Tag Archives: Awards

Iran wins bronze at Indoor Hockey World Cup

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The Asian Champions won the Bronze Medal match 5:0 against Australia, and became the first non-European team to win a podium position at the Indoor Hockey World Cup, held in Berlin, Germany. Sasan Hatami Nejad won the Best Goalkeeper Award and Reza Norouzzadeh ended as the third highest scorer of the tournament.

Navid Taherirad netted Iran’s opener nearly a quarter into the game; and Reza Norouzzadeh doubled Iran’s lead in the 19th minute. After Hamid Nooranian jabbed the team’s third goal, Norouzzadeh was on target twice again, completing a hat trick in the span of just 21 minutes.

Austria beat Germany 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out and shattered the hosts’ championship hopes, after both teams were tied 3-3 at full time. The Netherlands were the reigning champions, but did not qualify to defend their title.

Ranked currently 7th in the world, Iran lost one match (the semi final against Germany, world number 1), out of a total of 8 matches played at the event. They drew against Austria (world number 2 and Indoor Hockey World Cup 2018 Champions), won against Russia (world number 4), and against Czech Republic (world number 6).

BERLIN – Indoor Hockey World Cup Bronze: Iran – Australia Iran won the 3rd place. foto: WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT FRANK UIJLENBROEK
BERLIN – Indoor Hockey World Cup Bronze: Iran – Australia Iran won. foto: Iran celebrates their win. WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT FRANK UIJLENBROEK
BERLIN – Indoor Hockey World Cup Bronze: Iran – Australia Iran won the 3rd place. foto: NOORANIAN Hamid. WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT FRANK UIJLENBROEK
BERLIN – Indoor Hockey World Cup Bronze: Iran – Australia foto: WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT FRANK UIJLENBROEK
BERLIN – Indoor Hockey World Cup Bronze: Iran – Australia Iran won the 3rd place. foto: NOORANIAN Hamid. WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT FRANK UIJLENBROEK
BERLIN – Indoor Hockey World Cup Bronze: Iran – Australia foto: NOROUZZADEH Reza. WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT FRANK UIJLENBROEK
BERLIN – Indoor Hockey World Cup Bronze: Iran – Australia Iran won the 3rd place. foto: WORLDSPORTPICS COPYRIGHT FRANK UIJLENBROEK
Iranian team holding their bronze medals at the 2018 Men’s Indoor Hockey World Cup in Berlin, Germany. Photo source: asiahockey.org

Iranian squad
Behdad Biranvand, Yaghoub Bahrami, Abbas Aruei, Amir Aruei, Hamid Nouraniyan, Alireza Chezani Sharahi, Behnam Fardi, Mohsen Bohlouli, Mohammad Asnaashari, Reza Norouzzadeh, Sasan Hataminejad and Navid Taherirad. Head coach: Esfandiar Safaei

Sources: Payvand News of Iran, International Hockey Federation, Asian Hockey Federation, Wikipedia

Iranian illustrator Hoda Hadadi wins gold at the Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards

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Hoda Haddadi won the award for her illustrations for Drummer Girl, a book written by Pakistani-Canadian author Hiba Masood and published by Daybreak Press in the United States. The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards are designed to bring increased recognition to exemplary children’s books and their creators, and to support childhood literacy and life-long reading. The contest is open to authors, illustrators, and publishers of children’s books written in English or Spanish for the North American market.

About Hoda Hadadi
Hadadi is an Iranian illustrator, poet and writer born in February 1977 in Tehran. She graduated with a M.A. in Graphic Design from Art University, Tehran. She teaches at the Association of Iranian Illustrators.

In 1998 Hoda Hadadi started writing and publishing her illustrations for magazines. Her first book as an illustrator was published in 1999 and her first book as a writer (My cloudy day -Shab Aviz) was published in 2000. Since then, she has illustrated more than fifty books published in Iran and around the world; in English i.e. Deep in the Sahara (Penguin Random House, 2013), Drummer Girl (Daybreak Press, 2016), A Rainbow in My Pocket (Tiny Owl, 2016) and forthcoming Just like me! (Tiny Owl, 2017).

Hadadi creates unique collages, balancing delicate materials and textures; she layers gauze papers, stitches, pencil and paint to create beautiful images. Depending on the text they take a more abstract or descriptive form. A Rainbow in My pocket, e.g., was a poem and required a more conceptual style.

