Actor Hossein Mahjoub’s New Film at Karlovy Vary Int’l Festival

Three years after winning the Crystal Globe for best film with ‘Corn Island’, the acclaimed Georgian filmmaker George Ovashvili is present at the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) in Czech Republic with his new film ‘Khibula’ in which Iranian actor Hossein Mahjoub plays the main role.

‘Khibula’ recounts the story of the first president of Georgia, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, in the final chapter of his life. Elected in 1991, he was soon forced by a coup d’état to choose exile and although he returned, political clashes forced him into exile again. The film follows him in the Georgian mountains, accompanied and pursued by friend and foe. The circumstances of his death are still unclear.

Set against an imposing Caucasus backdrop, the audience witnesses a man fighting for power while waging an internal struggle as he heads to meet his fate. The movie delivers an archetypal story with light melancholy and an unmistakable visual poetic.

A 2016 production of Georgia, France and Germany, the 100-minute film is competing with 11 other movies in the main competition section where Mahjoub may win the best actor award, ISNA reported.

Mahjoub plays the role of Gamsakhurdia in the movie. The other actors are all Georgian. All the cast including Mahjoub speak Georgian in the film.

Mahjoub’s first screen credit was a role in the 1971 movie ‘Downpour’ by celebrated Iranian filmmaker Bahram Beizai. So far, he has starred in many movies and TV series. He was awarded as best supporting actor for his role in Majid Majidi’s ‘Color of Paradise’ at the 17th Fajr International Film Festival in 1998.

  Previous Winners

Iranian cineastes have so far won some awards at the previous editions of KVIFF. In 2012, ‘The Last Step’ directed by Ali Mosaffa brought him the FIPRESCI prize. Actress Leila Hatami also won the award for best actress for the film. In 2009 Abdolreza Kahani won the Special Jury Prize at the festival for his movie ‘Twenty’.

Actor Hamid Farrokhnezhad have also won the best actor award at the 35th edition of the event in 2000 for playing in Khosrow Sinai’s ‘Bride of Fire’.

This year, Iranian feature film ‘Lerd’ by Mohammad Rasoulof is also present at the KVIFF, June 30-July 8, in out of competition. In a special section, documentary ‘76 Minutes and 15 Seconds’ made by Seifollah Samadian and the late auteur Abbas Kiarostami’s last short film ‘Take Me Home’ were screened during in the honor of Kiarostami.

KVIFF is the largest film festival in the Czech Republic and the most prestigious in Central and Eastern Europe. It is one of the oldest A-list film festivals, a category it shares with the festivals of Cannes, Berlin, Venice, San Sebastian, Moscow, Montreal, Shanghai, and Tokyo.

Intended for both film professionals and the general public, the festival annually presents some 200 films from around the world, and regularly hosts famous and important filmmakers.