TEHRAN-The Iranian film “Captain” directed by Mohammad Hamzei is competing at the 28th SCHLiNGEL International Film Festival in Chemnitz, Germany.

The 2022 movie will have its international premiere at the competition section of the German event, which is a festival for children and young audience, ILNA reported on Saturday.

Vying for the top award of the Junior Film section of the festival, “Captain” competes with nine movies from Belgium, Czech Republic, Brazil, Canada, Chile, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and the U.S.

It is about an 11-year-old boy named Isa who is absolutely convinced that he will soon be playing for the Iran national football team. Nothing can shake his confidence. Not even the fact that he lives in the cancer section of a hospital and gets weaker from treatment to treatment.

A production of Farabi Cinema Foundation, the 90-minute film deals with the themes of hope and forgiveness.

Pejman Bazeghi, Pante’a Panahiha, Amirhossein Bayat, Bahar Nouhian, Arghavan Shabani, Shayan Deramipour, and Parham Gholamlou are in the cast among others.

During the 26th SCHLiNGEL International Film Festival, the Iranian drama “Sun Children” directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Majid Majidi, which was competing in the Junior Film category, had won the Award of the City of Chemnitz.

SCHLiNGEL is one of the largest platforms for international children’s and youth films in Europe. Every year in autumn, the SCHLiNGEL festival collects an overview of current productions from all over the world. The extraordinary, brand-new and diverse productions are accompanied with podium discussions, talks, workshops and the SCHLiNGEL Industry Forum. There is a particular emphasis on educational sessions on film and media for kindergartens and schools through practical activities.

In this year’s edition of the festival, which started September 23, a total of 171 works from 54 countries are present in various sections. The event will conclude September 30.

SS/SAB