TEHRAN – Nine movies by Iranian filmmakers will be screened at the 40th edition of the Asolo Art Film Festival.

One of the world’s oldest festivals dedicated to art films will take place in the Italian city of Asolo from June 14 to 18.

“A Tribal Thing!”, a short drama directed by Seyyed Morteza Sabzeqaba, is among the films.

It is about Ardalan, a young slightly deaf man who is working in a movie theater as a janitor and operator. He wants to have a part in a movie and then watch himself on the screen.

The Iranian lineup also includes “The Sprayer”. Directed by Farnush Abedi, the short animated film’s story is set in the land occupied by the sprayer’s army. No one has the right to grow any kind of plants either in public or private. So many people and soldiers don’t even know how a plant grows or what one looks like, until one day one of the soldiers finds a seed buried deep in the dirt and his curiosity is just the beginning of something extraordinary, something great, something revolutionary.

“Destiny” by Yaser Talebi will also be screened.

In this film, a motherless young woman in Iran is torn between her desire to take care of her mentally disabled father and her desire to go to university. This documentary is observational, letting the people and emotions reveal themselves. A thicket of relationships and expectations are at work here involving family, clergy, friends, religion, social expectations and Instagram. This is a window on contemporary Iran that everyone should see.

The short drama “Giti Jan” by Shayan Shahverdi has also been selected to be screened at the festival.

It follows Giti, a woman who is living a lost life. Now, she is on a night when everyone including her family is trying to take advantage of her and she is fighting against them.

“The Wooden Doll” will also compete in the festival.

In this short drama, director Mohammadreza Misaqi shows the story of a little girl who was forced to marry in her childhood due to her family and the misguided tradition of their society.

The lineup also features “Disgrace” by Ali Riahi, “Silence Again” by Mohammad-Kamal Alavi, “Parthenogenesis” by Ario Barzan Momen and “Friend” by Nahid Malayeri.

Photo: “The Sprayer” by Iranian director Farnush Abedi.

MMS/YAW