TEHRAN – “Sheeple” by Hooman Seyyedi and “I Am Not Angry” by Reza Dormishian each received five nominations in various categories, including best film and best director, at the 2nd edition of the Cinema Cinema Academy Awards, Iran’s first private film academy based in Tehran, the organizers announced on Sunday.

“Sheeple” is about brothers Shakur and Shahin, two lowlifes who run a crystal meth laboratory hidden in Tehran. They do care about the honor of their family, however. When a video of their sister revealing her hair ends up on the internet, the brothers become the protagonists of some strange incidents.

“I Am Not Angry” tells the story of an expelled university student in Iran who struggles to control his anger at the injustices surrounding him.

Seyyedi and Dormishian are both also competing for the award for best screenwriter, and actor Navid Mohammadzadeh received nominations for his roles in both of the films.

Other nominees in the categories of best film and best director are Peyman Maadi’s “Bomb, a Love Story”, Hamid Nematollah’s “Flaming”, Bahram Tavakkoli’s “The Lost Strait”, Mohsen Amiryusefi’s “Lovely Trash”, Mani Haqiqi’s “Pig” and Mohammad-Ali Bashe-Ahangar’s “The Underwater Cypress”.

Amiryusefi, Haqiqi, Maadi and Nematollah are also competing for the award for best screenwriter with Hamed Rajabi for “Dressage” and Mahmud Ghaffari for “No. 17 Soheila”.

Nominees for best actor award are Farhad Aslani for his role in “Sheeple”, Amir Jadidi in “Cold Sweat” and “Hat-Trick”, Amin Hayai in “Flaming” and Javad Ezzati in “The Lost Strait”.

Baran Kowsari received a nomination in the best actress category for her roles in “I Am Not Angry” and “Cold Sweat”. Other nominees in this section are Sara Bahrami for “Axing”, Zahra Davudnejad for “No. 17 Soheila”, Negar Moqaddami for “Don’t Feel Shy”, Mahtab Nasirpur for “Astigmatism” and Shirin Yazdanbakhsh for “Lovely Trash”.

The Cinema Cinema Academy Awards ceremony, which can be considered as the Iranian equivalent of the Oscars, will be held at Tehran’s Enqelab Hotel on August 10.

Photo: Farhad Aslani (L) and Navid Mohammadzadeh act in a scene of “Sheeple” by Hooman Seyyedi.

ABU/MMS/YAW