TEHRAN-The 11th Asian Film Festival Barcelona kicked off on Wednesday, October 25, with eight Iranian films competing in different sections of the event.

In the official section of the festival, “Achilles” written and directed by Farhad Delaram will vie for the main prize along with 13 other films from South Korea, China, Japan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Uzbekistan among others.

The 2023 drama tells the story of a young filmmaker who currently works in a hospital and takes a mental patient out for a short ride to find out who she really is. Now he has to decide whether to run away with her or take her back to the hospital.

In Delaram’s feature debut has been shot on various locations. It takes the audience from the capital Tehran to the dried-up Lake Urmia in the northwest of the country, to the Caspian Sea in the north, and to Maku, near Turkey’s border.

The cast includes Mirsaeed Molavian, Behdokht Valian, Roya Afshar, and Neda Aghighi.

“Achilles” had its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Delaram, 35, won the Crystal Bear for Best Short Film in the Generation 14plus section of the 2019 Berlin Film Festival for his short film “Tattoo”.

There are two Iranian movies participating in the Panorama section of the festival, namely “Motherless” by Seyyed Morteza Fatemi and “No Prior Appointment” by Behrooz Shoaibi.
“Motherless” is about an educated, middle-aged couple, Amir Ali and Marjan, who lead a quiet life. When Marjan insists on renting a womb and a surrogate mother enters their life, unintentionally they go through different tests and face moral dilemmas.

Amir Aghaei, Mitra Hajjar, Pejman Jamshidi, and Pardis Pourabedini are among the cast of the 84-minute film that was made in 2022. The movie has so far won five awards from international film festivals, 

“No Prior Appointment” tells the story of an Iranian emigrant who, after 30 years, is compelled to return to her home country upon learning of her estranged father’s death. She hastily takes leave from her work as a doctor in Berlin, Germany, bringing her young autistic son with her, which makes the trip challenging for her. She achieves a new understanding of humanity and death during her short travel to Iran and meetings with her father’s friends.

Mostafa Zamani, Elham Korda, and Saber Abar are on the cast list of the flick along with Pegah Ahangarani.

Recently, the acclaimed drama won the Best Feature Film award as well as the award for Best Actress in the Leading Role at the 19th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival. Last year it won the Golden Saint George for best film at the 2022 Moscow International Film Festival.

The two Iranian features will compete in the Panorama section with 14 films from Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Kyrgyzstan among others.

Iranian cinema has also two representatives in the Discoveries section of the Spanish festival. “Odyssey of Solitude” written and directed by Hossein Mahkam and “Until Tomorrow” by Ali Asgari are screened along with 16 films from Pakistan, Singapore, Mongolia, Australia, etc.

In “Odyssey of Solitude,” Ahmad is a psychiatrist, who believes in the treatment of the soul with medicine in a positivistic and laboratory way. But when his wife goes missing, he gets involved in his own delusions.

The cast includes Soheil Mostajabian, Baran Kosari, Mahmoud Kalari, Shahrokh Foroutanian, Soroush Sehat, and Babak Karimi.

“Until Tomorrow” narrates the tale of Fereshteh, a single mum living in a block of flats somewhere in Tehran. She is tired but happy, juggling her work at the print shop and taking care of her two-month-old daughter. However, one phone call changes everything and reveals how desperate her life situation is.

Sadaf Asgari, Ghazal Shojaei, Babak Karimi, Amirreza Ranjbaran, and Nahal Dashti are in the cast.

A director, screenwriter, and producer, Ali Asgari’s short films have screened at over 600 film festivals around the world including Sundance, London, and Melbourne, and won more than 150 international awards. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

A total of 21 movies are scheduled to be shown at the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asia Pacific Cinema) section of the festival, three of which are from Iran including “19” by Manijeh Hekmat, “Wind of Change” by Abbas Rafei, and “Pakol” by Navid Esmaili.

In “19,” Mitra, a 57-year-old painter, and single woman, goes into a coma after getting infected with COVID-19. With her last breaths, she begins traveling to different pieces of her memories through her unconscious mind.

Pantea Panahiha, Bozorgmehr Hosseinpour, Katayoon Amir Ebrahimi, and Jamshid Ahangarani Farahani are in the cast among others.

“19”, a 2022 joint production of Iran and Germany, had its international debut in the main competition section of the Calcutta International Film Festival last year.

Hekmat has worked since 1980 as an assistant director and production designer in over 25 films. Her directorial debut “Women’s Prison” in 2002 has been shown at over 80 international film festivals and received seven prizes.

“Wind of Change” is about Sara, who one day finds out that her husband is missing. She and her teenage daughter are left without anyone to rely on. Along with one of the neighbors, they begin desperately seeking him.

Narges Mohammadi, Fariba Naderi, Hana Harandi, Hedieh Bazvand, Mohammad Reza Sharifinia, Maryam Bubani, and Sam Nuri play in the 86-minute movie that is a 2023 production.

For her role in the movie, Narges Mohammadi was picked as best actress at the 10th Silk Road International Film Festival in Fuzhou, China, in September.

“Pakol” is the story of Amir whose view toward his routine life has changes after he hears about Yasna, an Afghan girl whom he loved in the years of adolescence, and tries to find some clues to locate her.

Reza Akhlaghirad, Nader Fallah, Afsaneh Bayegan, Toumaj Danesh Behzadi, Matin Heydarinia, and Sahra Asadollahi play in the film.

This year’s edition of the Asian Film Festival Barcelona, a world-renowned festival for Asian cinema, includes around a hundred films from about 25 countries in Asia and the Asia–Pacific region, divided into five sections, which will be screened at the festival's regular venues and the online service FILMIN to give a contemporary portrayal of Asian society, both rural and urban.

The event specializing in Asian cinema remains faithful to its origins, in which historical narrative, gender issues, and drama in all its dimensions are depicted on the silver screen by filmmakers of different generations and ethnicities. The festival will run until November 5 in Barcelona.

SS/