Photo credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
Photo credit mamanushka.com
Image credit Hoda Hadadi, mamanushka.com
Image credit Hoda Hadadi, bayanbox.ir
Image credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
Photo credit Tiny Owl Children’s Book Publisher
Image credit Hoda Hadadi, wonderlandgroup.ir
Image credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
Image credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
Bologna Children’s Book Fair 2017. Speakers: illustrators Hoda Hadadi, Narges Mohammadi and Italian publisher Francesco Brioschi, moderated by illustrator Ali Boozari. Photo credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
The workshops based on two stories by Hoda Hadadi -The mountain that wants to go somewhere else & The shrimp and the mermaid, translated to Danish by poet and publisher Shekufe Tadayoni Heiberg. The students learned mix techniques: linocut from Ali Boozari and collage by Hoda Hadadi. Organized by Selskabet for Børnelitteratur, IBBY Denmark. March/April 2017. Photo credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
The workshops based on two stories by Hoda Hadadi -The mountain that wants to go somewhere else & The shrimp and the mermaid, translated to Danish by poet and publisher Shekufe Tadayoni Heiberg. The students learned mix techniques: linocut from Ali Boozari and collage by Hoda Hadadi. Organized by Selskabet for Børnelitteratur, IBBY Denmark. March/April 2017. Photo credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
The workshops based on two stories by Hoda Hadadi -The mountain that wants to go somewhere else & The shrimp and the mermaid, translated to Danish by poet and publisher Shekufe Tadayoni Heiberg. The students learned mix techniques: linocut from Ali Boozari and collage by Hoda Hadadi. Organized by Selskabet for Børnelitteratur, IBBY Denmark. March/April 2017. Photo credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi
The workshops based on two stories by Hoda Hadadi -The mountain that wants to go somewhere else & The shrimp and the mermaid, translated to Danish by poet and publisher Shekufe Tadayoni Heiberg. The students learned mix techniques: linocut from Ali Boozari and collage by Hoda Hadadi. Organized by Selskabet for Børnelitteratur, IBBY Denmark. March/April 2017. Photo credit Hoda Hadadi, facebook.com @hodihadadi

In 2003 she directed and animated How is a good girl?, a 4-minute animation. The UNESCO calendar printed her art work in 2004. She has hold more than ten group exhibitions in Iran, India, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Russia, along solo exhibitions in Belgrade, Serbia (2009) and in Tehran (2007).

Other awards
– New Horizons of Bologna (2010, Italy)
– 3rd Prize Teatrio Festival (2008, Italy)
– Noma Encouragement Prize (2002 & 2008, Japan)
– Defa-e Moghaddas Special Prize (2008, Tehran, Iran)
– Grand Prix of Belgrade (2007, Serbia)
– Golden Plaque of BIB (2007, Biennial of Illustration Bratislava, Slovakia)
– 1st Prize of Kanoon Book Festival (2005, Tehran, Iran)
– 2nd Prize KATHA (2005, India)

Sources: Moonbean Awards, Tehran Times, Tiny Owl Children’s Book Publisher, Wonderland Illustration Group, Saatchi Art, Facebook @hodihadadi, Twitter @hoda_hadadi, Instagram @ludlowgallery

Undefeated Iran is Youth Volleyball World Champion 2017

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Iran succeeded in their gold medal hunt as they defeated Russia 3-1, winning its second title in the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship. Japan defeated South Korea for the bronze medal. Amir Hossein Esfandiar from Iran was elected the MVP and Amir Hossein Toukhteh was selected in the tournament’s dream team.

Porya Yali, Morteza Sharifi and Amirhossein Esfandiar dominated in offence as they combined for 54 of Iran’s 59 attacks. Yali led Iran in scoring with 29 points, Sharifi charted 19 points and was Iran’s most efficient hitter, while Esfandiar played consistently across all skill sets. Maksim Sapozhkov, who came off the bench in the second set, top scored for Russia with 16 points.

