TEHRAN – Iranian movie “Bloody Gravel” has won the award for best international short at the Astoria Film Festival in New York.

Directed by Hojjat Hosseini, the film is about Roya and Bashir who are in love but due to restrictions in Afghanistan they are forced to flee. They hope to enter Iran illegally. Roya is pregnant and the child was not planned.

Winners of the festival were announced on Sunday and the Zukor Award - Best Humanitarian Film was given to “Recoba” by Nicole Pagonis and Álvaro Guzmán Bastida and “Iron Sharpens Iron” by John Richie.

The American film follows Josué, a Honduran immigrant going through his first New York winter, who struggles to stay afloat in the U.S., where the immigration and labor systems have stacked the cards against him, while keeping the connection with his wife and son.

Ivan Medina won the best performance award for his role in “Recoba”.

“Iron Sharpens Iron” chronicles Ironton’s fight against the development of the Plaquemines Liquids Terminal (PLT) atop the community’s ancestral burial grounds, as well as the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida.

The Grand Jury Prize was awarded to “Handwritten”, a documentary by American filmmaker Jaime Sunwoo.

In this film, after discovering old diaries and notebooks, artist Sunwoo examines her shape-shifting penmanship and wonders why she’s never had a consistent style. Through playful paper puppetry and animation, she reflects on what handwriting means to her personally, its significance throughout history, and its relevance in our computerized world.

The awards for best documentary short and best cinematography went to “Lavender” by Chloe Cobb.

The film recounts actress and model Kaitlyn Figueroa’s experience with the auto-immune condition Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

“Beach Day” by Robin Johnson, about a newlywed who unwinds with a solo day at the beach full of peculiar activities, was named the best horror short, while Jenny Ward was picked as best director for “Goblin”.

The best comedy short award went to “Let My Grandpa into Heaven” by Lana Bolycheva.

On the day of his grandfather’s funeral, 6-year-old Lucas hears his father Patrick say in a fit of anger that the deceased grandpa should be burning in hell. Lucas decides to do everything to help his grandpa avoid hell.

In the youth competition, the Grand Jury Prize was given to “Fish” by Jeremy Hsing.

Several other films were also honored in the side sections of the festival.

Photo: “Bloody Gravel” by Hojjat Hosseini.
 
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