which premiered in Cannes and Venice respectively.
“The Silence” (2016) is their first collaboration as co-directors. Gaze (2017) had its world premiere in Locarno, Switzerland. They also co-wrote Asgari’s first feature film, “Disappearance” (2017) that had its world premiere in Venice.
Samadi and Asgari were among the list of invitees (released on June 30) for membership of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, known around the world for its annual Academy Awards or The Oscars.
“Oblivion Verses” debut film of Iranian writer-director Alireza Khatami (based in Chicago) also won the award of best feature film, Mehr News Agency reported.
Set in Chile, Oblivion Verses is a co-production of France, Germany, The Netherlands, and Chile. When an elderly caretaker of a morgue discovers the body of a young woman killed during a protest, he embarks on a mission to give her a proper burial before the militants return. In the cast it has Juan Margallo, Tomás del Estal, Manuel Morón, and Itziar Aizpuru.
