TEHRAN – Iranian short drama “Graveyard” was selected as best short at the 25th Religion Today Film Festival, the organizers announced in the Italian city of Trento on Sunday.

Directed by Ali Darai, this film is about one of the common topics, which has been spreading in Iran. It represents a story of a young mother who has lost her baby due to negligence. Furthermore, since the presence of the father is required to obtain burial permission in Iran, the young mother is striving to find her missing husband and, with the passage of time, she becomes more involved in a plethora of serious issues.

A jury comprising Iranian director Narges Abyar, Tsengel Davaasambuu from Mongolia, Micheal Madison from the USA, Patrizia Morgante from Italy and Godfrey Omodorion from Nigeria selected the winners in different categories.

“Darkling” by Serbian director Dusan Milic won the grand prize and the award for best feature film.
 
In this film, a letter written by a girl from Kosovo, dedicated to her missing father, is read at the United Nations, in which she publicly addresses the difficult life of the Serbs, especially those Serb children living in the enclaves.

The award for best documentary went to “Nascondino” (“Hide and Seek”) by the Italian filmmaker Victoria Fiore.

The film follows four years in the life of “Scugnizzo” street kid Entoni and his grandmother Dora among the narrow streets of contemporary Naples during a critical state crackdown on families of organized crime. As a balancing act between freedom and personal responsibility, they must weave for themselves a complex web of dreams and untruths to survive.

“Into Belief” by DJ Furth from China was named best short documentary.

It is a visually rich and sonically immersive documentary about the unique spiritual fabric and identity of southern Siberia — a vast region where shamanism, Orthodox Christianity and Tibetan Buddhism coexist in a singular fashion. The film is guided by the narration of local spiritual figures and laypeople as they explain their perspectives on faith, purpose and their close relationship with the beautiful but harsh natural environment.

Photo: A poster for “Graveyard” by Ali Darai.

MMS/YAW