RESULTS (Iran)
Iran 3 : 2 Italy (25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Mexico (25-19, 25-12, 25-18) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 China (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Czech Republic (25-22, 25-12, 25-19) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Turkey (25-18, 25-21, 25-13) – Round of 16
Iran 3 : 0 Brazil (25-21, 25-20, 25-15) – Quarterfinals
Iran 3 : 0 South Korea (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) – Semifinals
Russia 1 : 3 Iran (20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25) – Final

Iranian team posing with their medals. Photo source fivb.com
Amir Hossein Toukhteh (best middle blocker, Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (best outside spiker, Russia), Artem Melnikov (best middle blocker, Russia), Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP and best outside spiker, Iran), Shunsuke Nakamura (best setter, Japan), Im Donghyeok (best opposite spiker, Korea) and Kenta Ichikawa (best libero, Japan). Photo source fivb.com
Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran) – Gold medal winner, MVP and best outside spiker. Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Porya Yali’s 29 points helped Iran to take down European powerhouse Russia to win gold. Photo source facebook.com-FIVB.InternationalVolleyballFederation
Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia) and Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP, Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Iranian team waiting for their gold medals. Photo source fivb.com
Iranian team celebrating after defeating Russia in the final 3 to 1. Photo source Payam Sani, YJC
Iranian team welcomed at the airport in Tehran. Photo credit BORNA

DREAM TEAM
Most Valuable Player: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran)
Best Outside Spikers: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia)
Best Middle Blockers: Artem Melnikov (Russia), Amir Hossein Toukhteh (Iran)
Best Setter: Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)
Best Opposite Spiker: Im Donghyeok (South Korea)
Best Libero: Kenta Ichikawa (Japan)

The 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship was the fifteenth edition of the world championship for men’s national teams under the age of 19. The tournament was hosted by Bahrain in Riffa from 18 to 27 August 2017. 20 teams from the 5 confederations competed in the tournament.

Sources: FIVB | U19 Boys 2017 (News), Wikipedia | 2017 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship, Young Journalists Club, Borna News, IRNA

Iran wins 12 medals at the 2017 X World Games in Poland

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The 2017 X World Games is a major international multi-sport event, meant for sports, disciplines or events within a sport, that are not contested in the Olympic Games, held in Wrocław, Poland.

Iran sent a delegation of 19 athletes that competed in 7 disciplines: Archery, Billiard sports, Ju-Jitsu, Karate, Kickboxing, Muaythai and Sport climbing, winning 12 medals (two gold, eight silver and two bronze). All Iranian athletes that did not win a medal reached the quarterfinals.

3214 athletes from 102 countries participated in a total of 201 events in 27 official sport disciplines as well as in 21 events in 4 invitational sports, that included American football, Indoor rowing, Kickboxing, and Motorcycle speedway.This is the first time that Floorball, Lacrosse and Muaythai have been included in the World Games as official sports.

2017 X World Games in Poland. Medalists in Sport Climbing (Men’s Speed): Iranian Reza Alipourshenazandifar (gold), Ukrainian Danyil Boldyrev (silver) and Russian Stanislav Kokorin (bronze). Photo credit Eddie Fowke, IFSC
2017 X World Games in Poland. Medalists in Kickboxing (Men’s K1 86kg): Polish Dawid Kasperski (gold), Bosnian Herzegovinian Mesud Selimovic (silver) and Iranian Omid Nosrati (bronze). Photo credit BTWphotographers Maziarz/Rajter

Iran at the 2017 X World Games
16px-Gold_medal_icon.svg Karate – Men’s Kumite 84kg: Zabiollah Poorshab
16px-Gold_medal_icon.svg Sport Climbing – Men’s Speed: Reza Alipourshenazandifar
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Archery – Men’s Compound: Esmaeil Ebadi
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Ju-Jitsu – Men’s 94kg Fighting: Mohsen Hamid Aghchay
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Karate – Women’s Kumite +68kg: Hamideh Abbasali
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Karate – Men’s Kumite 60kg: Amir Mehdizadeh
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Karate – Men’s Kumite 75kg: Aliasghar Asiabari
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Karate – Men’s Kumite +84kg: Sajad Ganjzadeh
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Muaythai – Men’s 63.5kg: Ali Zarinfar
16px-Silver_medal_icon.svg Muaythai – Men’s 71kg: Masoud Minaei
Bronze_medal_icon.svg Billiard Sports – Mixed Snooker: Soheil Vahedi
Bronze_medal_icon.svg Kickboxing – Men’s K1 86kg: Omid Nosrati (* invitational sport)

Sources: Wikipedia | 2017 World Games, 2017 X World Games | Iranian medals, Wikipedia | Iran at the 2017 World Games, Facebook @TWG2017

Iranian students win 10 medals at chemistry and math Olympiads

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Iranian high school students received two gold, three silver, and one bronze medals in the 58th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2017) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Out of 111 countries, the Iranian team achieved fifth place after South Korea, Vietnam, China and USA.

