TEHRAN – Iranian movies “Kal Fatemeh” and “Lady of the City” have won the awards for best film in different categories of the 7th Women Media Arts and Film Festival (WMAFF).

“Kal Fatemeh” by Mehdi Zamanpur Kiasari won the award for best feature documentary, the organizers announced on Monday in Sydney, Australia.

It 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”, was picked as best feature fiction.

Directed by Maryam Bahrololumi, the film 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.

Narges Abyar, director of the acclaimed Iranian dramas “When the Moon Was Full” and “Track 143”, was a member of the WMAFF international jury.

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

Spanish director Hauazkena Taldea’s “Hunting” was selected as the best animation.

The movie is a continuation of artist Rafael Ruiz Balerdi’s 1969 short animated film “Homenaje a Tarzán”, which ended with an enigmatic “to be continued”.

The award for best short went to “Biting Sands” by the Estonian director Anna Golenko.

In this film, Vera just broke up with her girlfriend. She has never been with a guy before and she feels that she would want to try, which scares her friend Ksyusha, because she thinks that it might be a traumatic experience for her. They meet a guy at the beach and it could have been Vera’s chance.

The Chinese drama “The Fire of Rebirth” by Yafei Xu won the audience award.

The short film shows Yu’s spirit following his mother back to his peaceful hometown seven days after his death. When night falls, Yu takes a ride on his father’s motorcycle, and they bid farewell to the world. However, Zhaoxia had rather it be a dream from which she would never awaken.

Photo: “Kal Fatemeh” by Mehdi Zamanpur Kiasari was named best feature documentary at the 7th Women Media Arts and Film Festival in Sydney, Australia.

MMS/YAW