TEHRAN – Iranian movies “The Dream of a Horse” and “Seven Symphonies of Zagros” will be competing in the 31st International Festival of Ethnological Films in Belgrade.

The festival, which offers an insight into a wide range of ethnographic films on the traditional and modern lifestyles of human communities, will take place in the Serbian capital from October 3 to 6.

“The Dream of a Horse” by Marjan Khosravi and “Seven Symphonies of Zagros” by Parviz Rostami will be screened in the main competition of the event.

“The Dream of a Horse” follows Shahnaz, the oldest daughter of a nomad family, who loves writing and her stories are inspired by her lifestyle. Her father wants to marry her off to better the family’s condition, but Shahnaz wants to pursue bigger dreams.

Khosravi’s documentary film “The Snow Calls” won an honorable mention at the 30th International Festival of Ethnological Films.

“Seven Symphonies of Zagros” narrates the philosophy of seven musical maqams of the ancient Kurdish wind instrument, shamshal, in the life of the people in the Zagros region. The film is also the monologue of an old man who spent 65 years of his life playing shamshal. The story of the film is character-oriented and the philosophy of the seven maqams in his life is implied. Seven is regarded as a sacred number in different religions, and the content of the film is related to this issue.

A jury comprised of anthropologist and filmmaker Peter I. Crawford, director Vlado Zrnic and history scholar Maja Novakovic will choose the winners.  

Organized annually by the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade, the festival aims to contribute to raising public awareness of the importance of cultural heritage for the beneficial development of human communities.

Its mission is to foster research and creative approaches to ethnographic documentaries, educate the public on diverse local cultural traditions, as well as to raise a voice addressing the problems of modern society, which often neglects the values of cultural heritage.

Photo: “The Dream of a Horse” by Marjan Khosravi.

MMS/YAW