The film Mantagheye bohrani (Critical Zone) by Iranian filmmaker Ali Ahmadzadeh won the Pardo d’oro (Golden Leopard) at the 76th Locarno Film Festival.
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Locarno Film Festival: Pardo d’oro al film iraniano “Mantagheye bohrani”
Mantagheye bohrani (Critical Zone), shot secretly on the streets of Teheran without permission from the Iranian authorities is a “hymn to freedom and resistance in Iran”, said the festival organisers on Saturday.
In Mantagheye bohrani (Critical Zone) the main character, a drug trafficker, drives around Tehran at night. As he makes his deliveries, we meet an air stewardess who has become a smuggler, a mother trying to save her drug-addicted son and a group of transsexual sex workers.
“Making this film was an act of rebellion. The fact that people are seeing it is an even greater victory for us,” Ali Ahmadzadeh told the online film magazine “Cineuropa”.
The 37-year-old Iranian director was unable to leave Iran to travel to Switzerland to present his film. His films have been banned in Iran by the regime. His previous films include Kami’s Party (Tallinn 2013) and Atomic Heart (Berlinale 2015).
A Special Jury Prize went to Romanian director Radu Jude for Nu aștepta prea mult de la sfârșitul lumii (Do not expect too much from the end of the world).
The Pardo award for best direction went to Ukrainian director Maryna Vroda for Stepne.
The Pardo award for best performance was shared between Dimitra Vlagopoulou for Animal by Sofia Exarchou and Renée Soutendijk for Sweet Dreams by Ena Sendijarević.
A special mention also went to Sylvain George for Nuit obscure – au revoir ici, n’importe où.
“This has been a thrilling edition, reasserting the centrality of the Locarno Film Festival and its ability to explore contemporary cinema in every shape and size, capturing the hearts and minds of our generous, curious and passionate public, who crowded into the Piazza Grande and theatres in great numbers,” said Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival.
In all, 214 films were presented in this year’s programme, or a total of 466 screenings.
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