TEHRAN-The three Iranian films present at the 43rd Paladino d'Oro Sport Film Festival in Italy, due to be held in Agrigento in Sicily, from November 20 to 26, have received seven nominations in various categories.

The Iranian productions at the Italian event include “Punch Drunk” directed by Adel Tabrizi, “The Breath” by Behzad Rezaei, and “Unnamed” by Iranmerhr Salimi.

“Punch Drunk” has been nominated in three categories including the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. 

Written by Tabrizi and Arsalan Amiri, it is about a literature and karate teacher who falls in love with the divorced mother of one of his students.

The tragicomedy won the best screenplay award at the 16th Cheboksary International Film Festival in Russia in June.

The cast includes Behrang Alavi, Hamed Behdad, Baran Kosari, Nader Soleimani, and Siavash Cheraghipour among others.

“The Breath” has received three nominations at the Italian event as well. Having been nominated for the Best Director too, it is also vying for the Best Other Cinema Award. Moreover, Claudia Borgia has been nominated for the Best Leading Role.

The documentary depicts the loneliness and lack of communication between people during the Corona pandemic era and its impact on personal life, solitude and creativity of artists in different countries of the world. 

In the School Award category, “Unnamed” is one of the five nominees. The short documentary revolves around the life of Zainab, a talented volleyball player, who chooses to undergo a gender transition as she feels that her spirit aligns more with the male gender. However, in doing so, she is aware of the severe repercussions, including the end of her successful career due to her short stature and the loss of her sole source of income, which could potentially jeopardize her family's future.

Over 150 short and feature films from 39 countries are in competition at this year’s edition of the festival, including the Iran, Brazil, China, India, Russia, the U.S., and almost all of Europe.

In addition to the movie screening, the festival also includes meetings with producers, directors and actors and the “Sport, cinema and medicine” conference.

Launched in 1979, the Paladino d'Oro Sport Film Festival is the oldest in the world of sports cinema, which promotes the diffusion of sports films and videos. The festival seeks to promote the best quality of sports image productions; organize meetings between productions, film distributors and mass media, and be a teaching tool for schools and universities.

Golden Paladin is the Sport Film Festival Award. The Paladino d'oro is awarded by the sports film academy, made up of illustrious personalities from cinema, journalism and sport. All the films that have been nominated will receive an award during the final ceremony of the festival.

SS/SAB