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The 17th International Resistance Film Festival Archive

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The 17th International Resistance Film Festival Archive

The 17th International Resistance Film Festival Archive

The 17th International Resistance Film Festival concluded on March 8, 2023, following the completion of its various sections. The closing ceremony of this edition was held in a distinctive setting, on the deck of the Shahid Rudaki naval vessel in the Persian Gulf, where the winners of the festival’s various sections were announced.
The 17th edition featured sections including the Main Competition, Sacred Defense, Generation of Narration, A World Without Israel, Outlook, and Humanities and Resistance Cinema Criticism and Research. The awards in each section were named after prominent figures and martyrs associated with the resistance movement and Sacred Defense cinema.


Jalal Ghaffari Ghadir was appointed director of the 17th International Resistance Film Festival by Seyyed Mohammad Naderi, the then head of the Revayat Fath Cultural Foundation. Speaking at the closing ceremony, Ghaffari Ghadir said that the 17th edition had been organized with the aim of transforming the way festivals associated with the discourse of resistance were held, discovering and nurturing filmmaking talent, and helping shape a new generation of filmmakers.

Main Competition

Shahid Qassem Soleimani Award

The Main Competition jury consisted of Sharon Christopher Stone, Art Olivier, Marilyn Miller, Foras Moussa, Behrouz Afkhami (Chair of the Jury), Mehdi Faraji, and Ruhollah Sohrabi.

Final Nominees for Best Film

  • High Power
  • Number 10
  • Gharib
  • Colonel Soraya
  • Mehdi’s Position
  • The Girls’ Squad
  • Henas
  • Refinery
  • The Clay Hut
  • Anti

Best Screenplay

  • Gharib
  • Colonel Soraya
  • Henas
  • Anti

Best Actor

  • Babak Hamidian for Gharib
  • Touraj Alvand for The Clay Hut
  • Bani Palshomoon for Refinery
  • Mehdi Nosrati for Anti

Best Actress

  • Zhaleh Sameti for Colonel Soraya
  • Merila Zare’i for Henas
  • Zhila Shahi for Mehdi’s Position
  • Niki Karimi for The Girls’ Squad
  • Pardis Pourabedini for Gharib

Best Music

  • The Clay Hut
  • Mehdi’s Position
  • Anti
  • Gharib

Best Director

  • Mohammad Asgari for The Clay Hut
  • Mohammad-Hossein Latifi for Gharib
  • Amir-Abbas Rabiei for Anti
  • Leili Aj for Colonel Soraya
  • Hadi Hejazifar for Mehdi’s Position

Best Production Design

  • Anti
  • Gharib
  • The Clay Hut
  • Refinery
  • Number 10
  • Colonel Soraya

Best Makeup Design

  • Mehdi’s Position
  • Gharib
  • The Clay Hut
  • Anti
  • Colonel Soraya
  • Refinery

Best Sound Recording

  • Anti
  • Mehdi’s Position
  • The Clay Hut
  • Gharib
  • Number 10

Best Cinematography

  • The Clay Hut
  • Anti
  • Gharib
  • Refinery
  • Number 10

Best Special Effects

  • The Clay Hut
  • Anti
  • Mehdi’s Position
  • The Girls’ Squad
  • High Power

Best Feature-Length Documentary

  • Man, a Seventies Kid, directed by Mozafar Hossein-Khani Hazaveh
  • Operation Olympic, directed by Hossein Elham
  • Eglantine, directed by Somayeh Zakari Khatir
  • 72 Hours, directed by Mostafa Shoghi
  • The Beginning of an Ending, directed by Omid Hassanzadeh

Best Mid-Length Documentary

  • Happy Birthday, Bamila, directed by Mohammad Salehi
  • Dalg, Cham, Road, directed by Ruhollah Akbari
  • Qasoo, directed by Ruhollah Akbari
  • Oqala, directed by Seyyed Mohammad-Mehdi Dezfuli
  • The Color of Pomegranate, directed by Mehdi Akhondi
  • Rakal, directed by Ahmad Ebrahimi
  • The Documentary of Martyr Kajbaf, directed by Abolghasem Gholam-Heydar

Best Short Narrative Film

  • Haneh, directed by Meysam Malekipour
  • Solomon’s Seal, directed by Mohammad-Amin Emami
  • Blood Pond, directed by Mohammad Dimas
  • The Guardian, directed by Sooreh Film Club
  • The Appointed One, directed by Mohammad-Saleh Shahabadi

Best Short Documentary

  • Mother, directed by Nematollah Sargolzaei
  • The Smart Kid, directed by Mohammad-Hossein Amani
  • Season of Ecstasy, directed by Ahmad Ahmadpour

Best Animation

  • Where Do the Winds Die?, directed by Pejman Alipour
  • The Exterminator, directed by Farnoush Abedi
  • Putin, directed by Seyyed Mohsen Pourmohseni Shakib
  • Lovely Sky, directed by Amir Mehran
  • The Stranger, directed by Omid Seifi

Best Series

  • Under the Dirt, produced by Reza Nasirinia
  • Soldier, produced by Mohammad-Reza Shafiei
  • Gando, produced by Mojtaba Amini
  • Shah Rag, produced by Mohammad-Reza Shafiei
  • Guardian of Jerusalem, produced by Ziad Ali

Generation of Narration

Shahid Mohsen Hojaji Award

The Generation of Narration section was judged by Esfandiar Bagherzadeh Shahidi, Majid Zine El Abedin, Shahab Esfandiari (Chair of the Jury), Hossein Samaha, and Mehrdad Azimi.

