Six Iranian films to participate in India’s Third Eye Asian Film Festival

TEHRAN-Six feature films from Iran will take part in the 21st Third Eye Asian Film Festival, slated for January 10 to 16 in Mumbai, India.

Five of the Iranian films will be screened in the Asian Spectrum section and one movie is set to be shown in the Asian Masters section, Honaronline reported.

The Iranian participants in the Asian Spectrum section include “In the Arms of the Tree” directed by Babak Khajehpasha, “Leila’s Brothers” by Saeed Rustayi, “Sima’s Unfinished Narration” by Alireza Samadi, “Hook” by Hossein Rigi, and “Captain” by Mohammad Hamzei.

“In the Arms of the Tree” tells the story of Kimia and Farid, a couple married for 12 years, whose life crisis shatters their children’s world, children who know nothing but simplicity and kindness in life.

Maral Baniadam, Javad Ghamati, Rouhollah Zamani, Ahoura Lotfi, and Rayan Lotfi are in the cast among others.

In “Leila’s Brothers,” Leila has been the strong backbone of her family her whole life, taking care of her aging parents and four floundering brothers. Now 40, unmarried, and the only one with a job, she’s stuck supporting them all, until a longshot business opportunity emerges that could be the family’s salvation. Leila and her brothers come up with a plan that just might get them out of poverty—but their father’s pride stands in the way.

The film stars Taraneh Alidoosti, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Saeed Poursamimi, Payman Maadi, and Farhad Aslani.

In “Sima’s Unfinished Narration,” Dr. Arash Samin, one of the prominent professors in the field of sociology, lives a calm and peaceful life with his doctor wife and young daughter. But the publication of a picture of him in cyberspace puts his personal and family life on a new path.

The cast includes Mehran Ahmadi, Ali Ashmand, Mahsa Bavafa, Sadaf Fathi, Mohammad Heidari, Masoud Karamati, Hamed Komaily, Maryam Saadat, Azadeh Samadi, and Ghazal Shakeri.

“Hook” is about Shir Khan, a boy who embarks on a journey to become a champion in the sport of boxing. However, various challenges and incidents make his path to achieving his dream quite difficult.

Amir Jafari, Roya Teymourian, Amir Mahdi Jule, Alireza Jafari, Ali Ousivand, and Mahtab Servati are in the cast among others.

“Captain” is about an 11-year-old boy named Isa who is absolutely convinced that he will soon be playing for the Iran national football team. Nothing can shake his confidence. Not even the fact that he lives in the cancer section of a hospital and gets weaker from treatment to treatment.

The film has Pejman Bazeghi, Pante’a Panahiha, Amirhossein Bayat, Bahar Nouhian, Arghavan Shabani, Shayan Deramipour, and Parham Gholamlou in the cast among others.

Moreover, the 1997 family drama film “Children of Heaven” written and directed by renowned Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi will be shown at the Asian Masters section.

The plot follows a brother and sister, and their adventures over a lost pair of shoes. When young Ali accidentally loses the only pair of shoes his little sister Zahra owns, the siblings attempt to hide the bad news from their poverty-stricken father and ill mother. They devise a scheme to share Ali’s own pair of worn sneakers until they can find a new pair of shoes for Zahra. When he can’t, Ali tries a new way to “win” a new pair.

Amir Farrokh Hashemian, Bahare Seddiqi, Reza Naji, Fereshte Sarabandi, and Dariush Mokhtari are in the cast among others.

Asia is the world’s largest continent. It is also the world’s most diverse – in cultural and artistic traditions. As such Asia presents rich and multitudinous themes for the cinematic creations. Many Asian countries today have a proud and well-developed tradition in filmmaking. India itself is a prime example as the country produces the largest number of films each year in various regional languages.

Asian Film Foundation has taken the initiative to create adequate awareness and appreciation of Asian cinema. Third Eye Asian Film Festival is a major event organized by the Asian Film Foundation to showcase Asian cinema and honor the artists who devote their lives to cinema.

The festival seeks to show globally- appreciated Asian films to the audience of Mumbai and other cities of Maharashtra. The first edition of the festival was held in 2002.

SS/