The 18th International Resistance Film Festival
The 18th International Resistance Film Festival began on May 17, 2025, and concluded on May 24, coinciding with the anniversary of the liberation of Khorramshahr, with a closing ceremony held at Vahdat Hall in Tehran.
The festival was held under the direction of Jalal Ghaffari Ghadir. Alongside feature films, documentaries, short films, and international works, the 18th edition featured sections including “Generation of Narration,” “A World Without Israel,” “Sacred Defense,” and “Narration Through the Pen,” where selected works were screened and evaluated.
The festival was held at a time when the theme of resistance had gained greater prominence in resistance cinema following developments in the region and the war in Gaza. The slogan of this edition was “The Discourse of Resistance, Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, and the Liberation of Holy Quds.”
The Association of Revolutionary and Sacred Defense Cinema, affiliated with the Revayat Fath Cultural Foundation, was responsible for organizing the festival. Jalal Ghaffari Ghadir was appointed festival director for a second consecutive term by General Ali Maghvasaz, head of the Revayat Fath Cultural Foundation.
Jury Panels
Several jury panels were formed to evaluate works in the festival’s various sections.
The jury for the feature and short film sections consisted of Zhaleh Sameti, Homayoun Asadian, Ruhollah Sohrabi, Mehdi Faraji, Mohammad-Reza Sharafoddin, Naghie Nemati, Hadi Moghadamdoost, Roozbeh Rayegan, Mehdi Azarpand, and Hossein Namazi.
The documentary jury consisted of Mohammad Davoudi, Mohsen Yazdi, Amir-Hossein Norouzi, Mohammad Shakibania, and Mostafa Razagh-Karimi.
In the promotional materials section, Fattah Zeynouri, Hamed Ahmadi, and Amir Abedi served as jurors.
The works in the “Narration Through the Pen” section were evaluated by Majid Esmaeili, Bahram Jalalipour, Bahman Habashi, Fatemeh Doust-Kami, Mah-Monir Dastanpour, Saeed Mostaghasi, and Mostafa Rastegari.
Awards and Honorees
At the closing ceremony, North by Southwest, produced by Mehdi Madadkar, was named Best Film of the Festival.
Majnoon, produced by Abbas Naderan, received the award for Best Sacred Defense Film. Mehdi Shamohammadi received the Best Director award for the film and was also presented with the Special Jury Prize.
The Best Screenplay award went to Hamid Zargarnejad, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, and Mohammad-Javad Eslami for North by Southwest.
Sajjad Babaei received the Best Actor award for Majnoon. Shahram Haghighatdoost, for Heart of Raqqa, and Behnaz Jafari, for North by Southwest, received honorary diplomas.
The Honorary Award for Best Actress was presented to Roya Afshar for The Tear of Hoor.
In the cinematography category, Saeed Barati was recognized for Majnoon and God of War. Aref Namvar received an honorary diploma for The Champion of Jundishapur.
The Best Editing award went to Hamid Zargarnejad and Majid Taremi for North by Southwest.
Amir Vali-Khani was recognized for visual effects on Sayyad. Hamid Rasoulian was honored for field effects on Esfand, The Invisible Hand, and Peshmerga.
Behzad Jafari was recognized for production design on Majnoon and Western Sky.
Reza Keshavarz-Haddad received the Best First Film Director award for Kianoosh’s Garden.
The Best Film from the National Perspective award was presented to Saeed Saadi for God of War and Arash Zeinal-Kheiry for Peshmerga.
The Arman Award was presented to Habib Valinejad for Ahmad.
Documentary Section
In the feature-length documentary section, Before I Forget You, directed by Abdolreza Nematollahi, was named Best Documentary.
Mohammad Habibi-Mansour received the Best Feature Documentary Director award for Lady.
Mehdi Zamanpour-Kiasari was named Best Short Documentary Director for Angels.
The Best Research award went to Hassan Naghashi for The Written.
Saeed Houshmand and Ali-Mohammad Khaniki jointly received the Best Artistic Achievement award for cinematography in A Rainy Story.
Amin Shahbahari was recognized for editing Yahya’s Dream.
The Special Ju
ry Prize went to Seyyed Mohammad Mohammadi-Saresht for I Love Mohammad-Hossein.
International Section
In the international section, From the Land of Balkhab, directed by Zahra Fazeli of Afghanistan, was named Best Feature-Length Documentary.
Al-Ahd, directed by Morteza Jassem of Iraq, was selected as the winner in the Short Narrative Film category.
Thalath Farshad, directed by Hassan Khalifa of Lebanon, received recognition in the Mid-Length Documentary category.
A Shared Sky, directed by Seyyed Fahim Haider of Pakistan, received the award for Best Short Narrative Film.
In the short film section, Thirteen Years Old, directed by Mohammad Esfandiyari, was named Best Short Film of the Festival.
The Best Music award went to Majid Entezami for his music for Majnoon.
Works from Syria, Russia, Venezuela, and Pakistan were also recognized in various sections.
Policy-Making Council
The Policy-Making Council was one of the main bodies of the 18th International Resistance Film Festival.
Its members were Alireza Zakani, General Gholamreza Soleimani, Peyman Jebelli, Seyyed Mahmoud Nabaviyan, Abdolhossein Khosropanah, Mohammad-Reza Hassani Ahangar, General Mohammad-Reza Naqdi, General Abolfazl Shekarchi, Mehrdad Bazrpash, General Hamid-Reza Taghizadeh, Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini, Raed Faridzadeh, General Hossein Maroufi, General Ghasem Ghoreishi, Mohammad-Amin Tavakolizadeh, General Bahman Kargar, Ruhollah Motefakker-Azad, Mohammad-Tayeb Sahrayi, Majid Shah-Hosseini, Mehdi Akhavan Bahabadi, Saeed Ohadi, Mohammad-Mehdi Dadman, Majid Bazrafkan, General Ali Maghvasaz, and Jalal Ghaffari Ghadir.
The 18th International Resistance Film Festival concluded on May 24, 2025. A significant share of the festival’s major awards went to North by Southwest and Majnoon, while documentaries such as Before I Forget You and Lady were among the selected works.
The closing ceremony also honored three prominent figures in Iranian cinema: actor Jamshid Hashempour, filmmaker Ahmad Reza Darvish, and composer Majid Entezami.
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