Best Short Narrative Film

  • Children of Adam (joint entry), directed by Amir-Hossein Norouzi
  • Sworn Together (joint entry), directed by Hamid Bayat
  • The Wedding Room, directed by Hassan Habibzadeh
  • Eligibility, directed by Mohammad Dimas
  • Waiting, directed by Amir-Hossein Norouzi
  • Fish, directed by Mehdi Barantalab
  • Nimr (Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr), directed by Hamid Bayat

Best Short Documentary

  • Sealed (joint entry), directed by Reza Ganj-Khanlou
  • Repeated History, directed by Nasser Abbasi
  • Sheikh Hassan (joint entry), directed by Seyyed Mohammad-Javad Rajaei
  • The Deception of the Monk (joint entry), directed by Komail Ahmadi
  • Women of the Northern Front (joint entry), directed by Mohammad Majidpour
  • Khorashad, directed by Ahmad Nikfarjam
  • The Splitting of the Face, directed by Mohammad Nasrollahi

Best Animation

  • The Stranger (joint entry), directed by Omid Seifi
  • Before Paradise, directed by Ahmad Heydarian
  • A Letter to Artin (joint entry), directed by Masoumeh Arabkhani
  • The Peace Museum, directed by Seyyed Ahmad Jafarian
  • Aslam ibn Amr, directed by Mahsa Zeini
  • The Ney Flute, directed by Nasim Eini

Most Promising Film Special Award

  • Asma, directed by Mostafa Aghamohammadi and Farhad Hajji-Abbasi
  • Good News, directed by Mohammad-Sadegh Mobini
  • Hana… Bila Umm, directed by Fatemeh Ghorbanali

Sacred Defense

Late Rasul Mollagholipour Award

The Sacred Defense section was judged by Shahriar Bahrani (Chair of the Jury), Habibollah Bahmani, Mohsen Ali-Akbari, Farhad Ghaemian, and Mohammad Davoudi.

Best Feature Film

  • Sniper, produced by Ebrahim Asghari
  • Gharib, produced by Hamed Anqa
  • The Clay Hut, produced by Davoud Sabouri
  • Mehdi’s Position, produced by Habibollah Valinejad
  • Flowers of Ba War Deh, produced by Saeed Saadi
  • Mansour, produced by Jalil Shabani
  • The Girls’ Squad, produced by Mohammad-Reza Mansouri

Best Feature-Length Documentary

  • Soldier Number Zero, directed by Mohammad Salimi-Rad
  • 641 Days in Captivity, directed by Zohreh Najafzadeh
  • Sadegh’s Narration, directed by Morteza Matouri
  • The Path to Redemption, directed by Seyyed-Mehdi Khayam al-Hosseini
  • The Banasan Miracle, directed by Habib Ahmadzadeh

Best Mid-Length Documentary

  • Happy Birthday, Bamila, directed by Mohammad Salehi
  • Dalg, Cham, Road, directed by Ruhollah Akbari
  • Qasoo, directed by Ruhollah Akbari
  • Operation Damavand, directed by Ehsan Mashkoor
  • Faryour, the Fragrant Flower, directed by Mozafar Hossein-Khani Hazaveh

Best Short Narrative Film

  • Black Soda, directed by Mohammad Paydar
  • The Share, directed by Amir-Hossein Norouzi
  • Warm Blood, directed by Ali Saqafi
  • Asma, directed by Mostafa Aghamohammadi and Farhad Hajji-Abbasi
  • Children of Adam, directed by Amir-Hossein Norouzi
  • Sworn Together, directed by Hamid Bayat

Best Short Documentary

  • Mother, directed by Nematollah Sargolzaei
  • Season of Ecstasy, directed by Ahmad Ahmadpour
  • The Smart Kid, directed by Mohammad-Hossein Amani
  • A Few Steps Further, directed by Mohammad Salehi
  • Lara, directed by Reza Ganj-Khanlou

Best Animation

  • The Story of the Stars – Martyr Keshvari, directed by Seyyed Mohammad Pishnamazi
  • A Letter to Artin, directed by Masoumeh Arabkhani
  • The Last Message, directed by Hassan Asadi Khanouki
  • Hello, Great Man, directed by Masoumeh Arabkhani
  • Yamaha, directed by Farzaneh Ghobadi

A World Without Israel

Shahid Imad Mughniyeh Award

The A World Without Israel section was judged by Ahmad Rahdar, Mohsen Barmahani (Chair of the Jury), Hamid Bahmani, Ali Abou-Saleh, and Alireza Ozkan.

