TEHRAN – Director Bahram Tavakkoli’s war film “The Lost Strait” was the big winner at the 36th Fajr Film Festival on Sunday as it earned awards in six categories including best film and best director.

The film was made based on a true story, which recounts an epic battle by Iran’s Ammar Battalion during the last days of the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.

Producer Saeid Malekan called on his colleagues to come on stage to share his happiness when his film was announced as a winner during the award presentation ceremony at Tehran’s Milad Tower.

“The great moment was when the audience at the theater applauded after the names of the martyrs of the Ammar Battalion were appearing on the screen,” Malekan said at the ceremony.

The Crystal Simorgh for best director was shared by Tavakkoli and Ebrahim Hatamikia, the director of the Daesh drama, “At Damascus Time”.

In his speech, Hatamikia expressed his thanks to the Owj Arts and Media Organization for financing his film and severely criticized the Iranian TV and critics for allegedly undermining the movie.

The special jury award went to Peyman Maadi for directing “Bomb, a Love Story”, a narrative about Tehran during the 1980s when the city was under Iraqi missile attacks.

Amir Jadidi was crowned best actor for his roles in “The Lost Strait” and Soheil Beiraqi’s debut film “Cold Sweat”.

The Crystal Simorgh for best actress went to Sara Bahrami for the portrayal of an addict in Behruz Shoeibi’s child trafficking drama “Woodpecker”.

The film also brought Jamshid Hashempur the award for best supporting actor while Sahar Dowlatshahi won the best supporting actress award for her roles in “Cold Sweat” and “Istanbul Junction”, Mostafa Kiai’s film on the collapse of Tehran’s Palsco Building.    

“The Underwater Cypress”, which also recounts a story about the Iran-Iraq war, won the Golden Simorgh for best film from the national point of view. Producer Seyyed Hamed Hosseini received the award from Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri.

The audience Crystal Simorgh went to director Hooman Seyyedi’s thriller “Sheeple”.

The award for best screenwriter was shared by director/writer Kambuzia Partovi for “Truck” and Hooman Seyyedi for “Sheeple”.

Partovi invited his film’s star Seaid Aqkhani to come on stage and dedicated his award to him.

The award for first-film director was presented to Reza Maqsudi for “Don’t Be Embarrassed”.

The following is a list of the other winners at the festival: 

Best editor: Bahram Dehqani and Mohammad Najjarian for “Cold Sweat”. 

Best director of cinematography: Alireza Zarrindast for “The Underwater Cypress”.

Best makeup artist: Saeid Malekan for “The Lost Strait”. 

Best composer: Karen Homayunfar for “At Damascus Time”. 

Best sound engineer: Rashid Daneshmand for “The Lost Strait”. 

Best sound effects engineer: Alireza Alavian for “At Damascus Time” and “Sheeple”.

Best practical special effects supervisor: Mohsen Ruzbehani for “The Lost Strait”.

Best computerized special effects supervisor: Farid Nasserfasihi for “Istanbul Junction”.

Best set designer: Abbas Bolondi for “The Underwater Cypress”. 

Best costume designer: Sara Khaledizadeh for “Bomb, a Love Story”.

Best short film: “Animal” by Bahman Arg and Bahram Arg.

Best art and experimental film: “Sheeple” by Hooman Seyyedi.

Photo: Left to right, a combination photo shows actress Sara Bahrami, producer Saeid Malekan, director Ebrahim Hatamikia and actor Amir Jadidi after being honored during the 36th Fajr Film Festival at Tehran’s Milad Tower on February 11, 2018.

MMS/YAW