The 27th Fajr International Film Festival () held from 31 January to 10 February 2009 in Tehran, Iran.
Doubt (Varuzh Karim-Masihi, 2009) — which adapted from Shakespeare's Hamlet — was the festival's best film in "Competition of Iranian Cinema" and Snow (Aida Begić, 2008), a Bosnian film, was the festival's best film in "Competition of International Cinema".
Competition of Iranian Cinema Tributes
Opening ceremony of the festival's Competition of Iranian Cinema took place on 30 January 2009, at the Milad Tower in Tehran, Iran beginning at 7:45 p.m. IRST.
Following individuals tributed by Golden Plaque: Ebrahim Hatamikia – Filmmaking occupations: director and screenwriter – Filmmaking occupations: producer and special effects supervisor Deceased Khosrow Shakibai – Filmmaking occupations: actor Rasul Sadr Ameli – Filmmaking occupations: producer, director and screenwriter Mahmoud Kalari – Filmmaking occupations: cinematographer
Advertisement competition Winners of Crystal Simorgh are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double dagger ().
Winners of secondary awards are listed second, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a dagger ().
– Ali Bagheri Three Women – Amir ʿAbedi As Simple as That – Ali Tabrizi – Ali Zareʿ No winner – Ali Zareʿ – Mahsa Ghabaei and Leila Miri – Heidar Rezaei No winner Three Women – Amir-Sheiban Khaghani The Song of Sparrows – Behzad Khorshidi – Hamid-Reza Es'haghi No winner – Amir-Sheiban Khaghani Invitation – The Song of Sparrows – –
Contending for Simorgh
Closing ceremony of the festival's Competition of Iranian Cinema took place on 10 February 2009, at the Ministry of Interior Hall in Tehran, Iran beginning at 7:25 p.m. IRST. The ceremony was televised by IRIB.
Awards and nominations of the Competition of Iranian Cinema sections are below:
Golden Simorgh – , producer – , producer – Hassan Kalami, producer
Audience Choice Penniless – , producer About Elly – Asghar Farhadi, producer
Main competition
Doubt – , producer – Pouran Derakhshandeh, producer – , producer About Elly – Asghar Farhadi, producer – , producer – Bahram Beyzai, producer | valign="top" width="50%" |
Asghar Farhadi – About Elly Abdolreza Kahani – Hassan Fathi – Varuzh Karim-Masihi – Doubt Tahmineh Milani – Superstar Bahram Beyzai – – and Farid Mostafavi – Abdolreza Kahani and Doubt – Varuzh Karim-Masihi About Elly – Asghar Farhadi Superstar – Tahmineh Milani – Parviz Shahbazi | valign="top" width="50%" |
Doubt – Varuzh Karim-Masihi, based on Hamlet by William Shakespeare|- | valign="top" width="50%" |
Shahab Hosseini – Superstar Parviz Parastui – Shahab Hosseini – About Elly Masoud Rayegan – Mohammad-Reza Foroutan – Leila Hatami – Penniless Taraneh Alidoosti – Doubt Baran Kosari – About Elly – – Alireza Khamseh – Hamed Komeili – Doubt Saber Abar – About Elly Kambiz Dirbaz – – Mahtab Keramati – Merila Zarei – About Elly Pegah Ahangarani – Tannaz Tabatabaei – Leyla Zareh – – Morteza Poursamadi – Saʿed Nikzat Doubt – About Elly – Hossein Jafarian Superstar – Alireza Zarrindast – Bahram Beyzaei and – About Elly – Hayedeh Safiyari Doubt – Varuzh Karim-Masihi – – Karen Homayounfar – – Superstar – Nasser Cheshmazar – Mohammad-Reza Darvishi About Elly – Mohammad-Reza Delpak – Doubt – Parviz Abnar – Mani Hashemian – Parviz Abnar – and Iraj Raminfar – Asghar Nejad-Imani Doubt – – – Mohsen Ahangarani – Saeid Malekan – Saeid Malekan Doubt – About Elly – Mehrdad Mirkiani – – – Abbas Shoghi – Javad Sharifi-Rad – Javad Sharifi-Rad Where Is Fatemeh's House? – Fereydoun Najafi Dream's Keys – Sara Namjoo Old Men Never Die – Reza Jamali Solitude – Mehrdad Sheikhan Water Quatrains – Shahram Alidi
Non-nomination Crystal Simorgh – Parviz Shahbazi, producer
Films with multiple nominations and awards
The following 12 films received multiple nominations: Nominations Film 11 Doubt About Elly 8 6 5 Superstar 3 2
The following 5 films received multiple awards: Awards Film 3 2 Doubt About Elly
New Vision
– Hossein Haghgoo, producer – and , producers Penniless – , producer Doubt – , producer – Hassan Kalami, producer | valign="top" width="50%" |
Varuzh Karim-Masihi – Doubt Saman Estaraki – Hassan Fathi – Shalizeh Arefpour – Mohammad-Reza Rahmani – and –
Non-nomination Crystal Simorgh – and , producers
Non-nominated Honorary Diploma Best Director: Masoud Naghashzadeh –
Additional Honorary Diploma Best Actor: Hamed Behdad – Best Actress: – Best Screenplay: Penniless – and Hadi Moghadamdoost Best Cinematography: – Fereydoun Shirdel
Video-Cinema
Zeynab – Alireza Tavana and IRIB TV2, producers Water and Mirror – Kiumars Pourahmad, producer White Piece's Move – Alireza Abolghaseminejad and Sima film, producers The Fifth Killer – Manouchehr Zebardast, producer Mikaʿil – Karamat Pourshahsavari, producer | valign="top" width="50%" |
Jamshid Bahmani – Mikaʿil – Water and Mirror Shahram Mokri – Ashkan, the Charmed Ring and Other Stories Alireza Tavana – Zeynab – Mangrove
Non-nominated Honorary Diploma Best Director: Hassan Lafafian – White Piece's Move
Eye of the Reality
Unfinished Picture: Bahman Jalali – Touraj Rabbani, producer This House Is Bright – Mahmoud Abdollahi, producer My Heart Bleeds for Iran – Javad Mir-Hashemi and , producers How Green Was Our Valley – , producer Frozen Bubble – and Amir Joghataei, producers Who Is That Man? – Mahnaz Rokni, producer Square Without A Fence – , producer The Noise – Babak Majidi, producer
Non-nominated Honorary Diploma Best Documentary Short Film: Dahieh – Habibollah Valinejad, producer
Presenters and performers The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.
