TEHRAN – Iranian films “Breath” by Narges Abyar and “Starless Dreams” by Mehrdad Oskui received nominations in two major categories of the 10th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), the organizers announced on Monday.

“Breath” will be competing for the award for APSA Best Youth Feature Film and “Starless Dreams” for the award for APSA Best Documentary Feature Film.

The winners will be announced at the prestigious APSA ceremony on November 24 in Brisbane, Australia, with nominees in attendance.

“Breath” tells the story of four children whose mother had died a few years ago and their father decides to join the Iranian volunteers on the warfront following Iraq’s attack in September 1980.

A haunting portrait of stolen childhood, “Starless Dreams” plunges us into the lives of seven young teenage girls sharing temporary quarters at a rehabilitation and correction center on the outskirts of Tehran.

“The Quest” and “The Trap”, both from India, “Wolf and Sheep” from Afghanistan, Denmark, France and Sweden, and “The World of Us” from South Korea are four other nominees competing in the APSA Best Youth Feature Film category. 

The other nominees in the APSA Best Documentary Feature Film category are “City of Jade” from Taiwan, “Exile” from Cambodia and France, “Snow Monkey” from Australia and Norway, and “Under the Sun” from Russia, Germany, Czech Republic, Latvia and South Korea.

Photo: Actress Gelareh Abbasi (R) and some extras are seen in a scene from “Breath”.

RM/YAW