Fajr Festival Winners Await Cars; An Official: Automakers Must Be Accountable

Following complaints from some winners of the Fajr Film Festival regarding the non-receipt of their prizes, one of the festival's managers stated that automakers should be held accountable. Simon Simonyan, head of the secretariat of the 41st International Fajr Film Festival, told Iranian media that the cinema organization and the festival secretariat sent the names of the winners to Iran Khodro and Saipa after the closing ceremony, and if there has been any delay in delivering the cars, it is due to these automakers. Mr. Simonyan added that all matters related to awarding the winners of the 41st festival were carried out according to procedure, and there was no negligence. According to him, the names of 25 winners from this edition were sent in an official letter to the sales managers of these two automakers. Recently, Majid Salehi, who was selected as the best male actor of the Fajr Festival for his role in the film 'Number Ten,' announced in a short message on social media that two months after the closing ceremony, the cars that were supposed to be awarded alongside the main prizes had not yet been delivered to him. He had stated at the closing ceremony that he would dedicate his prize to the earthquake-affected people of Khoy. This prize was supposed to be delivered by Hadi Hejazifar, who was at that time helping his fellow citizens in Khoy, but given Majid Salehi's complaint, it is clear that this prize has still not been awarded to him. Mohid Salehi, in part of his message, said, 'I wish this had been done on the night of the New Year so it could have been a small help for the dear children of Khoy.' Another winner of the festival, who wished to remain anonymous, also told domestic media that on March 18, he received a letter of introduction from the Fajr Film Festival secretariat and took it to the Saipa automaker. This artist added that he was told by this company that he would be contacted, but he has yet to receive any call from Saipa. This news comes at a time when the Iranian car market is in a chaotic state for various reasons, and domestic cars are being sold at astronomical prices. Many customers who pre-ordered these cars must wait a long time to receive low-quality domestic products, and no manager or authority is accountable to dissatisfied citizens.