The globally-acclaimed documentary from Iran ‘Starless Dreams’ written, directed and produced by Mehrdad Oskouei added two more awards to its collection of prizes.
The movie was named the best documentary at the 60th British Film Institute (BFI) London Film Festival and 25th Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas, Mehr News Agency reported.
Competing in the documentary competition section of the London festival, October 5-16, Oskouei’s portrait of teenage inmates received the Grierson Award which recognizes outstanding feature-length documentaries of integrity, originality, technical excellence and cultural significance.
The jury described the film as “a thoughtful and complex portrait of juvenile delinquent women at the extreme margins of Iranian society.”
The prize was presented by the UK documentarian Louise Osmond, who commented, “It is the story of young women in a juvenile detention center in Iran. By that description you would imagine a dark film exploring a bleak world of broken young lives. This film was the very opposite of that. It took us into a world none of us knew anything about and showed us a place full of humor, life and spirit. It is a film that stays with you for a very long time”.
‘Starless Dreams’ narrates the lives of a group of under 18-year-old girls taken into care for a variety of reasons ranging from drug dealing and trafficking, to pick-pocketing and manslaughter. Though bored with their incarcerated life, they are, nevertheless, scared about what might happen to them once they are free.
American Award
Also competing in the 25th Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (HSDFF) in Arkansas, October 7-16, the documentary won the best international documentary feature award.
The HSDFF is the oldest non-fiction festival in North America and an Academy-qualifying festival in the category of documentary and short films.
Prior to these two prizes, Oskoui’s documentary had won 11 awards in national and international film festivals.
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