TEHRAN Iranian Film "Maternal Love" by renowned director Kamal Tabrizi won the Best Film Award at the Third Olympia International Children and Youth Film Festival in Greece. Speaking to IRNA, Tabrizi said the prize consisted of the "Olympia Olive Gold Medal" and a cash award of 1.5 million drachmas (about $4,000). Meanwhile, another Iranian film "The Girl in Sneakers" by Rasoul Sadr Ameli won the Honorary Award of the festival.
The week-long film festival at the ancient site of Olympia in southern Greece ended Saturday night. Several countries like India, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Czech Republic, Yugoslavia and host Greece participated in the festival. Tabrizi said his "Maternal Love" which has won other international awards in Berlin, Cairo and Switzerland deals with the story of a child who escapes from prison and then finds in a social worker the likes of his mother. "Iranian films are the best ambassadors of the Islamic Republic to project the rich culture of Iran and promote dialogue among civilizations," stressed Tabrizi. He said that Iranian films are gaining wide popularity abroad because they show human values and stories of general human interest.
On his part, Ameli noted that "Iranian films are so popular that there can be no important international film festival without participation of Iranian films." Ameli has produced seven films till now and "The Girl in Sneakers" is his second film for children. An Iranian cartoon film "The Red Pen and the Black Crow" by Hadi Yaqinloo also participated in the Olympia Film Festival. It has won the Best Film Award in Tehran and Cairo Cartoon Film Festival for Children. "The Olympia Festival was very lively and it has a bright future," Yaqinloo told IRNA.
Iran's Ambassador to Greece, Mohammad-Taqi Moyyad, honored the three Iranian film directors by hosting a dinner at his official residence on Sunday night.