The closing ceremony of the Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) on Tuesday conferred the award for the best film on ‘Melbourne’.
Representing Iranian cinema at the event, ‘Melbourne’ competed with films from 15 other countries in the International Competition section of the 36th edition of the festival and won the Golden Pyramid Prize for Best Film, MNA reported.
This remarkable debut from Iranian director Nima Javidi transcends cultural barriers with its compellingly universal and thoroughly engrossing premise. The film is about a young couple who plan to leave Tehran to try a new life in the Australian coastal city of Melbourne. However, a tragic event puts their plan at risk.
Through the characters of two young people, this motion picture explores one fascinating yet terrifying part of human life: unpredictability. Melbourne is intimate and frightening, because of the deep human questions it raises. It is perfect for those who recognize that most part of life, even in moments of drama, is lived in shades of grey, not black and white.
Established in 1976, CIFF was the first international film festival held in the Arab world. The 10-day event, which opened on November 9 in Cairo, Egypt, wrapped up November 18.
Global Participations
This was the movie’s fifth international participation. The 90 minute-long film was first screened at the 32nd Fajr International Film Festival last year.
Javidi’s debut feature film opened the Critics’ Week section of this year’s Venice film festival, Italy. It was its international premiere at the festival.
The movie then participated in the 27th Tokyo International Film Festival (SIFF) and the 10th Zurich Film Festival. It also took part in the 16th International Film Festival Bratislava, Slovakia, November 7-14.
First Prize
Earlier this week, at the Stockholm Film Festival, the film won the prize for Best Script, written by Javidi. Hooman Behmanesh received an honorable mention for best cinematography. The 25th edition of the SIFF took place from November 5-16 in Sweden.
‘Melbourne’ is now present at the Mar del Plata International Film Festival in Argentina, which commenced on November 22 and will conclude at the end of the month.
Later this week ‘Melbourne’ will be screened at the 52nd Gijon International Film Festival, Spain. It has been chosen as one of the feature films in the final lineup of the official selections of the Spanish festival, due to be held November 21-29.