A ceremony was held during the two-day 7th Annual Iranian Film Festival (IFF) in San Francisco on September 27 to pay tributes to Iranian female director Pouran Derakhshandeh as her latest film ‘Hush! Girls Don’t Scream’ was screened.
‘Hush …!’ was warmly welcomed by both Iranian and American audiences. Later, she was honored for a lifetime of artistic activities, Cinemapress reported.
Derakhshandeh also listened to comments and answered questions raised by the audience after the screening.
Some American families opined that the film needs to be shown in US schools so that parents, officials and students get greater exposure to social issues as portrayed in the film.
The IFF is an annual event showcasing independent feature and short films made by or about Iranians from around the world. It is also a platform for Iranian filmmakers living around the globe to express their vision and talent through the medium of film. IFF was established to support Iranian films and culture in the Iranian-American community of San Francisco and beyond.
Wide Range
This year again, the films represent a wide range of topics, genres and point of views, from fiction, documentary, animation…to music and beyond. Eleven countries are participating: Iran, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Afghanistan, Sudan, and Iraq. From Iran films like Trapped, Trucker and the Fox, and Kami’s Party are participating.
About a month ago, ‘Hush …!’ was shown at the department of women’s studies at Berkeley University, California and received a positive feedback from the audience as well.
The sobering motion picture, which tackles a sensitive social issue -pedophilia, won the audience award at the 2013 Fajr Film Festival, as well as top prize at the London Iranian Film Festival the same year. It last premiered at the 10th Eurasia International Film Festival in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Derakhshandeh has participated in a number of local and international film festivals and has won several awards. Her movies usually focus on social issues.
The IFF was held on September 27-28.
