TEHRAN-The 14th edition of Ammar Popular Film Festival kicked off at the Felestin (Palestine) Cinema in Tehran on Thursday.

The opening ceremony was attended by a number of cineastes, officials, martyrs' families, and enthusiasts and the festival winners in various categories received their awards, IRNA reported on Friday.

In total, eight awards were presented including Golden Lantern awards to the winners of different sections as well as Nane Esmat Gloves (Granny Esmat’s Gloves), the special award of the festival given to the activists in the cultural front of the Islamic Revolution.

Another part of the ceremony was dedicated to honoring the Iranian filmmaker Mohammad-Hossein Latifi for directing the poignant TV series “Vafa”.

The emotionally charged drama revolves around a young Iranian Jew named Joobin who has spent the last two years of his life in an Iranian prison for something he swears he has not done. When some mysterious figures break him out of prison, the only thing on his mind is to get himself to his beloved in Lebanon, Vafa, whom he left behind two years ago.
    
Mohsen Khavari, a detective at Tehran's police department, is hot on Joobin's trail and follows him to Beirut to bring him back to justice. Joobin soon figures out it was his uncle along with his deceased father who helped him escape and that they were spies working for Israel. He's now caught up in a game of espionage as it becomes clear that the Israelis are only using Joobin as a tool to get to their real target which is assassinating Vafa's brother.

With a dedicated emphasis on Palestine, this year’s edition of the Ammar Festival is themed on the New World Order, the ideal of Ruhollah, the Iranian dream, criticism within the discourse, national memory, the global movement of the oppressed, economic war, heroic nation, and soft war.

The festival goes against promoting individualism and extreme enjoyment without caring about society's troubles and other humans’ suppression. It seeks to raise real awareness and responsibility among the general public.

Ammar Popular Film Festival was established in 2010 by a number of Iranian revolutionary figures to honor film and art products promoting topics such as resistance and revolution. It was named after Ammar Yasir, a close companion of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The festival serves as a platform and voice for artists involved in the resistance movement, offering support to the global artistic community that is often overlooked by the world. 

This year’s edition of the festival will conclude on January 19.

SS/SAB