The Iranian feature film ‘Inversion’, written and directed by Behnam Behzadi, which represents Iran in the Un Certain Regard Section of the 69th Cannes Film Festival, had its premiere screening on May 18 and was well received by the audience including jury president George Miller and the Iranian jury member Katayoon Shahabi.
Thierry Fremaux, director of Cannes Film Festival said the festival had received many remarkable Iranian entries this year, Mehr News Agency reported.
The story centers on Niloofar (Sahar Dolatshahi) who is single and lives with her elderly mother who is suffering from emphysema. In the course of one of Tehran’s climate inversions, her mother is told to relocate to another part of the country where the air is cleaner, otherwise she will die.
Niloofar’s older siblings unilaterally make the decision that their younger sister will be mom’s permanent caregiver. The decision means she should leave her work, city and relationships, a clear violation of her rights and independence.
Owen Gleiberman, chief film critic of Variety called Dowlatshahi “a dynamic actress.” Praising her performance, he wrote, “The audience looks at Niloofar and feels so connected to her eager vitality that we want her to be everything that she can be”.
Jasmin Valjas of The upcoming website rated the movie with three stars out of five calling it “a realistic film, relatively mild and somewhat compliant in its provocation”.
Besides Dowlatshahi, Ali Mosaffa, AliReza Aghakhani, Setareh Pesyani, Roya Javidnia and Shirin Yazdanbakhsh form the rest of the cast who are present at Cannes.
Mohammadi Wins FIFPF Award
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), the region’s highest accolade in film, and the International Federation of Film Producers Associations (FIAPF) announced the acclaimed Iranian producer Manoochehr Mohammadi as the winner of the 10th FIAPF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Film in the Asia Pacific region.
The announcement was made at Cannes on May 19.
The award celebrates a film practitioner from the region whose career and actions contribute strongly to the development of the Asia Pacific film industry. It will be presented to Mohammadi at the 10th APSA ceremony in November in Brisbane, Australia.
Benoit Ginisty, chief representative for FIAPF said, “FIAPF wishes to celebrate Iranian cinema which has the highest number of films in competition in APSA history. This year, FIAPF will honor veteran film producer Manoochehr Mohammadi who has been the voice of the film producers in his country until recently as chair of the Iranian Film Producers Guild. Acclaimed by Iranian audiences, Mohammadi’s films have also been awarded at international film festivals around the globe,” the award website reported.
“I owe this honorable award to a large number of talented Iranian artists who have helped me throughout the 30 years of my career,” Mohammadi said.
His productions include the children’s movie ‘Singer Cat’ (1987), comedies ‘Hey Joe!’ (1989) and ‘The Lizard’ (2004), dramas ‘Gold and Copper (2010), ‘Kissing the Face of the Moon’ (2011), ‘We Have a Guest’ (2014) and ‘Angels Come Together’ (2013). His ‘M for Mother’ became number one at the 2007 Iranian box office. His 1993 Iranian box office hit ‘From Karkheh to Rhine’ was filmed in Germany and ‘Evening of the 10th Day’ (2010), in Iraq.
Mohammadi’s ‘Under the Moonlight’ won the Critics Week Grand Prize in 2001 Cannes and his 2013 film ‘The Painting Pool’ was the recipient of the APSA 2014 UNESCO Award for outstanding contribution to the promotion and preservation of cultural diversity through the medium of film. He is a member of the prestigious APSA Academy, a growing body of over 870 of the region’s most respected filmmakers.
Meanwhile, the US Amazon Studios and Cohen Media Group have landed domestic rights to Oscar-winner Asghar Farhadi’s ‘The Salesman’ which is Iran’s representative in the main competition section of the 69th Cannes Film Festival.
Memento Films produced the movie and handles its international sales.
