TEHRAN – Celebrated Iranian filmmaker and screenwriter Dariush Mehrjui has been honored with a lifetime achievement award at the 20th Kerala International Film Festival (IFFK).

He received the award at the closing ceremony of the event on December 11, during which his birthday anniversary was also celebrated by the organizers.

“Some of my films including ‘The Cow’, ‘Sara’, Hamun’, and ‘Leila’ were also screened and warmly received by the audience,” Mehrjui, who is back from India, told the Persian service of ISNA on Monday.

Marco Bellocchio, Carlos Saura, Werner Herzog and Mrinal Sen were the previous recipients of the award at the Indian festival.

Mehrjui made his debut movie “Diamond 33” in 1966 as he introduced little-explored cinematic themes and narratives to the Iranian cinema.

Mehrjui found acclaim and recognition with “The Cow” (1969). The film was adapted from a short story written by Iranian literary giant Gholam-Hossein Saedi, and afterwards he was regarded as a pillar of the Iranian New Wave movement.

Currently, he is working on a sequel to his controversial movie “The Santur Player”, which is scheduled to be filmed this month.

Photo: Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui (C) holds the award he received for his lifetime achievements at the 20th Kerala International Film Festival in India on December 11, 2015. Some organizers of the festival are also seen in the photo.

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