Earlier this month, Iran ranked third in the 49th Chemistry Olympiad (IChO 2017), behind Taiwan and the USA. The event, that was held in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand hosted 297 students from 76 countries.

Team Iran at IMO 2017
Gold medal winners: Amir Mojtaba Sabur and Aryo Lotfi Jandaghi
Silver medal winners: Seyed Mahdavi Tikdari, Taha Miranzadeh and Farhood Rostamkhani
Bronze medal winner: Soroush Taslimi

Team Iran at IChO 2017
Gold medal winners: Amirabbas Kazeminia, Hossein Behnoush and Parsa Pirouz
Silver medal winner: Soroush Baniani

The best placed Iranian participant in the IMO’s hall of fame is Maryam Mirzakhani, the first and to-date only female winner of the Fields Medal since its inception in 1936. She earned a gold medal in 1994 and in 1995 she notched a perfect score and another gold medal, as the first female to compete with Iran’s International Mathematical Olympiad team.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit 58th International Mathematical Olympiad, Facebook
Tehran, Iran. Photo credit: IRNA
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit 58th International Mathematical Olympiad, Facebook
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Photo credit Sakulsuk Unarunotai, Facebook
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Photo credit Sakulsuk Unarunotai, Facebook
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit bigschool.vn
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit bigschool.vn

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is an annual six-problem mathematical olympiad for pre-college students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959.

The International Chemistry Olympiad, one of the International Science Olympiads, is an annual academic competition for high school students. The first IChO was held 1968 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Sources: imo-official.org I, imo-official.org II, Wikipedia | IMO, Facebook @IMO2017Rio, bigschool.vn, icho2017.sc.mahidol.ac.th, Tehran Times, Wikipedia | IChO, Facebook @sak.otai

Iranian film won “Un Certain Regard” top prize at Cannes

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Photo credit israelsolorzanos, instagram.com
Valentina Maurel (Belgium), Bahram and Bahman Ark (Iran), Tommaso Usberti (France) – Photo credit Mathilde Petit, FDC

A Man of Integrity (Lerd), a film that focuses on a goldfish farmer battling corporate oppression in Northern Iran, has won the top prize in the “Un Certain Regard” competition at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday.

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, the film stars Reza Akhlaghirad, Soudabeh Beizaee and Misagh Zare Zeinab. A Man of Integrity marks Rasoulof’s third attempt at the Un Certain Regard section, having previously had two of his other movies nominated including 2011’s Au revoir and 2013’s Manuscripts Don’t Burn, winning Best Director for the former.

Rasoulof’s win comes three months after another Iranian filmmaker, Asghar Farhadi, won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for his film The Salesman.

“Un Certain Regard” is a section of the Cannes Film Festival’s official selection. It runs parallel to the competition for the Palme d’Or. Introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob, this section presents works that have an original aim and aesthetic. The name literally means “a certain glance” but is understood by French speakers to mean “from another point of view.” In 2017 this section presented in competition 18 films hailing from 22 different countries.

Under the presidency of Uma Thurman (actress – United States), the Jury was comprised of Mohamed Diab (director – Egypt), Reda Kateb (actor – France), Joachim Lafosse (director – Belgium) and Karel Och (artistic director of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival – Czech Republic).

Iranian short film “AniMal” (Heyvan), co-directed by Bahram and Bahman Ark, won the second prize of the 20th Cinéfondation Selection.  The Jury was headed by Cristian Mungiu (director – Romania) and included Clotilde Hesme (actress – France), Athina Rachel Tsangari (director, writer, producer – Greece), Barry Jenkins (director, script writer – United States) and Eric Khoo (director, writer, producer – Singapore).

La Cinéfondation, by the Cannes Film Festival, was created to inspire and support the next generation of international filmmakers. This year’s selection consisted of 16 student films, chosen out of 2.600 entries coming from 626 film schools around the world.

