TEHRAN-The 21st Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) opened in Chennai, India, on December 14 with a total of 126 films from 57 countries including eight films from Iran.

“Urgent Cut Off” directed by Maryam Bahrololoumi, “Waltz for Three” by Arman Zarrinkoub, “Melody” by Behrouz Sebt Rasoul, “Scent of Wind” by Hadi Mohaqeq, “Captain” by Mohammad Hamzei, “The Doll” by Asghar Yousefinejad, “The Leather Jacket Man” by Hossein Mirzamohammadi, and “Empty Nets” by Behrouz Karamizadeh are the works by Iranian filmmakers present at the event, ILNA reported.

“Urgent Cut Off” is a story of 12 hours during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tehran, when a 5-magnitude earthquake shook the city at night and many people stayed out of their houses until late in the morning for fear of a bigger quake. Meysam and Shadi are a couple among the people, who are spending the last night of their life together.

Saman Saffari, Afsaneh Kamali, Ghazal Nazar, Mohammad-Rasoul Safari, Yasaman Torabi, Sogol Tahmasebi, Shaqayeq Farahani, Roshanak Ajamian, and Ali Ansarian are in the cast among others.

In “Waltz for Three,” Mahmoud returns home. Fakhri receives a call from the mental hospital. A policeman enters the house and the dark secrets are gradually unfolded.

Reza Babak, Golchehreh Sadjadieh, and Babak Ansari play in Zarrinkoub’s debut directorial work that focuses on human values as well as the creativity and the identity of individuals.

“Melody,” a co-production between Iran and Tajikistan, tells the story of a young musician girl, Melody, who is determined to compose a heartfelt piece for children battling cancer, using the recorded sounds of thirty different birds, despite the presence of hunters in the area.

The film, which stars Diman Zandi, Alireza Ostadi, and Meghdad Eslami from Iran as well as Tajik actors Safar Haqdodov and Zulfiya Sadikova, is Tajikistan’s submission to the 2024 Academy Awards in the international feature film category.

Dealing with the themes of hope and forgiveness, “Captain” is about an 11-year-old boy named Isa who is 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.

Pejman Bazeghi, Pante’a Panahiha, Amirhossein Bayat, Bahar Nouhian, Arghavan Shabani, Shayan Deramipour, and Parham Gholamlou are in the cast of the movie that is a production of Farabi Cinema Foundation.

The story of “Scent of Wind” is set in a distant Iranian village where a paralyzed man collects herbal medicine in the mountains to make his living with his sick child. The electricity goes off in his house and an electrician comes to fix it. Unfortunately, the problem is bigger than what was anticipated and may take days to be resolved. When he sees the child on the sickbed, he feels committed to doing whatever he can to bring the electricity back.

The film has so far received widespread acclaim from critics and won several awards including the Silver Balloon award at the 2022 Festival des 3 Continents in Nantes, France, and the Kim Jiseok Award from the 2022 Busan International Film Festival, South Korea.

“The Doll” revolves around Ayoub, a rather old man, who decides to re-marry, after 40 years of married life with Shamsi, who is lost suspiciously. However, not a single member of the family can accept such a marriage. The bride is Roya, the young nurse who was taking care of Ayoub's disabled son and then fired by Shamsi, now the lost wife.

Parastoo Fanid, Firouz Agheli, Soyel Shirgir, Nasser Hashemi, Fatemeh Esmaili, Reza Bagheri, Hassan Babazadeh, Vahid Shirzad, Roqayeh Zareiun, Amin Haji Akbari, and Reza Abpak are in the cast of Yousefinejad’s second and last feature film as he passed away after the completion of the film.

A suspense drama, “The Leather Jacket Man” follows Isa Farahman, a State Welfare Organization of Iran investigator who tracks down a ring using young women for drug smuggling.

Sara Hatami, Javad Ezati, Setareh Pesyani, Gelareh Abbasi, Saber Abar, and Amin Miri are in the cast among others.

The film, also known as “A Man in a Leather Jacket”, had its premiere in February in Tehran during the 41st Fajr International Film Festival, which awarded the film’s star, Sara Hatami, as best supporting actress.

“Empty Nets”, an Iran-Germany co-production, tells the story of Amir and Narges, who have found genuine love in their coastal hometown near the Caspian Sea. However, to gain the approval of Narges' wealthy family, Amir requires a significant amount of money urgently. Faced with limited options, he secures a job at a nearby fishery, embarking on a perilous yet profitable venture involving the illicit smuggling of black-market caviar.

Hamidreza Abbasi and Sadaf Asgari play the main roles in the film that won the special jury award at the 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in Czech in July.

In addition to Iranian productions, movies from South Korea, Germany, France, Hungary, Mexico, Taiwan, Australia, Tajikistan, and Tibet among others.

Chennai International Film Festival seeks to provide a common platform for the film fraternity to show its expression through films, contribute to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of the social and cultural ethos, and promote friendship and cooperation among peoples of the world.

Awarding the winners in different sections, this year’s edition of the festival will conclude on December 21.

SS/SAB