TEHRAN – “Rona, Azim’s Mother”, a co-production between Afghanistan and Iran by Tehran-based Afghan brothers Jamshid and Navid Mahmudi, is scheduled to go on screen at Iranian theaters during September. 

Starring Iranian actors Mohsen Tanabandeh and Mojtaba Pirzadeh, the film is about Azim, an Afghan refugee who works as a janitor in Tehran. While helping his mother and his brother’s family plan to smuggle themselves into Germany, he feels betrayed by his brother when he abandons their mother.

The film has received several awards in Iranian and international events, including Kim Ji-seok Award at the 22nd Busan International Film Festival in October 2018 and best film award at the Sharm el-Sheikh Asian Film Festival in Egypt last March. 

“Rona, Azim’s Mother” was Afghanistan’s submission to the 91st Academy Awards in the best foreign language film category in 2018, however, it did not make the shortlist. 

The Mahmudi brothers’ other film “Parting”, which is another Afghan-Iranian joint production about love and migration, was also submitted by Afghanistan to the 89th Annual Academy Awards to represent the country in the best foreign language film category at the 2017 Oscars.

Photo: A scene from “Rona, Azim’s Mother” directed by Jamshid and Navid Mahmudi.
ABU/MMS/YAW