TEHRAN – Iranian shorts “The Savior”, “The Zoo” and “A Narration of a Funeral” will be competing in the Durban International Film Festival.

The movies will be screened in the short competition of the festival, which will take place in the South African city from July 21 to 30.

Directed by Soheila Purmohammadi, “The Savior” tells the story of a little girl who lives with her father in a village. After witnessing the death of her mother, she tries to save the fish instead.

In “The Zoo” written and directed by Nafiseh Zare’, six-year-old Ranna’s mother tells her, “Your father has left forever. We will live together from now on.” The mother reveals this news in the zoo, while Ranna has had a dream about a deer that ran away from the zoo that same day and its cage was empty.

“A Narration of a Funeral” follows a woman named Tara. After the funeral of her mother who died from COVID-19, she receives a strange call from the hospital informing her that her mother’s body is still there.

The film has been written and directed by Amir Sedqinir.

The Durban International Film Festival will open with a screening of the South African drama “1960” directed by King Shaft and Michael Mutombo at CinceCentre, Suncoast Casino.

When the remains of an apartheid-era policeman are discovered 60 years after he went missing, a retired singer revisits her past to help with the investigation. But how much does she know, and what is she holding back?

South African director Jahmil X.T. Qubeka’s “You’re My Favourite Place” is the closing film of the event.

Nelisa Vena’s life has never been the same since the death of her sister Anathi. On the last day of their high school careers, she and three friends from a township in East London, South Africa, embark on a life-defining road trip by stealing a taxi and heading to the remote landmark of the Hole in the Wall, where Xhosa legend has it that you can talk to the dead.

Photo: A scene from “The Zoo” directed by Nafiseh Zare’.

MMS/YAW