The Slemani International Film Festival wrapped up with an awards ceremony and several acclaimed Iranian artists including Jafar Panahi, Majid Majidi and Navid Mohammadzadeh won the main awards of the event, held from October 10-16 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan.

Presided by Foad Jalal and organized by Masti Film Company and Mullah Bakhtiar the official in charge of supporting the festival, the closing ceremony of the festival was attended by several well-known Iranian artists including Mohammad Reza Aslani, head of the panel of juries of the competing section of documentaries," Babakar Dari, director of Culture and Arts and Youth of Sulaymaniyah Province, Kianoush Ayari, well-known Iranian director, Fatemeh Motamed Aria ", top Iranian actress, Behzad Farahani, veteran Iranian actor,  Danner Omar Fars, art director of Slemani International Film Festival, Majid Rajabi Memar, Director of the Iranian Artists Forum (IAF), Cambozia Partoy, veteran Iranian director, Seyfollah Samadiyan, documentary, photographer and cinema director, Sholeh Shariati, referee of the festival’s screenplay section, Mehrdad Oskouei, Iranian  documentary filmmaker, Mahdi Qorbanpour documentary director and secretary of the 9th Varesh International Film Festival, Seyyed Malik Hashemi, Cultural Advisor of the Iranian Consulate in Sulaymaniyah, judges of various festival competitions, directors from different countries of the world, with the performance of Ms. Lina Reza, was held at the Art Hall of Sulaimaniyah, the capital of culture and art in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

 Main Competition Section of Feature Films of “World Cinema”:

The jury members of this section, including the international and national works of the festival were Carolyn MacDonald, chairman of the board of directors and director from US, Rhys Graham, the Syrian director, Ghassan Abdullah, screenwriter and director from Malaysia, Kazım Öz, Turkish director, as well as Premendra Mazumder, critic and author of the film from India selected the winners of this section of the festival as follows:

-Jury special award for feature film: “Shoplifters” from Japan directed by Hirokazu Kore’eda

-Jury award for best film: “3 Faces” from Iran by Jafar Panahi. On Panahi's behalf, the award was presented to his wife Taraneh Saeedi by Kianoush Ayari.

Jury award for best feature director: “Beyond the Clouds” from Iran directed by Majid Majidi. On Majidi's behalf, the award was presented to Seyfollah Samadian.

-Jury award for top actor: Navid Mohammadzadeh for his role in “No Date No Signature” form Iran

-Jury award for top actress: Shuna Iijima in “Bad Poetry Tokyo”, directed by Anshul Chauhan from Japan

-Jury award for best screenplay: "The Interpreter" by Martin Šulík, a joint production from Slovenia, Australia and Czech Republic

-Jury award for best cinematography: Alain Duplantier for "The Sower"

by Marine France from France

-Jury award for best creativity: "Golnesa" by Sattar Chamani Gol from Iran. The film’s cinematographer Mohammad Fakouri was competing with the cinematographer of "The Wild Pear Tree" by Nuri Bilge Ceylan from Turkey in main completion section of "World Cinema".

Meanwhile, "14 July (Tîrmeh)" by Hashim Aydemir from Turkey also won the same award. Iran’s Touraj Aslani was the cinematographer of this movie.

**Animation Films of Main Competition Section:

The jury members of this section of the festival included Paula Orlić, chairman of board of directors and director of the Zagreb International Film Festival in Croatia, Ravanbakhsh Sadeghi, animation director, writer and producer from Iran, as well as Jim Jermanok, director, writer and producer from the US. The winners of this section of the festival as follows:

-Best short animation: “Her Birthday Night” from Iran

**Competition Section of Short Films of "Kurdish Cinema":

The jury members of this section included Jyoti Mistry, head of the jury and film researcher and professor at the University of South Africa, Nusrat Imrose, the actor from Bangladesh, as well as Chad, author and director. The winners of this section of the festival as

follows:

-Jury’s special award: “The Sea Swells” by Amir Gholami from Iran

-Jury award for best short film: “Blister” by Morteza Shams from Iran.

