TEHRAN – Eight films by Iranian directors will be competing in the Mediawave Gathering, an international film and music festival which will take place in Gyor, Hungary, from May 4 to 7.

“Grape Season” by Behruz Khorram will be screened in the short fiction competition.

The film is about a couple who decide to act like everything is fine and normal, but something is missing!

“Where the Winds Die” will compete in the animation section. 

In this movie, director Pejman Alipur shows a city attacked by a Zombie. Several people are hiding in a garage when a Zombie enters there.

The lineup also features the short documentaries “Water, Wind, Dust, Bread” by Mehdi Zamanpur Kiasari, “Nomad Girl” by Ruhollah Akbari, “I Want to Study!” by Ramtin Kuchaki and “Zarafshoon” by Mehdi Rajabian.

“Water, Wind, Dust, Bread” tells the story of 11-year-old Abolfazl who lives with his family in an oasis in the Iranian desert. He picks dates, tends to his family’s cows, does his homework, and has fun with his best friend Setayesh.

The camera quietly observes their friendship as they swing between the date palms or climb the windswept rocks around the oasis. Abolfazl’s mother bakes fresh bread, and tourists come to her guesthouse for the serene atmosphere.

But life in the oasis is not entirely idyllic. Although Abolfazl lives with a physical disability, it is Setayesh who faces an even bigger hurdle. She is one of the 40,000 children in Iran who don’t have a birth certificate, and as a result, she can’t go to school.

“Nomad Girl” follows the daughter of one of the nomadic tribes, who, despite all the problems caused by the traditions and common beliefs about girls exercising, achieves much success in kickboxing. She tries to persuade the families of the girls in the area to encourage them to attend training classes in a nomad “black tent”.

“I Want to Study!” shows many students amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the deprived in Iran, who have to walk great distances to reach locations where they can connect to the internet to attend their online classes.

In “Zarafshoon”, an unmarried middle-aged woman living with her family in a forest region in northern Iran talks about her desires and attachments.

In the informative and TV documentaries section, “Gavchah” has been chosen to be screened.

Directed by Kamram Rasulzadeh, the film is a genuine portrayal of one of the ancient Iranian traditional methods of agricultural irrigation that relies on the interaction between a man and a cow. A strong connection between the animal and its owner is established by their own way of communication.

“Balora” by Abdolqader Khaledi will be screened in the music documentaries section.                          

The director and her group are looking for people who may have information about a particular style of old and forgotten Kurdish singing.

Photo: “Water, Wind, Dust, Bread” by Mehdi Zamanpur Kiasari.

MMS/YAW