TEHRAN – The Bulgarian capital of Sofia is playing host to the Iranian Film Week, which opened on Friday evening.

The Embassy of Iran is organizing the weeklong festival in collaboration with the Sofia Middle East & North African Region (MENAR) Film Festival, the Iranian Cultural Center in Sofia announced on Saturday.

Seven acclaimed movies by Iranian filmmakers have been selected to be screened at Dom na Kinoto Cinema House during the week.

A highlight of the lineup is the drama “The Castle of Dreams” by Reza Mirkarimi. It is about two young children whose mother has just died, and their father, Jalal, after long years of absence, returns to sort things out, but he does not want to take the children with him.

Director Soheil Movaffaq’s comedy “Pastarioni” will also be screened. It tells the story of an intense rivalry between a luxury Italian restaurant and a small family restaurant in Tehran, which leads them to unite.

Also among the selected films is Hooman Seyyedi’s drama “Sheeple” 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.

Roqayeh Tavakkoli’s “Motherhood”, which is about Nava who tries to convince her sister to get back with her husband, while her own fiancé is cheating on her, will also be screened.

The lineup also includes “Season of Narges” by Negar Azarbayjani, “316” Peyman Haqqani and “The Five-Star” by Mahshid Afsharzadeh.

Five films from Iran were screened in various sections of the Sofia MENAR Film Festival, which was held from January 14 to 30. 

“The Castle of Dreams” and “Pastarioni” were among the films. “Weightlessness” by Mehdi Fardqaderi, “Domino” by Laleh Barzegar and “The Underwater Cypress” by Mohammad-Ali Bashe-Ahangar were also competing in the event.

Photo: Hamed Behdad acts in a scene from Reza Mirkarimi’s drama “The Castle of Dreams”.

MMS/YAW