TEHRAN – Jamal Shurjeh, the director of the Iran-Algeria co-production “Ahmed Bey”, has been honored for his lifetime achievements at the Film Museum of Iran.

A number of his colleagues in the Iranian cinema gathered for the honoring ceremony Friday evening at the museum to talk about the filmmaker who is most famous for his movies on the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, which is known as the sacred defense.

Director Javad Shamaqdari, who is also a close friend of Shurjeh, was among those persons who delivered speeches at the honoring ceremony.

“Mr. Shurjeh was highly successful in his career and his name shines in the sacred defense and resistance cinema,” he said.

He praised the director for “33 Days”, a film on the Israeli 33-Day War of 2006 against Lebanon, and “Ahmed Bey” about the last Ottoman Bey who ruled Algiers during the 19th century.

Starring Gérard Depardieu, “Ahmed Bey”, Shurjeh’s latest project, began in 2018, however, its post-production was not completed due to a massive stroke. He underwent several surgeries in 2019 and since then he has been confined to a wheelchair over the past three years.

“I hope he will soon recover to edit his film,” Shamaqdari said and added, “‘Ahmed Bey’ cast members, including Gérard Depardieu, loved Shurjeh and he [Depardieu] would attend the ceremony if possible.” 

Sitting in his wheelchair, Shurjeh went on the stage with the help of a family member and thanked his friends and colleagues for their attendance and his family for their help.

“I also thank [cinematographer] Turaj Mansuri who was my best mate in the ‘Ahmed Bey’ project, encouraging me to bear, because ‘Ahmed Bey’ was a difficult project and I suffered the stroke two weeks after the completion of shooting,” he noted.

“One day I hope the film is screened in Iran, and I hope to stand before you to bow deeply to you,” the 66-year-old director said in conclusion.

The ceremony ended with screening scenes from Surjeh’s 1993 war drama “The Epic of Majnun”.

Photo: Jamal Shurjeh speaks at a ceremony held in Tehran on January 14, 2022 at the Film Museum of Iran to honor the filmmaker for his lifetime achievements.

MMS/YAW