Presenters Name(s) Role Presenters of the award for Best Film with National Point of View Presenters of the award for Audience Choice of Best Film
Performers Name(s) Role Performer of the opening ceremony and Dastan Ensemble Performers of the closing ceremony
Competition of International Cinema
Closing ceremony of the festival's Competition of International Cinema took place on 3 February 2009, at the Vahdat Hall in Tehran, Iran beginning at 7:35 p.m. IRST.
World Panorama "World Panorama" is the main section of competition of International Cinema.
Audience Choice – Bahram Beyzai (Iran)
Snow – Aida Begić (Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany and Iran) | valign="top" width="50%" |
Aida Begić – Snow (Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Germany and Iran) – (Iran, UAE and Germany) |- | valign="top" width="50%" |
– and Kenan Görgün (Belgium and France) | valign="top" width="50%" |
Tsilla Chelton, Derya Alabora and Ovul Avkiran – Pandora's Box (Turkey) The Divine Weapon – Kim Yoo-jin, director (South Korea) – David Dusa (France, Germany and Netherlands) (Live Action) Why Dogs Hate Cats? – Lida Fazli (Iran) (Animated)
Non-nomination Crystal Simorgh Pandora's Box – Yeşim Ustaoğlu, director (Turkey)
Seeking the Truth "Seeking the Truth" section also known as "Competition of Spiritual Cinema". This section organized to emphasize cinema's incomparable capacity for depiction of the transcendental realms. Films which guide viewers to spiritual values and foster elevated human characteristics entered in this section.
Every Night, Loneliness – Rasul Sadr Ameli (Iran) | valign="top" width="50%" |
Juan Antonio Bayona – The Orphanage (Mexico and Spain) – (Japan)
Additional Honorary Diploma Best Performance: – Superstar (Iran)
Eastern Vista "Eastern Vista" section also known as "Competition of Asian Cinema". This section organized to promote film art and industry in Asian countries. Asia is the main core of the East, and East is not limited to a geographic concept, whereas it also includes history, culture, identity and all the shared elements of the people in this part of the world. in addition to the diversity of cultures in the Asian countries, this section also insists on the necessity of connections, unification, and cooperation of these countries. The "Special Asian Unity Prize" is created with respect to this idea and goal.
With a Girl of Black Soil – Jeon Soo-il (South Korea) | valign="top" width="50%" |
Barmak Akram – Kabuli Kid (France and Afghanistan) Best Wishes for Tomorrow – Takashi Koizumi (Japan)
Special Asian Unity Prize "Special Asian Unity Prize" from Asian Parliamentary Assembly awarded to: – (Iran, UAE and Germany)
Turquoise Road Prize "Turquoise Road Prize" had no winner. The prize scheduled to the Best Film from Economic Cooperation Organization countries, jointly with ECO Cultural Institute.
Path of the Prophets "Path of the Prophets" section awarded "Interfaith Award" to: – Ebrahim Forouzesh (Iran)
Moustapha Akkad's Special Prize "Golden Banner" in memorial of deceased Syrian director Moustapha Akkad, designed to persuade that part of the world cinema which has a respectful look at Islam and its greatness. The prize awarded to: – Rashid Masharawi (Palestine, Tunisia and Netherlands)
Non-competition sections Special Screenings, retrospectives and memorials
Ceremony information The Kingdom of Solomon (Shahriar Bahrani, 2010) removed from the festival's list of accepted films, due to incompleteness of post-production processes.
One of the most controversial events of the Iranian cinema's passed year was Golshifteh Farahani's appearance in Body of Lies (Ridley Scott, 2008). Because of her performance in a Hollywood film, Asghar Farhadi's About Elly faced preventing its screening at the Fajr International Film Festival. At last, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stepped in and ordered the removal of the obstacles.
Bahram Beyzai's awarded by main prizes of the Fajr International Film Festival while many of his plays and scripts had rejected for production permit by government, after the revolution.
Footnotes Notes
References
Sources
External links
(English) (Persian)
27th Fajr International Film Festival on SourehCinema (in Persian)