TEHRAN-The two Iranian movies that were competing in the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF), from October 23 to November 1, won awards at the closing ceremony on Wednesday in Tokyo, Japan.

Yasna Mirtahmasb won the Best Actor Award for his performance in “Roxana” by Parviz Shahbazi and the Asian Future Best Film Award went to “Maria” by Mahdi Asghari Azghadi, ISNA reported.

“This award goes to a role that is both emotional and subtle. Through his genuine performance we had the opportunity to experience the rich life of today’s society in Iran,” read the jury’s statement on selecting Mirtahmasb for the award.

In “Roxana,” which was screened internationally for the first time at the event, he plays an unemployed gambler who helps a woman after her car has been broken into and accompanies her on her journey, to his eventual regret.

In the Asian Future section for films by up-and-coming Asian directors, Kamyab Geranmayeh and Elnaz Ebadollahi, actor and editor of “Maria” respectively, received the prize as director Asghari Azghadi was not resent at the event.

The debut feature of Asghari Azghadi had its world premiere in the Asian Future section of the 36th TIFF. According to the jury, at 28, the Iranian filmmaker was the youngest director with a film in this year’s festival.

On selecting the movie as the winner among the 10 competitors in the section, the jury said: “The screen has often been compared to a window as a metaphor for cinematic realism. Here is a film that presents constant views through, and reflections on, panes of glass, narrating a story where the details are obscured by design—and finally confirmed, but not explained away, by a single tear”.

“The film is a clever homage to the likes of Hitchcock and Antonioni without being at all derivative or fawning. On the contrary, more than anything it expresses a love for all the mysteries of cinema and its histories,” the jury added.

The tense suspenseful film is about a filmmaker who looks for the truth about a leaked video and the disappearance of an actress.

This year’s edition of TIFF screened 219 films, an increase over the 174 shown last year, with 74,841 admissions (more than double the 2022 admissions).

Caption: Actor Yasna Mirtahmasb (R) and editor Elnaz Ebadollahi on behalf of director Mahdi Asghari Azghadi receiving their awards for “Roxana” and “Maria” respectively during the closing ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival on November 1, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan.

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