Best Feature Narrative Film

  • 3000 Nights, directed by Mai Masri

Best Feature-Length Documentary

  • Israel’s Mother, directed by Ehsan Shademani
  • IC, directed by Abdolreza Panahi
  • Al-Rahel ila Palestine, produced by Hezbollah Lebanon
  • Wanted 18, directed by Amer Shomali

Best Mid-Length Documentary

  • The First Defendant, directed by Abbas Vahaj
  • Ascension from Rome, directed by Mostafa Rezvani
  • In Search of the Soldier, directed by Meysam Gholami
  • Umm Yasser, produced by Hezbollah Lebanon
  • The Saffron Documentary Film, produced by Hezbollah Lebanon

Best Short Narrative Film

  • Asma, directed by Mostafa Agha-Mohammadi and Farhad Hajji-Abbasi
  • The Wedding Room, directed by Hassan Habibzadeh
  • The Empty Back Room, directed by Davoud Jalili
  • The Mission, directed by Hassan Habibzadeh
  • Close-Up, directed by Yaser Parsa

Best Short Documentary

  • A Few Steps Further, directed by Mohammad Salehi
  • Sealed, directed by Reza Ganj-Khanlou
  • A Man with Great Dreams, directed by Abbas Vahaj
  • They Exist, directed by Hossein Elham
  • The Sandman, directed by Hossein Nazari

Best Animation

  • The Ever-Vigilant Commander, directed by Saeed-Reza Jahantab
  • The Record of an Assassination, directed by Maliheh Pak-Yari
  • The Killing Machine, directed by Ali Khorshidsavar
  • The Farm Story, directed by Seyyed Mohammad Pishnamazi
  • The Olive Grove, produced by Mehdi Jafari
  • Ahmad al-Manasrah, directed by Mohammad Muhannad al-Ani
  • Before Paradise, directed by Ahmad Heydarian

Narration Through the Pen

Screenplay

Shahid Seyyed Morteza Avini Award

The jury for this section consisted of Mostafa Rastegari, Bahman Habashi (Chair of the Jury), Hossein Torabnejad, and Saeed Mostaghasi.

Best Feature Screenplay

  • Death at My Own Command, written by Houshang Javid
  • Admiral Bayandor, written by Abdolrahman Shalilian
  • 30 cc of Blood, written by Mohsen Rastkhaneh and Raheleh Pashaei

Best Short Screenplay

  • Sogolin, written by Mehdi Salehyar
  • They Did Not Know, written by Zahra Yazdanpanah
  • Beyond the Shatt, written by Saeed Seraj
  • Black Silence, written by Mohammad-Javad Salehi
  • Courage, written by Seyyed-Parviz Shojaei

Best Adapted Screenplay

  • Savushun, written by Nousha Abdollahzadeh
  • How Can We Enjoy Fighting?, written by Zahra Miri

Humanities and Resistance Cinema Criticism and Research

Late Nader Talebzadeh Award

The jury for the Humanities and Resistance Cinema Criticism and Research section was chaired by Hassanaei and included Bani-Ardalan, Zolfaghari-Zadeh, Mohammad-Taqi Fahim, and Majid Bazrafkan.

Best Research

  • Iran’s Cultural Diplomacy Approaches in Iraq after the Fall of Saddam, written by Mohammad-Reza Dehshiri
  • Here, They Dance Above the Takfiri Hill, written by Shirin Zarepour
  • They Don’t Take Cigarettes to Syria, written by Mehri Gholampour
  • The Role of Changes in Political and Social Discourses in Sacred Defense Cinema, written by Hourieh Dehghan and Milad Nourian Ramsheh
  • The Role of Media in International Wars from the Perspective of Jean Baudrillard, written by Ahmad-Reza Hassan Kaviar

Best Thesis

  • A Study of the Thought and Actions of Prominent Women in the Ashura Movement, written by Atiyeh-Sadat Hojjati
  • ISIS’s Use of Social Media and Strategies for Countering Its Media Activities, written by Emran Cheraghi
  • Designing and Developing a Strategy for the Resistance Film Festival’s International Presence, written by Amir-Abbas Mohammadi-Fesharaki
  • Characteristics of Iranian War-Comedy Cinema from the 1990s to the 2010s, written by Payam Taji
  • The Image of the Divine Human in Television, written by Afrouz Baoufa

Outlook

Feature-Length Works by Young Filmmakers

  • Flight 175, directed by Mohammad-Hossein Haghighat
  • The Guardian, directed by Hamid Bayat
  • A Frame of Love, directed by Hassan Sajed
  • Ragbarag, directed by Sajjad Amiri-Yazdani
  • Troy, directed by Mohammad Alizadeh
  • Water from Fire, directed by Jamal Ahmadi
The 17th International Resistance Film Festival concluded with the announcement of the winners in its various sections.
The closing ceremony, held on the deck of the Shahid Rudaki naval vessel, was among the few closing ceremonies of Iranian film festivals to take place outside the conventional setting of cinema and theater halls.










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