TEHRAN – Ida Panahandeh’s “Israfil” was picked as the best film at the 3rd CineIran Festival in Toronto, Canada on Sunday.

The film tells the story of Behruz, who has returned to Iran after 20 years to sell his properties and meet his fiancée Sara for the first time. But attending the funeral of his friend’s son reminds him of his painful past and lost love.

“Israfil” also brought its editor Haydeh Safiyari the Best Technical Achievement Award, while “No Date, No Signature” by Vahid Jalilvand received the jury prize for the best film.

Mehdi Rahmani was selected as the best director for his film “Boarding Pass”, and “Yellow” was awarded for its screenplay by Mostafa Taqizadeh who is also the director of the film.

Navid Mohammadzadeh was named best actor for his role in “No Date, No Signature” and Niki Karimi received the best actress award for her role in “Azar” by Mohammad Hamzei.

Rambod Javan’s “Negar” and Tahmineh Milani’s “Untaken Paths” shared the audience award.

Thirteen films were screened during the festival, which was attended by a number of Iranian cineastes including Milani, Javan, Abdolreza Kahani, Reza Kianian and Negar Javaherian.

Photo: Pejman Bazeghi acts in a scene from “Israfil” by Ida Panahandeh.

ABU/MMS/YAW