TEHRAN – Iranian short animation “Fish” has won a special mention at the 21st International Film Schools Festival (Festival Internacional de Escuelas de Cine – FIEC) in Uruguay.

Written and directed by Parisa Jafari, the movie is about a man who decides to allay his fear. The film was screened in the student film category. 

It is a co-production of the Tehran University of Art and Documentary and Experimental Film Center.

In a statement published on the closing day of the festival on August 21, the jury called the movie “a short that manages to connect through the sensory, whose animation uses its impurities and freedoms to generate a raw and overwhelming experience.”

First prize in this section was given to “Cucaracha” directed by Agustin Tourino from the National University of Córdoba in Argentina.

“She uses her story as a trigger to mold captivating textures and images into her industrial aesthetic to her advantage,” the jury said about Tourino. 

In the Non-Fiction Category of the student film section, “Attention All Passengers” directed by Marek Moucka of the Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia, won the best film award.

The jury said, “Using a quirky approach, he explores his anecdote, letting the viewer connect all the dots.”

“Lumbalu: Agonia” directed by Jorge Aldair Perez of Magdalena University in Santa Marta, Colombia, received the award for best film in the Fiction Category.

“It takes us on a journey between the mystical and the earthly. Its chapter structure raises the coexistence between the two, generating a very intense experience,” the jury mentioned.

In the professional section of the festival, “Bye Little Block!” directed by Eva Darabos of the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Hungary was selected as best animated film.

The director won the award “for his lysergic and carefree freedom,” the jury said.

The award for best non-fiction film went to “Never Never” directed by Violena Ampudia of the International Film and TV School (EICTV) in Cuba.

The film won the award “for subtly and powerfully immersing ourselves in the uncertainty of two new parents,” the jury stated.

“Tropicana” by Francesco Romano from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Italy was named best fiction film.

It received the award “because of the warmth and strength of the portrait of a family where adulthood and childhood are blurred.”

Organized annually by the Uruguayan Film School (ECU) and Cinemateca Uruguaya, the festival took place in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo from August 18 to 21.  

Photo: A poster for the Iranian animation “Fish” by Parisa Jafari.

MMS/