UN CERTAIN REGARD PRIZES
“Un Certain Regard” Prize: Lerd (A Man of Integrity) by Mohammad Rasoulof
Prize for Best Actress:  Jasmine Trinca for Fortunata by Sergio Castellitto
Prize for the Best Poetic Narrative: Barbara by Mathieu Amalric
Prize for the Best Direction: Taylor sheridan for Wind River
Jury Prize: Las Hijas de Abril (April’s Daughters) by Michel Franco

20th CINÉFONDATION PRIZES
First Prize: Paul est là (Paul is here) directed by Valentina Maurel / INSAS, Belgium
Second Prize: Heyvan (AniMal) directed by Bahram & Bahman Ark / Iranian National School of Cinema, Iran
Third Prize: Deux égarés sont morts (Two youths died) directed by Tommaso Usberti / La Fémis, France

Mohammad Rasoulof, Un Certain Regard Prize winner for Lerd Lerd (A Man of Integrity). Photo credit Borde-Jacovides-Moreau, Bestimage
Bahram and Bahman Ark, Cinéfondatino Second Prize winners for Heyvan (Animal). Photo credit bahramark, instagram.com
Cast of Lerd, directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, Un Certain Regard Prize winner. Photo credit rezaakhlaghirad, instagram.com

Sources: Wikipedia, Festival de Cannes (Un Certain Regard), Festival de Cannes (Cinéfondation), silverscreen.in, instagram.com #lerd, purepeople.com

Iran won eight medals at Asian u-20 Chess Championship

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Young Iranian chess players won two gold, three silver and three bronze medals at the 2017 Asian Juniors u-20 Chess Championships 2017 held in Shiraz.

India dominated the Asian Junior Girls event, winning gold, silver and bronze. Iran did the same at the Asian Junior Open event: IM Masoud Mosadeghpour won the title, IM Alireza Firouzja won silver and Arash Tahbaz bronze.

Mosadeghpour also finished second in Open Rapid with 5.5 points behind IM Tuan Minh Tran from Vietnam, who won gold with 6.0 points. Iran’s IM Mersad Khodashenas finished third.

In Girls Rapid, WCM Sharma Isha from India stood on top of the podium with 6.0 points followed by Iran’s Anousha Mahdian with 5.0 points. Guddanti Harshita of India ranked third.

At the Asian Junior Girls Blitz event Iran’s WFM Mobina Alinasab won gold followed by Guddanti Harshita from India and Mutriba Hotami from Tajikistan. Tuan Minh Tran from Vietnam won his second gold medal in Open Blitz. India’s IM Bharathakoti Harsha finished second and Amirmasoud Moradi from Iran third.

Finals standings
– Asian Junior – Girls: 1st WIM Ivana Maria Furtado (India), 2nd C.H. Meghna (India), 3rd WFM Rutumbara Bidhar (India)
– Asian Junior – Open: 1st IM Masoud Mosadeghpour (Iran), 2nd IM Alireza Firouzja (Iran), 3rd Arash Tahbaz (Iran)
– Asian Junior – Girls (Rapid): 1st WCM Sharma Isha (India), 2nd Anousha Mahdian (Iran), 3rd Guddanti Harshita (India)
– Asian Junior – Open (Rapid): 1st IM Tuan Minh Tran (Vietnam), 2nd IM Masoud Mosadeghpour (Iran), 3rd IM Mersad Khodashenas (Iran)
– Asian Junior – Girls (Blitz): 1st WFM Mobina Alinasab (Iran), 2nd Guddanti Harshita (India), 3rd Mutriba Hotami (Tajikistan)
– Asian Junior – Open (Blitz): 1st IM Tuan Minh Tran (Vietnam), 2nd IM Bharathakoti Harsha (India), 3rd Amirmasoud Moradi (Iran)

Notes
IM: International Master; WCM: Woman Candidate Master; WFM: Woman FIDE Master; WIM: Woman International Master

Source: chess-results.com

Iran wins bronze making Asian history at FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup 2017 (Photos)

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Iran ended their Bahamas 2017 campaign on a high with a 5-3 win against Italy in the play-off for third place to become Asia’s highest ever finishers at the Beach Soccer World Cup.

Peyman Hosseini, Iran’s goalkeeper, won the adidas Golden Glove award and Mohammad Ahmadzadeh won the adidas Golden Ball as best player of the tournament and also the adidas Bronze Scorer award with nine goals and one assist.

Italian player Gabriele Gori scored two goals to move beyond Dejan Stankovic into second place for biggest hauls at a single competition. Goalkeeper Peyman Hosseini has had a stand-out tournament. Having scored the first goal of Bahamas 2017 with a long-range volley, he has been a crucial part of Iran’s success on the goalkeeping front too. During their play-off for third place against Italy, he made a stunning, off-balance diving foot save early in the match that got the crowd out of their seats.

