TEHRAN-A total of 11 films by Iranian directors will attend various sections of the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa from November 20 to 28.

Although all the directors are from Iran, the films are productions of six different countries, namely Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bangladesh, the U.A.E., and Czech Republic.

Vying for the Golden Peacock and Silver Peacock awards, “Endless Borders” directed by Abbas Amini is the only film from Iran at the international competition section of the festival. 

The political thriller will compete with 14 other fiction feature films from France, Italy, Germany, Russia, and India among others.

Having been shown at International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) and Karlovy Vary International Film Festival earlier this year, the film won the VPRO Big Screen Award at the IFFR in February. It will have its Asian premiere at the Indian event.

“Endless Borders” happens at the time when the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan reignited the fire of ethnic and tribal wars. In the movie, the Hazara Afghans, who are under immediate threat from the Taliban, enter Iran illegally. Ahmad is an exiled Iranian teacher in a poor village of Iran close to the Afghan border. When he gets acquainted with a Hazara family, he sees the real face of prejudice and dogmatism in the region. He decides to save a young forbidden love but that decision can have dire consequences for everyone.

The cast includes Pouria Rahimi-Sam, Mino Sharifi, Hamed Alipour, Behafarid Ghaffarian, and Naser Sajjadi-Hosseini among others.

In the Cinema of the World section, which presents outstanding contemporary movies from all over the globe, there are seven films by Iranian directors, three from Iran and four made in other countries.

“Aziz” by Majid Tavakoli, “Sima's Unfinished Narration” by Alireza Samadi, and “Wild” by Sharareh Soroush are the Iranian productions in the sections. 

Moreover, Navid Mahmoudi’s “The Last Birthday,” Behrouz Sebt Rasoul’s “Melody,” Morteza Atashzamzam’s “Fereshteh,” and Kaveh Daneshmand’s “Endless Summer Syndrome” will represent Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bangladesh and Czech Republic in the event respectively.

“Aziz” is about a family that grapples with financial hardships. Aziz, the elderly mother with dementia, develops a surprising affection for her youngest son, Anoush, who is about to marry. This revelation strains Anoush's relationship with his fiancée as he reluctantly becomes his mother's companion during her declining health.

Rouzbeh Hesari, Azadeh Samadi, Bahman Sadegh-Hassani, Reza Abbasi, Shirin Mohseni, Aghigh Bolouri, and Fatemeh Mohammadi play in the film that will have its Asian premiere at the event.

“Sima's Unfinished Narration” revolves around Dr. Arash Samin, one of the prominent professors in the field of sociology, who lives a calm and peaceful life with his doctor wife and young daughter. But the publication of a picture of him in cyberspace puts his personal and family life on a new path.

The film, which will have its international premiere in Goa, has Ghazal Shakeri, Hamed Komeili, Azadeh Samadi, and Mehran Ahmadi in the cast. 

Soroush’s debut directorial work “Wild” centers on a woman who goes back to her birthplace after a long time. However, as she’s just like a stranger in the family, especially to her son, she has to fight to prove her motherhood.

Featuring Elham Korda, Roya Nonahali, Payam Ahmadi, Bahram Ebrahimi, and Mohammad-Hossein Hosseini, the film will have its world premiere at the event.

Mahmoudi’s latest feature film “The Last Birthday” tells the story of Soraya, a female journalist, who has been trying to spread news about the difficult situation of Afghan women to the world for years. However, Taliban forces surprise Soraya and her friends once they arrest her at home on her birthday.

The political drama, which will have its international premiere in India, features Elnaz Shakerdoust, Pedram Sharifi, Sheyda Khaligh, Armin Rahimian, Sogol Khaligh, and Reza Behbudi among others.

Tajikistan’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards in the international feature film category, “Melody” depicts a young music teacher named Melody at a center for cancer-stricken children, who embarks on a quest to compose a piece using the sounds of thirty different birds for the kids' party. With the help of a mute caretaker in her home village, she searches for the birds and an old village singer that were forced out by hunters.

The co-production of Iran and Tajikistan stars Iranian actors Diman Zandi, Alireza Ostadi and Meghdad Eslami as well as Safar Haqdodov and Zulfiya Sadikova from Tajikistan. 

Atashzamzam’s “Fereshteh” is about a woman named Fereshteh who together with his husband Amjad keep trying hard to achieve their wishes.

Jaya Ahsan and Suman Faruque are the main actors of the 78-minute movie that has been made in Bangladesh.

Daneshmand’s “Endless Summer Syndrome” shows the mother of two adoptees who is tipped off about the possible affair of her husband. Sophie Colon, Matheo Capelli, Gem Deger, Frédérika Milano, and Roland Plantin are in the cast.

Daneshmand is an Iranian writer, director and producer based in Prague, Czech Republic. He is the founder and artistic director of ÍRÁN:CI, festival of Iranian films in Prague. He teaches film directing at Prague Film School and Iranian Cinema at Charles University.

Two Iranian movies will be screened at the UNICEF section of the IFFI including “For the Sake of Ava” directed by Mohsen Seraji and “Singo” by Alireza Mohammadi-Rouzbahany.

The section is dedicated to the collection of films, presented in collaboration with UNICEF, that reflect on the dynamic forces which shape childhood and its socio-economic contexts.

“For The Sake of Ava” is about a group of teenage girls who are part of a theater group and are trying to attend a festival abroad. Ava, an Iranian-Afghan immigrant, is the main actress in the group and is struggling to obtain a passport. The film highlights the challenges and resilience of young artists pursuing their dreams in the face of adversity.

Hedieh Zaman, Mehdi Zaminpardaz, and Faranak Foroutan are among the cast list of Seraji’s debut feature film. 

“Singo” depicts a number of islanders are going to sell four horseshoe crabs that a fisherman caught. These are of precious value. A little girl decides to save them from being sold. This makes her family the target of the islanders’ anger and they decide to expel the family. 

Hadis Abolsedghi, Taha Behrouzour, Zohreh Eslami, Behshad Sharifian, and Omid Zeinalzadeh are in the cast among others.

A curation of aesthetically ingenious and narratively subversive animated films from around the world will be presented at the Animation section of the Indian festival, among which there is “3 Little Kungpoo Goats” by Kianoush and Farzad Dalvand.

In the animated movie, there is a fragile ceasefire between predators and preys which has been protected by the anonymous ninja warrior named Red Shadow. One day the wolf who is exhausted by vegetarian recipes decided to find a legal detour to hunt some little goats without breaking the truce and the red shadow reaction. But he doesn't know that these little goats are the students of the Martial school that trains self-defense to little animals.

IFFI is the only film festival in South Asia that is accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations (FIAPF) in Competitive Feature Films Category.

Since its inception in 1952, IFFI has been curating spectacular films from all over the world. Its goal is to provide a single platform for ambitious filmmakers, cineastes, and industry professionals to have access to excellent cinema from across the world.

IFFI’s International Cinema section is an assortment of culturally and aesthetically remarkable films from around the world. It has kept its stature high by committing to promote art by showcasing the international films of the year.

Photo: A scene from “The Last Birthday” directed by Navid Mahmoudi

SS/SAB