TEHRAN-Iranian cinema was the big winner of the 7th Hanoi International Film Festival, as it won four awards from among the total 10 awards.

At the festival, held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from November 7 to 11, the top awards for Best Feature Film, Best Director (feature and short films), and Best Actor went to two Iranian films, ISNA reported.

The festival’s highest honor of Best Feature Film went to Iran’s “Hard Shell”. Majid-Reza Mostafavi won Best Director and Payman Maadi received the Best Actor award for his role in the same film.

Moreover, Iranian filmmaker Nasim Forough won the Best Short Film Director for “Typesetter.”

“Hard Shell” tells the story of Samir, a teenager, who falls in love with Leila who used to be a tightrope walker in the circus but she’s banned from performing due to the authorities’ order. Siamak, Samir’s father, is a foreman of a donkey farm, who finds out the donkeys are missing and then he uncovers terrible secrets of corruption.

The cast includes Payman Maadi, Mehran Ghafoorian, Hanieh Tavasoli, Fereshteh Hosseini, Massoud Karamati, Mehdi Hosseinnia, Mohammad Shakeri, and Shirin Zabetian.

Majid-Reza Mostafavi, 40, started his film career by editing and making short films. His first feature film “Unripe Pomegranates” (2014) was screened in the main competition sections of more than 12 international film festivals including Moscow 2014, Sao Paulo 2014, Fukuoka 2015, Zürich 2015, and received critical acclaim. “Astigmatism” (2018) is his second feature film, which was screened in the main competition sections of more than 10 international film festivals and received the award for Best Screenplay (2019) from the Iranian Academy of Cinema. “Hard Shell” (2024) is his third feature film.

“Typesetter” is a production of 2023. The 17-minute film depicts an old typewriter who loses his traditional job due to the expansion of Technology. Now he is unemployed, he has no choice but to change in order to continue living in this modern world. And it makes his problems worse.

Mahmoud Nazaraliyan, Fatemeh Shokri, and Parasto Almas are in the cast.

Nasim Forough, 43, has a master’s degree in dramatic literature. She started with photography and continued to write books, and now works as a director in cinema. “Typesetter” is her third experience in filmmaking. Her previous two short films have won numerous awards at various international festivals.

This year’s Hanoi International Film Festival created an inspiring environment for both Vietnamese and international filmmakers, fostering creativity under the theme “Cinema: Creativity and Growth”.

It showcased 117 films from 51 countries, featured seminars and exhibitions, and provided a platform for filmmakers worldwide to network and explore collaboration opportunities, all while promoting Vietnamese cinema and tourism on the international stage.

The festival is a cultural event, aiming to honor excellent cinematic works with high artistic value, humanity, and creativity as well as encourage new talents and new outstanding works of world cinema. It was also designed as an opportunity to help Vietnamese cinema integrate into the international cinema market while promoting the land and people of Vietnam to international friends.

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