Awards
adidas Golden Ball: Mohammad Ahmadzadeh (Iran)
adidas Silver Ball: Mauricinho (Brazil)
adidas Bronze Ball: Datinha (Brazil)
adidas Golden Scorer: Gabriele Gori (Italy)
adidas Silver Scorer: Rodrigo (Brazil)
adidas Bronze Scorer: Mohammad Ahmadzadeh
adidas Golden Glove: Peyman Hosseini (Iran)
Fair Play Award: Brazil

Video: Bronze medal match highlights – Iran vs. Italy

Sources: FIFA 1, FIFA 2, FIFA 3

Iranian Reza Alipour sets new world record at the 2017 Climbing World Cup in China

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Reza Alipour and Iuliia Kaplina set new speed world records and won gold at IFSC World Cup in Nanjing, China. Shauna Coxsey and Keita Watabe topped the podium in bouldering.

The previous men’s speed world record was set at 5.60 seconds by Danyil Boldyrev at the 2014 IFSC World Championships. Reza Alipourshenazandifar posted a new men’s speed world record of 5.48 seconds in the semi-final race against Bassa Mawem of France, who finished 4th. The Iranian star registered no times above 6 seconds, and completed the historic weekend with a victory in the final against Aleksandr Shikov of Russia. Vladislav Deulin finished in 3rd place.

The IFSC Climbing World Cup is a series of climbing competitions held annually and organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, bouldering and speed.

Since 2007 the IFSC has created a standard wall for the world record. The holds and order are always identical, and the difficulty rating is around F6b, which is a level most recreational climbers could complete.

Video: Speed Climbing highlights @IFSC Climbing World Cup Nanjing 2017

Sources: Wikipedia | IFSC Climbing World Cup, Wikipedia | Speed climbing, IFSC | 2017 Nanjing WC Competition Report

Iranian movie ‘Inversion’ wins Best Film Award at MedFilm Festival in Italy

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inversion-film-by-behnam-behzadi-varoonegi-poster‘Inversion’, directed and written by Behnam Behzadi, won the Best Film Award at the 21st edition of MedFilm Festival, held in Rome.

Nine films were competing for the “Amore & Psyche” Prize in the official section, ten documentaries for the “Open Eyes” Prize and twenty short films for the “Methexis” Prize. A total of eleven Iranian films, five feature and six short films, were screend in the section “New Iranian Cinema: Beyond Words”.

Inversion is Behnam Behzadi’s fourth directed feature film. It has previously participated in ‘Un Certain Regard’ section at Cannes and received a positive review. The title is a reference to thermal inversion, a meteorological condition causing air pollution. The drama centers around a woman, Niloufar (acted by Sahar Dolatshahi), who decides to take charge and find ways to better express herself in the smog-teeming metropolis of Tehran.

MedFilm Festival is the oldest international film festival in Rome and the first festival in Italy dedicated to the promotion of Mediterranean and European cinema. MedFilm Festival was established in 1995 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Cinema and the Barcelona Declaration. Based on the conviction that Diversity is a Value, it encourages relations, cooperation and the development of the film industry between neighbouring countries.

behzradi-behnam-iranian-film-directorABOUT BEHNAM BEHZADI
Behzadi was born in 1972 in Boroujen, Iran. He obtained a master’s degree in filmmaking in Tehran and directed over 20 feature films, short works, tv movies and documentaries. He has also written scripts, worked in editing and collaborated with various scriptwriters including Bahman Ghobadi with whom he was co-script writer for the film ‘Nive mang/Half Moon’.

His first short film ‘Retaliation gained an international success, winning the second prize of FIPA 2000 in France. In 2008 his first feature film ‘Before the Burial’ was awarded in several international festivals. In 2013 ‘Bending the rules’ won the special jury prize at the Tokyo Film Festival, the audience award at Nantes and the Special Prize at Mannheim. Behzadi teaches cinema at Tehran University of Art.

Sources: Mehr News Agency, MedFilm Festival | About, MedFilm Festival | Brochure (“Beyond Words”: p. 9-10 ), MedFilm Festival | Inversion, Persian Film Festival in Australia | B. Behzadi

“The Salesman” crew received a warm welcome in Iran after winning two awards at Cannes Festival (Photos)

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Filmmaker Asghar Farhadi and actors Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti got an overwhelming welcome in Tehran after arriving home from the 69th Cannes Film Festival, where Farhadi won the best screenplay prize and Shahab Hosseini received the Palme d’Or for best actor.

