TEHRAN-Iranian actress Sahra Asadollahi won an award at the 7th Beirut International Women Film Festival (BWFF), which was held from April 14 to 19 in Beirut, Lebanon.

She grabbed the Best Actress award of the International Short Fiction Films Competition section of the festival for her performance in the short film “Spasm”.

Asadollahi, who has also directed the movie, plays in it along with Tino Salehi and Mohammad Nima Mazaheri, ILNA reported.

Running for 25 minutes, the movie depicts a girl who has dreamed of acting since childhood, like a horse that wants to be the first in all competitions.

Asadollahi, 32, has performed in over 40 feature films, short films, and TV series including “The Salesman” (2016), “Beyro” (2022), and “Filicide” (2020).

Besides directing “Spasm,” she has also directed two more short films, “Kash” (2021) and “The Massage Room” (2021), and a documentary “Acting Audition” (2021).

Beirut International Women Film Festival is an annual event organized by the Beirut Film Society, under the theme “Women for Leadership” highlighting the role of women as leaders in their societies; and gathering filmmakers and cinema lovers from all over the world. BWFF tackles issues such as gender equality, sexual identity, and domestic violence among others through the power of the lens and cinema which is the window to society particularly women in this case.

BWFF, which comprises films about women and/or executed by women, aims to highlight the power of women in different life situations. The festival organizers believe in promoting a positive image of women struggling with dignity to make a change in their environment.

The festival mission takes inspiration from the Beirut Film Society mission statement, which believes in providing equal opportunities for Lebanese and foreign women filmmakers. Hence, “The Beirut International Women Film Festival” was born with clear objectives: to educate future generations of filmmakers on such an issue, to shed light on successful stories of women in cinema, to empower them, to set back certain equilibrium in the way they are portrayed, and to remove the silhouette that was forced to be put on them.”

SS/SAB