TEHRAN-The 43rd Fajr Film Festival concluded at the Milad Tower Conference Center in Tehran on Monday night, presenting the Crystal Simorgh awards to the winners of various sections.

At the closing ceremony of the most significant cinematic event in Iran, the major awards in the competition section were distributed among seven films, and “Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn” received most of the technical awards, Honaronline reported.

The Crystal Simorgh for Best Film was awarded to Seyed Maziar Hashemi for his production “Call Me Ziba”.

After receiving the Simorgh, Hashemi paid tribute to the late film producer Ali Moallem and dedicated his award to all the cast and crew members of the film, especially its director Rasoul Sadrameli. 

“I would also like to express my gratitude to Ebrahim Hatamikia, whose works we grew up with,” the producer added. Hatamikia’s “Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn” was another nominee in the Best Film category.

Hamid Zargarnezhad received the Crystal Simorgh for Best Director for his film “North by Southwest” and Mahmoud Karimi was awarded the Crystal Simorgh for Best First-Time Filmmaker for “People’s Children”.

Karimi also received the Crystal Simorgh for Best Screenplay together with his wife Fa’ezeh Yarmohammadi for “People’s Children”.

The Crystal Simorgh for Best First Film was awarded to Saeed Khani for his production “Raha” and the Jury’s Special Award was presented to Reza Jamali for directing “A Childless Village”.

Two Crystal Simorgh awards for Best National Film were awarded to Saeed Sa’di for his production “God of War” and Mehdi Faraji for producing “Guardian of the Field”.

Mohammad Amin Hamedani and Mohammad Kheirandish won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Animation for their joint production “Dolphin Boy 2”.

The animation also won the Crystal Simorgh for Audience Choice of Best Film together with the film “Devotee” produced by Arash Zeynal Kheyri.

The Crystal Simorgh for Best Leading Actress was awarded to Fariba Naderi for her role in “Setareh's Husband”.

Receiving her award, Naderi said: “After 20 years, I finally saw the results of all my hard work. When I first received the printed script, I was told by the producer Ali Owji to be careful not to let the Simorgh fall from between the pages. Now that I have it, I will cherish it and strive to follow the best path forward”.

Pointing to other nominees, one of the jury members Mastaneh Mohajer noted: “We had three young actresses in this category, all of whom were brilliant. I also want to applaud Merila Zarei, who cheered for every winner tonight with love”.

Zarei was a nominee in the Best Leading Actress category for playing the role of Jochebed, Prophet Moses’ mother in the movie “Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn”.

The Crystal Simorgh for Best Leading Actor was awarded to Mostafa Zamani for his performance in “North by Southwest”.

“If Hassan Pourshirazi were in competition, nobody else would receive this award,” Zamani said after receiving his statuette.

He was referring to the film “The Old Bachelor” by Oktay Baraheni, which was shown in the special screening section of the festival, with the veteran actor Pourshirazi in the lead role, whose brilliant performance was praised by all the critics and audience. 

“I want to share this award with Hassan Pourshirazi and hope it is recognized as a joint Simorgh award,” Zamani noted.

One of the jury members Ezzatollah Zarghami praised the late director Farajollah Salahshoor for discovering Mostafa Zamani for the role of Prophet Joseph, which was his first role in cinema and TV. “Zamani has now gained international recognition,” he said. 

The 2008 historical drama series “Prophet Joseph” has been dubbed into several languages such as English, Arabic, Urdu, and Turkish. It is sometimes regarded as the world's most watched Iranian TV series.

The Crystal Simorgh for Best Supporting Actress was presented to Linda Kiani for her role in “1968”.

Upon receiving the award, Kiani said: “I am very happy that after so many years, my work has finally been recognized. This Simorgh is very valuable to me, and I hope it opens many doors for me. I also thank those who ignored my work because their indifference pushed me to improve”.

Veteran actor Farhad Aeesh won the Crystal Simorgh for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn”.

After receiving the award, he said: “I have always believed that art is subjective, and judging it is even more subjective. But now this Simorgh is objectively in my hands! This is my first Simorgh, and I’m very happy. I loved the role I played and had a great time”.

“I never take myself seriously, but I always take my work seriously and give my best in front of the camera. The role I played was one that could have earned any actor a Crystal Simorgh. I thank all the crew members for bringing this character to life,” he added.

During the ceremony, “Moses the Kalimullah: At Dawn” won four more awards including the Crystal Simorgh awards for Best Technical Achievement for Alireza Vaezi, Best Makeup for Shahram Khalaj, Best Production Design for Keyvan Moghadam, and Best Costume Design for Azar Mohammadi.

After receiving the award, Mohammadi said: “I am honored to be among cinema masters tonight. I have been involved in this project for four years and thank all the team members”.

“People’s Children” and “North by Southwest” each won another award as well; the former received the Crystal Simorgh for Best Editing for Emad Khodabakhsh and the latter was awarded the Crystal Simorgh for Best Cinematography for Ali Mohammad Ghasemi.

“Sayyad” was another film with two awards. It received the Crystal Simorgh for Best Visual Effects for Amir Valikhani and the Crystal Simorgh for Best Special Effects for Hamid Rasoulian.

The Crystal Simorgh for Best Sound (Recording & Sound Design) was awarded to Meisam Yardiloo and Hossein Ghourchian for “Highway Deer” and Karen Homayounfar received the Crystal Simorgh for Best Music for “Esfand”.

The 43rd Fajr Film Festival was held from January 31 to February 10. The lineup of films in the competition section included 33 films, with 13 being directorial debuts. Additionally, four animated films were chosen for a special competition category.

Jury members featured prominent figures such as filmmaker Kamal Tabrizi, actor and producer Bahram Radan, veteran critic Reza Dorostkar, director Alireza Raeesian, and filmmaker Narges Abyar.

Iran's annual Fajr Film Festival has been held every February in Tehran since 1983. The festival is supervised by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. It takes place on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

SS/SAB