The film, whose screenplay was also written by Farhadi, is about Emad (Hosseini) and Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) who move into a new flat in the center of Tehran. An incident linked to the previous tenant dramatically changes the young couple’s life.

Shahab Hosseini and Asghar Farhadi had worked together in “A Separation“. The first Iranian film to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012. “A Separation” also won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor (Shahab Hosseini and Peyman Moaadi), becoming the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. Farhadi’s “The Past” (Le Passé) had been nominated for a Palme d’Or in 2013.

Iranian film “The Salesman” by Asghar Farhadi (Forushande, 2016)

Sources: Festival de Cannes, Tehran Times 1, Payvand Iran News, Wikipedia | A Separation, Facebook | Festival de Cannes – Page Officielle, Tehran Times 2, Mehr News Agency 1, ISCA, Tehran Picture Agency, Mehr News Agency 2,

Iranian cartoonist wins top award at contest in Luxembourg

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The theme of the 9th International Contest of Caricature and Cartoon in Vianden, Luxembourg was “My Home Is My Castle”. A six-member jury selected the three winners and three trophies from 1312 submitted drawings by 504 artists from 33 countries, including caricaturists and cartoonists from Russia, Syria, Turkey, Poland, Portugal, Nicaragua, Peru, many artists from Iran, China, Croatia, Germany, Canada, Cuba, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Ukraine.

Iranian cartoonist Mohammad Habibi has won the first prize, Angel Boligan from Mexico and Klaus Pitter Austria were awarded the second and third prizes. Agim Sulaj from Italy, Raúl Zuleta from Colombia and Zbigniew Kolaczek from Poland received honorable mentions.

The winning works and a selection of entries were displayed at the Museum of Caricature and Cartoon of Vianden. The museum was initiated by Florin Balaban and his wife Sandra. Balaban is a known Luxembourgian political cartoonist.

Sources: Payvand Iran News, Der Trierer (in German),

Winners at RoboCup IranOpen 2016 (Photos)

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The 11th edition of RoboCup IranOpen took place at Tehran International Fairground. Around 2000 university and high school students from different countries competed in three categories including humanoids, flying robots and rescuers, divided into different leagues and difficulty levels. A total of 320 teams, 306 from Iran and 14 teams from abroad (Afghanistan, Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Peru, South Korea, United Kingdom and the USA), competed at this event.

The IranOpen has been organized by the Iranian RoboCup National Committee and Qazvin Azad University. The Committee was officially formed in July 2006 with the objective of promoting robotics and artificial intelligence research.

Winners RoboCup Soccer – 2D Simulation League
1st – Nexus 2D (Ferdowsi University Mashhad, Iran)
2nd – Miracle 2016 (Hefei Normal University, China)
3rd – MT2016 (Hefei University, China)
Technical challenge: Shiraz (Shiraz, Iran)

Winners RoboCup Soccer – 3D Simulation League
1st – UTAustinVilla (University of Texas at Austin, USA)
2nd – Apollo3D (Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China)
3rd – Kylinsky3D (Hohai University Wentian College, China)

Winners RoboCup Soccer – Small Size Robot League
1st – Immortals (Robotics Engineering Center, University of Tehran)
2nd – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
3rd – ZJUNLict (Zhejiang University, China)
Small Size robot soccer (or F180) focuses on the problem of intelligent multi-agent cooperation and control in a highly dynamic environment with a hybrid centralized/distributed system.

Winners RoboCup Soccer – Humanoid League (Adult, teen and kid size)
Adult: 1st – Baset Adult-Size (Baset Pazhuh Tehran Co, Iran)
Teen: 1st – AUTMan Teen (Amirkabir University, Iran / University of Manitoba, Canada)
Kid Size
1st – Bold Hearts (University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom)
2nd – Parand Kid-Size (Azad University of Parand, Iran)
3rd – FUmanoids (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)

Winners RoboCup Soccer – Standard Platform League
1st – Nao Team HTWK (HTWK Leipzig, Germany)
2nd – DAlnamite (TU Berlin / DAI-Labor, Germany)
Innovation challenge: MRL-SPL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
The RoboCup Standard Platform League is a RoboCup robot soccer league, in which all teams compete with identical robots.

