TEHRAN – Narges Abyar, director of the acclaimed Iranian drama “When the Moon Was Full”, has joined the international jury of the 7th edition of the Women Media Arts and Film Festival (WMAFF) currently underway in Sydney, Australia.

She is also best known for directing “Track 143”, which is adapted from her novel titled “The Third Eye” narrating the story of a woman and her son during the time of war. 

Her films sensitively picture the sufferings of women and children caused by society, war, or radicalism.

The WMAFF is a new screen culture and audience development initiative by Cinewest in partnership with Sydney Olympic Park Authority.

The jury also comprises Australian actress and writer Kate Fitzpatrick and the New Zealand-born Australian-based filmmaker Margot Nash.

Three Iranian films are also competing in the festival, which will run until May 7.

“Kal Fatemeh” by Mehdi Zamanpur Kiasari, “Lady of the City” by Maryam Bahrololumi and “The Sun of that Moon” by Setareh Eskandari have been selected to be screened in different sections of the festival.

The documentary film “Kal Fatemeh” is about a woman who lives on her own farm away from the village with her two sons. She runs a farm and rears cattle for a living, meeting many challenges. She grieves over her daughter’s situation, as she has had an unhappy past.

“Lady of the City”, a drama also known as “Shahrbanoo”, follows Shahrbanoo, a woman who has been sentenced to life in prison for being a drug mule. After eleven years in jail, she is released from prison for a few days to attend her son’s wedding. The temporary freedom helps her see a new aspect of her life and that of her family before returning to prison.

The story of “The Sun of that Moon” is set in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, where a Baloch widow named Beeban decides to keep silent and not to speak anymore. She lives in her father-in-law’s house with her son, Miran. When her childhood playmate, Hamraz, returns home, once again they begin feeling in the mood for love. But everyone tries to force her to forget all about this forbidden love.

Photo: Iranian director Narges Abyar in an undated photo.

MMS/YAW