TEHRAN – Iranian movie “Parallax” has won the Golden Taiga for best film at the 21st Spirit of Fire International Festival of Film Debuts in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Directed by Shahram Ebrahimi, the film follows Mahrokh, who is going to act in her first film, but her husband Keivan is against it. A few days before the shooting, she accidentally catches on fire at her birthday party and her face is badly burned. Mahrokh does not see it as an accident and believes that Keivan has done it out of jealousy.

After accepting the award during the closing ceremony of the festival on March 3, Ebrahimi paid tribute to Russian filmmaker Sergei Solovyov, the founder of the festival, which he believes unites different cultures and nationalities and is a necessity for the current world.

The jury president, Pavel Lungin, noted that all seven films of the competition program speak of the difficult place of a person, the difficulties of this life, and happiness and added, the jury was very surprised at the deep humanism of the works.

The Silver Taiga Prize was awarded to “On Both Sides of the Pond” directed by Parth Saurabh from India.

In search of a better life, a young couple composed of Priyanka and Sumit migrates to Delhi against their families’ wishes. However, he loses his job due to COVID-19 and has to return to his hometown near the border with Nepal. But life isn’t simpler at home; Sumit is still unemployed and feels more and more pressured and the world seems to be slowly falling apart.

Kyrgyz film critic Gulbara Tolomushova said that the film reveals the theme of the responsibility of the new generation to their future through the image of a fragile but strong-willed girl.

The Bronze Taiga was given to “Far Away Eyes” by Taiwanese director Wang Chun-Hung.

As he turns thirty, a penniless young man is overwhelmed with artistic doubt. In order to forget a recent break-up, his slim figure drifts aimlessly through the streets of Taipei, buzzing with the rumors of the autumn 2019 general elections.

Photo: Iranian director by Shahram Ebrahimi speaks after receiving the Golden Taiga for best film for his drama “Parallax” from the jury president Pavel Lungin (R) during the 21st Spirit of Fire International Festival of Film Debuts in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia on March 3, 2023.

MMS/YAW