TEHRAN – Jafar Najafi, the director of the acclaimed documentary “Asho”, will be competing in the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival in Japan with his latest film “Makeup Artist”.

The film is about Mina, a makeup artist who is determined to realize her dreams. She not only refuses to succumb to her husband and mother-in-law’s fierce opposition, but also paves her own path and pushes forward along it. Gradually, it looks as if the people and world around her are starting to change.

The film is scheduled to be screened in the New Asian Currents category of the festival, which will take place in the northern Japanese city of Yamagata from October 7 to 14.

Seventeen other documentary films will be screened in the New Asian Currents of the festival, which is held biennially.

Najafi’s short “Asho”, about a shepherd boy who is obsessed with Hollywood movies and wants to become an actor, won the award for best children’s documentary at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2020.

The film was also screened at several other international events, including the 2020 edition of the Fribourg International Film Festival, which selected “Asho” as the best short film.

“Asho” also received the award for best short film at the 16th Sevastopol International Festival of Documentary Films and TV Programs in the Republic of Crimea, Russia.

Photo: A poster for “Makeup Artist” by Iranian director Jafar Najafi.

MMS/YAW