Four Asia-Pacific Awards for Four Iranian Films

The winners of the eighth Asia-Pacific Film Awards were announced, with Iranian cinema securing four awards. The ceremony took place on Thursday evening, December 20, in Brisbane, Australia, and the jury, chaired by Asghar Farhadi, the Oscar-winning Iranian director, revealed the winners for 2014. Rakhshan Bani-Etemad, Nima Javidi, Maryla Zarei, and Reza Dormishian were among the awardees. The Best Film award went to the Russian film 'Leviathan' directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev, while the Best Director award was given to Nuri Bilge Ceylan for 'Winter Sleep.' Nima Javidi from Iran won the Best Screenplay award for his film 'Melbourne.' 'Melbourne,' featuring Mani Haqiqi, Peyman Maadi, and Negar Javaherian, has previously participated in other film festivals including Venice, Munich, Tokyo, Stockholm, and Cairo, winning various awards. Meanwhile, the Grand Jury Prize was awarded to Rakhshan Bani-Etemad for directing 'Tales.' This film, which also received the Best Screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival, faces challenges for public screening in Iran, as despite having a screening permit, the parliament has instructed the Ministry of Culture not to screen it. Another Iranian film, 'I Am Not Angry,' also won the NETPAC Development Award for its director Reza Dormishian. This $10,000 award is given to honor new talents among young directors. 'I Am Not Angry' was supposed to be screened in Iran last month, but the Ministry of Culture halted its public showing due to parliamentary opposition. Another Iranian honoree at the Asia-Pacific Awards was Maryla Zarei, who received a special recognition for her performance in the film 'Shiar 143.' Directed by Narges Abyar, 'Shiar 143' is currently showing in Iranian cinemas and has grossed approximately 1.6 billion tomans in Tehran and other cities. The Best Actress award went to Liu Zhong, a Chinese actress for her role in 'Red Insomnia,' while the Best Actor award was given to Cliff Curtis for his performance in the New Zealand film 'The Dark Horse.' David Galpili, an actor from the Australian film 'Charlie’s Country,' was also recognized in this section. Notably, Navid Mohammadzadeh was nominated for his role in 'I Am Not Angry.' The winners of this eighth cinematic event were selected from nine different countries, chosen from 250 films across 42 countries in Asia and the Pacific for the competitive Asia-Pacific awards. Additionally, Asghar Farhadi was the third Iranian director to serve as a judge at this event; previously, Jafar Panahi and Tahmineh Milani had also participated as judges.