TEHRAN- Iranian short film “Suitcase” co-directed by Ako Zand-Karimi and Saman Hosseinpur won the Silver Yusr for Best Short Film at the 3rd Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday. 

A production of 2023, the film is about a Kurdish refugee who lives in his suitcase far from his own homeland. In it he carries memories of his family. When someone steals the suitcase in the tumult of the foreign city center, he loses his home a second time.

Meysam Damanzeh, Rezvan Khodami, Elena Sahami and Ava Moslem-Khani are in the cast of the short work.

The 15-minute flick won the best script award at the 11th Parma International Music Film Festival in Italy and the Audience Award at Kobani International Film Festival in Germany in September.

“In Flames” by Zarrar Kahn from Pakistan received the Golden Yusr for Best Feature Film, while “Somewhere In Between”, a co-production between Lebanon and France by Dahlia Nemlich won the award for the best short film. 

“The Teacher” by British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi received the Jury Prize and Shokir Kholikov from Uzbekistan was named best director for his movie “Sunday.”

Additionally, six more Iranian productions including three feature films, one short film, an animation and a series participated in this edition of the festival. 

“Roxana” written and directed by Parviz Shahbazi represented Iran in the main competition section, while “Titanic, Suitable Version for Iranian Families” by Farnoosh Samadi competed in the short film section. 

“The Last Snow” by Amirhossein Asgari was screened at the Festival Favorites section and the animated movie “3 Little Kungpoo Goats” by Kianoush and Farzad Dalvand and feature film “Captain” by Mohammad Hamzei were the Iranian works in the Families and Children section of the Red Sea Festival.

The series “Actor” written and directed by Nima Javidi was also present in the Series section of the event.

Launched in 2019, the Red Sea International Film Festival mainly focuses on new storytelling trends, as well as emerging talents from Saudi Arabia, the Arab world, the West Asia, and the rest of the Global South.

Photo: A scene from Iranian short film “Suitcase” by Ako Zand-Karimi and Saman Hosseinpur

SAB/