End of Fajr Film Festival with Four Simorgh Awards for 'Midday Adventures'

The jury of the 35th Fajr Film Festival in Iran awarded the Simorgh for Best Film and three other Simorghs to the film 'Midday Adventures', amidst criticisms regarding the festival's judging process in recent days. The Simorgh for Best Director was awarded to Vahid Jalilvand for the film 'Without Date, Without Signature'. The closing ceremony of the 35th Fajr Film Festival was held on Thursday evening, February 10, at the Milad Tower conference hall. The jury awarded the Simorgh for Best Film to Mahmoud Razavi for 'Midday Adventures', while the Special Jury Award went to Alireza Davoodnejad, director of the film 'Runner'. The Simorgh for Best Screenplay was awarded to Kambouzia Partovi for 'Runner'. The Crystal Simorgh for Best Film from the Audience's Perspective and the Golden Simorgh from the National Perspective also went to 'Midday Adventures'. The Simorgh for Best Costume and Set Design was awarded to Behzad Jafari Tadi for 'Midday Adventures', thus the film won four Simorghs at the Fajr Film Festival. 'Midday Adventures' has been in the news recently. Directed by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian, the film narrates the actions of the intelligence and security forces of the Islamic Republic in 1981 to arrest members of the People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran, especially its leaders. Some political figures, including Sadegh Zibakalam, criticized the film, stating that it is a 'government film' that only reflects the security forces' perspective on the actions of the Mojahedin Organization. Conversely, some critics pointed out that aspects such as cinematography, editing, and makeup in this film were overlooked in the Fajr Film Festival nominations. Among them is Behrouz Afkhami, a well-known filmmaker who has been hosting the television program 'Haft'. Five out of the seven judges of this festival were accused of neglecting 'Midday Adventures' due to their foreign citizenship and fear of potential reactions from the Islamic Republic's opponents abroad. These statements prompted a reaction from Hojjatollah Ayubi, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, who stated on the 'Haft' program that such comments are 'exaggerating' the Mojahedin Organization and are 'frightening'. During the Thursday night ceremony, the Simorgh for Best Actress was jointly awarded to Merila Zarei for her role in 'Under the Smoky Roof' and Leila Hatami for 'The Sleepy Vein'. The Simorgh for Best Actor went to Mohsen Tanabandeh for his performance in 'Runner'. The Best Supporting Actress Simorgh was awarded to Soraya Qasemi for 'The Villa People', and the Best Supporting Actor Simorgh went to Navid Mohammadzadeh for 'Without Date, Without Signature'. Christophe Rezai won the Simorgh for Best Music for the film 'Negar', and Parviz Abnahr received the Simorgh for Best Sound for 'Runner'. The Simorgh for Best Editing was awarded to Sohrab Khosravi for 'Hot Summer', the Best Documentary Film Simorgh went to 'The Defendants of the Twentieth Circle' directed by Hesam Islami, and the Best Documentary Director Simorgh was awarded to Yaser Khair for the documentary 'Slowness'. Following the announcement of the nominees for the Crystal Simorgh of the 35th Fajr Festival on Tuesday night, February 7, protests arose regarding the neglect of certain films in the judging process, while some films were nominated in specific categories. Meanwhile, the teams of films 'Choking' by Fereydoun Jirani, 'Traffic Jam' directed by Mohsen Gharaei, 'Midday Adventures' by Mohammad Hossein Mahdavian, 'The Villa People' by Monir Qaydi, 'Twenty-One Days Later' directed by Mohammad Reza Khordmandan, 'Narcissus Season' by Negar Azerbaijanian, and 'We Need a Simple Worker' by Manoochehr Hadi expressed their protests regarding the neglect of their works by the jury in the media and social networks. However, Reza Salehi Amiri, the Minister of Culture, stated that the protests from films that did not make it to the competition section are 'firm and logical' and 'not ethical'. The jury of this festival also rejected the criticisms while announcing that there should be 'fundamental changes in the production and screening relations' and that the Fajr Film Festival should also 'change its nature'.