 Competition Section of International Short Films:

The jury members of this section included Linda Campos Olszewski, chairman of the board of directors, producer and director from US, Ako Aziz Mirza, director of the cinema from the Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, as well as John Hirniak, film director from Poland

-Jury award for best international short film: “Mothers of Luna”, directed by Alicia Albares from Spain

-Best international short film: “The Camel Boy, directed by Afghan national Chabnahme Zariab who is residing in France

**Competitive Section of Feature Films of "World Cinema" and "Kurdish Cinema":

The jury members of this section were Mohammad Reza Aslani, Gulbara Tolumoushufa, a critic and author of the film from Kyrgyzstan, as well as documentary writer and author Frank Mooein. The winners of this part of the festival as follows:

-Best documentary of Kurdish cinema:  “Dada Saltaneh” by Hadi Ahmadi from Kurdistan Province in Iran

-Best international documentary: “Three Stolen Cameras” , a joint product from Morocco and Sweden

In a meantime, the diploma in honor of the talent of the festival was presented by Fatemeh Motamedaria, a prominent Iranian actor to short film of “Laughter & Forgetting” directed by "Huraz Mohammed" from the Kurdistan Region and short film of "Face" directed by Kamran Betasi from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

niversity of South Africa, Nusrat Imrose, the actor from Bangladesh, as well as Chad, author and director. The winners of this section of the festival as follows:

-Jury’s special award: “The Sea Swells” by Amir Gholami from Iran

-Jury award for best short film: “Blister” by Morteza Shams from Iran.

 Competition Section of International Short Films:

The jury members of this section included Linda Campos Olszewski, chairman of the board of directors, producer and director from US, Ako Aziz Mirza, director of the cinema from the Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, as well as John Hirniak, film director from Poland

-Jury award for best international short film: “Mothers of Luna”, directed by Alicia Albares from Spain

-Best international short film: “The Camel Boy, directed by Afghan national Chabnahme Zariab who is residing in France

**Competitive Section of Feature Films of "World Cinema" and "Kurdish Cinema":

The jury members of this section were Mohammad Reza Aslani, Gulbara Tolumoushufa, a critic and author of the film from Kyrgyzstan, as well as documentary writer and author Frank Mooein. The winners of this part of the festival as follows:

-Best documentary of Kurdish cinema:  “Dada Saltaneh” by Hadi Ahmadi from Kurdistan Province in Iran

-Best international documentary: “Three Stolen Cameras” , a joint product from Morocco and Sweden

In a meantime, the diploma in honor of the talent of the festival was presented by Fatemeh Motamedaria, a prominent Iranian actor to short film of “Laughter & Forgetting” directed by "Huraz Mohammed" from the Kurdistan Region and short film of "Face" directed by Kamran Betasi from Iraq’s Kurdistan Region.

146 films from 52 countries displayed in Slemani International Film Festival

 Some 146 films from 52 countries were displayed in the third edition of Slemani International Film Festival which held from October 10-16 in Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan.

Presided by Fuad Jalal, the festival was organized by Masti Film Company and Mullah Bakhtiar the official in charge of supporting the festival.

The event was also sponsored by several prominent political figures Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, Kurdistan Region's Ministry of Culture and Youth as well as Kurdistan Youth’s Culture and Arts Department.

Films from directors from various countries of the world, including Iran, America, India, Belgium, Brazil, Italy, Switzerland, Peru, Spain, Canada, Portugal, Czech Republic, Sweden, Philippines, Argentina, France, Denmark, Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina , Palestine, Slovenia, South Korea, Japan, Russia, Estonia, Germany, Croatia, Austria, Austria, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Finland, Mexico, Iraq, Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, the Netherlands, Serbia, Malaysia, Egypt, Georgia, Bulgaria, Canada, Morocco Desert, Kurdistan Region and several other countries were displayed during the event.

The films directors from different countries, especially the production of 2017 and 2018, in two sections including the World Cinema Competition (International); comprising feature and short films; documentary, animated and experimental, and the Kurdish Cinema

(national) comprising feature and short works; documentary, animation and experimental participated in the festival.

Several specialized cinematic workshops and academic meetings also were held on the sidelines of the festival at five cinema halls in “Cinema City” and the Art Hall in Sulaymaniyah Kurdistan region.

Photo By: Mansour Jahani