Int. Fajr festival leaves behind legacy of drama

This year’s Iran international film festival gathered a host of renowned film-makers from around the world.

American film director Oliver Stone stole the show at 36th International Fajr Film Festival (FIFF), when he poured scorn on President Donald Trump and US Middle East policy.

“We made a mess out of Iraq, Syria, Libya, but it doesn’t matter to the American public. It’s okay to wreck the Middle East,” said Stone, who was on his first visit to the Islamic Republic.

In an apparent reference to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the three-time Oscar winner added, “It doesn’t matter who is president — Bush, Obama or Trump — the US will break any treaty” in its interests.

He lambasted the recent meeting between Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron, who called for a revision of the nuclear deal. Stone also called Saudi Arabia a major destabilizer in the Middle East.

The guests of the event, which wrapped up on Thursday, also included French actor Jean-Pierre Leaud, Italian actor Franco Nero and his compatriot composer Nicola Piovani.

The feature film Aga directed by Milko Lazarov, a co-production of Bulgaria, Germany, and France, won this year’s top prize, the Golden Simorgh for Best Film. Russian filmmaker Alexy German Jr. was crowned the best director for the film Dovlatov, a co-production of Russia, Poland, and Serbia.

Best Script award went to Ramtin Lavafi from Iran for Hattrick, Best Actor was named Leon Lucev for The Miner, a co-production by Slovenia and Croatia, Mahoor Alvand was named the Best Actress for starring in Hattrick, and Best Short Film’s accolade ended up in Russian Tatiana Fedorovskaya’s hands for Faith.

More than 100 films were screened from around the world.

In the international competition section, named Cinema Salvation, the seven-member jury included Polish filmmaker Joanna Kos-Krauze, Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski, Greek filmmaker Dimitri Athanitis, Indian director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Italian producer  Giovanni Spagnoletti, Iranian cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari, and Iranian actress Merila Zarei.

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