TEHRAN – Seyyed Jalal Dehqani was picked as best director at the 12th Ammar Popular Film Festival for his drama “Daughter of Iran”, the organizers announced on Friday evening.

The closing ceremony of the festival took place at the Andisheh Hall of the Art Bureau in Tehran as the jury said that no film deserved the best film award in the feature fiction category.  

Established by a number of Iranian revolutionary figures, the Ammar Popular Film Festival has been named after Ammar Yasir, a close companion of Prophet Muhammad (S).

Gelareh Abbasi won the Lantern for best actress for her role in “Daughter of Iran”, which narrates a love story set in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war.

The special Lantern of the president of the festival was given to “Troy” written and directed by Mohammad Alizadefard.

The story of the film is also set in the 1980s. After years of dreaming of being a TV announcer, Mohammad is scheduled to appear on Iranian TV tonight for the first time before the broadcast of the popular series “Oshin”. However, the dream never comes true as Bahador, a member of the Mojahedin-e Khalq terrorist organization, is tracking him. 

Hashem Moradi won the Lantern for best cinematographer for his collaboration in “Troy”, which also brought a diploma of honor to sound engineer Hossein Bashash.

“Solomon’s Jewel” directed by Mohammad-Amin Emami was selected as best short drama. 

Documentary films were also honored in several categories. 

“Sharp Scissors” directed by Sajjad Rezazadeh won the Lantern for best documentary in the Soft War Category.

The documentary is about Abolfazl Baqeri, a teenage gang member who is completely transformed as a result of his friendship with Rasul so that he gains admission to an Islamic seminary. He then initiates a new method for teaching Islamic lessons to children.

In the Defenders of the Holy Shrine category, the award for best documentary went to “360° Siege” directed by Hamedi Hadian.

The film portrays how General Qassem Soleimani, the martyred IRGC Quds Force chief, led the massive operation to break the 89-day siege of the northern Iraqi town of Amerli by the ISIS terrorists in 2014.

In the National Memory Category, the award for best documentary was given to “Golden Boy” directed by Abbas Bahaj.

The film tells the story of the transformation of Ali-Akbar Vahaj, an athlete and ardent supporter of the Shah, to a revolutionary and dedicated follower of Imam Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic.

Photo: Gelareh Abbasi in a scene from “Daughter of Iran” directed by Seyyed Jalal Dehqani.

MMS/YAW