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List of Winners and Awards of the 3rd International Women’s Film Festival

Herat –14 October 2015

The 3rd International Women’s Film Festival – Herat ran from 11-13 October 2015, while the flames of war are once again blazing in Afghanistan, towns are destroyed, women and children fall victim and the number of the displaced people is rising.

Hoping to promote peaceful approaches and settling disputes and long-standing problems through peaceful means and despite security threats, the organisers of this festival endeavoured once again to present a different image of Afghanistan combined with message of peace and empathy from its people.

Although achieving peace is a popular wish, we are well aware that it will not be attained only through a “declaration of ceasefire” by the warring parties. Reconciliation will be tainted with blood as long as this land is suffering from all kinds of sexual, ethnic, lingual, and cultural discrimination, violence and injustice.

From 300 films that the Festival Secretariat had received, a total of 66 films reached the second stage and screened during the festival days. The competition sections comprised 13 films from Afghanistan and 21 international films. Others were shown in the non-competition section.

The Jury members were:

Ms. Simona Lanzoni, Italy, Ms. Kelsey Cherland, USA, Eng. Latif Ahmadi, Afghanistan, Ms. Uma Tanuku, India.

Ms. Mona Zandi Haghighi, from Iran, was also due to join the Jury, but she was unable to travel to Afghanistan.

Winners were decided with a majority of votes as follows:

International films (Out of 21):

  1. Best documentary: My name is Salt, Director: Farida Pacha, India/France
  2. Best long fiction Oblivion Season, Director: Abbas Rafei, Iran
  3. Best short fiction: I say Dust, Director: Darine Hotait, Lebanon/America
  4. Best animation The Fried Fish, Director: Laila Khalilzadeh, Iran
  5. Award of the Jury Ants’ Apartment, Director: Tofigh Amani, Iran

 Afghanistan films (Out of 13):

  1. Best short documentary: Loneliness, Director: Sabera Rezaei
  2. Best short fiction film: In circle, Director:  Masooma Ibrahimi
  3. Best animation: Schizophrenia, Director: Lajeward Haghighi
  4. Best director: Khadim Hussain Behnam, for the film: Conflict
  5. Best leading actress: Lina Alam, for the film: Qamar
  6. Best leading actress: Marina Gulbahari, for the film: Lost bag
  7. Award of the Jury for the film: Qamar, Directed by Nima Latifi
  8. Best film script: Masoud Islami and Jalal Hosseini for the film Maze

The Jury praised “Flight Mandatory”, directed by Azizullah Haidari, for its innovative notion.

 

Armanshahr/OPENASIA                                                                                          Roya Film House