The 35th Fajr International Film Festival (FIFF) has revealed the names of movies in several non-competitive sections including Festival of Festivals and Retrospective of Korean Cinema.
Sixteen films from 22 countries including the US, UK, Australia, Chile, Hungary, Turkey, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Argentina among others are in the screening program of Festival of Festivals, ILNA reported. Most of the movies are joint productions of two or more countries.
The 2016 biography, drama ‘Lion’ directed by Australian filmmaker Garth Davis is one of the important entries. It was nominated for six Academy Awards at the 89th Oscars in February and won several awards for actors Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman as well as its screenplay and cinematography last year.
The movie tells the real story of five-year-old Indian boy, Saroo, who gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. He must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, he sets out to find his lost family and finally returns to his first home.
Another notable name in the list is ‘The Distinguished Citizen’, a 2016 comedy, drama by Argentinean directors Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn.
It is about a Nobel laureate in literature who accepts an invitation to visit his hometown in Argentina, which has been the inspiration for all of his books. But it turns out that accepting this invitation is the worse idea of his life.
Other films in this section include: ‘The Dark Wind’, a movie about the savagery of the extremist militant group IS in Iraq; ‘Greetings from Fukushima’ about the 2011 earthquake in Fukushima, Japan; and ‘Wastelands’ on the issue of war in Iraq, among others.
Acclaimed Korean Films
In the Retrospective of Koran Cinema, Seven films from the latest productions from South Korea will be shown.
The list includes movies by renowned filmmakers Kim Ki-duk (The Net, 2016) and Kim Jong-kwan (The Table, 2016) as well as the bestseller film of South Korea in 2016, ‘Train to Busan’.
Kim Ki-duk, 57, is noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, making him one of the most important contemporary Asian film directors.
Kim Jong-kwan, 42, is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker known for his inventive short form narratives. His first feature ‘Worst Woman’ (2016) won the FIRESCI Award at the 38th Moscow International Film Festival in 2016.
‘Train to Busan’ is an action, horror movie by Yeon Sang-ho which follows a group of terrified passengers who are trapped on a bullet train during a zombie outbreak in South Korea. The movie grossed over $80 million and was ranked first in the annual box-office in South Korea.
The retrospective program also includes the drama-thriller ‘The Tunnel’ directed by Kim Seong-hun (No. 5 in the 2016 box-office list), and action-comedy ‘Luck-Key’ by Gye-byeok Lee (No. 8 in the box-office) among others.
This year’s FIFF will be held at Charsou Cineplex in Tehran from April 21-28.
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