Winners RoboCup Rescue – Rescue Agent Simulation League
1st MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
2nd S.O.S (Amirkabir University of Technology Tehran, Iran)
3rd Poseidon (Farzanegan High School Tehran, Iran)
Technical challenge: RAS-ROSHD (Roshd High School Tehran, Iran)

Winners RoboCup Rescue – Rescue Robot League
1st – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
2nd – YRA (Azad University of Yazd, Iran)
3rd – VRU (Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran)
Skill, discovery and mobility challenge: MRL
Flying rescue challenge: YRA

Winners RoboCup@Work
1st – ACE IAUK (Azad University of Kerman, Iran)
2nd – MEC (Shariati Technical College Tehran, Iran)

Winners RoboCup Junior – Soccer Open
1st – Helli Afra (Allameh Helli High School 10, Tehran, Iran)
2nd – AMOS (Salam Zeynoddin High School, Iran)
3rd – Allameh Tabatabaei (Allameh Tabatabaei High School)

Winners IranOpenDeminer – Tele-Operated Deminer Robots
1st – YRA (Azad University of Yazd, Iran)
2nd – Pasargad (Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran)
3rd (joint) – SRC (Azad University of Tabriz, Iran) and Malayer University (Malayer University, Hamedan, Iran)

Winners IranOpenDeminer – Small Size Intelligent Deminer Robots
1st – khayyam Robotic (Azad University of Neyshabur, Iran)
2nd – ROBOSINA (Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran)
3rd – RTL (Azad University of Arak, Iran)

Winners IranOpenUAV
1st (joint) – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran) and KN2C (K.N.Toosi University Tehran, Iran)
3rd – Cyrus UAV (Azad University of Kermanshah, Iran)

Winners IranOpenROV
1st – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
2nd – anZan Of Persian Gulf (Applied Science University of Ahvaz, Iran)

Related articles: The other Iran | Robocup

Video: Mehr News Agency | RoboCup IranOpen 2016

Sources: 2016 IranOpen; Mehr News Agency (MNA) 1; MNA 2; BORNA News; Fars News; IRNA 1; IRNA 2; ISNA 1; ISNA 2 (in Persian); Jam-e Jam Online 1; Jam-e Jam Online 2; dai-labor.de; Baltimore Sun; Epoch Times (in Persian); Facebook | DAI-Labor

Iranian students win 3rd place at FISU World University Chess Championship (Photos)

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The 14th FISU World University Chess Championship (WUCC) was held from April 9th to April 15th, 2016 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Eight students represented Iran at the tournament. The women’s chess team consisted of WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan, WGM Mitra Hejazipour, WIM Ghazal Hakimifard and Khalaji Hanieh. GM Pouya Idani, IM Amirreza Pourramezanali, FM Nima Javanbakht and Ali Faghirnavaz formed the men’s team.

In the women’s division all three best placed players attained 6,5 points. WGM Ni Shiqun of China won gold, WIM Ghazal Hakimifard won silver, Iran’s best result at FISU WUCC 2016, and WIM Anna Warakomska of Poland bronze.

GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan of Armenia won the men’s gold medal with 8 points. GM Vladimir Fedoseev of Russia secured silver (7 points) and GM Pavel Ponkratov of Russia got bronze with 6,5 points. Iran’s best player in the men’s division, IM Amirreza Pourramezanali, finished in sixth place attaining 6 points like Serbian IM Marko Nenezic (4th) and GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan of Armenia (5th).

WIM Alina Bivol placed fourth to complete the three best results for the team award for Russia. Her result combined with those of Fedoseev and Ponkratov garnered the first place team trophy for Russia (19,5 points). The Armenian team of GM Gabuzyan, GM Ter-Sahakyan and WIM Maria Gevorgyan won the runner-up trophy (19 points). The Iranian team of WIM Ghazal Hakimifard, WGM Mitra Hejazipour and IM Amirreza Pourramezanali won third place (18,5 points).

Sources: chess-results.com, FISU | Chess, iusf.ir (in Persian), Borna News

Three Iranian films won awards at Garden State Film Festival in New Jersey

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The Garden State Film Festival (GSFF) is a film festival in the United States held in Atlantic City, New Jersey which showcases over 150 independent films annually. Three Iranian movies won awards at the 14th GSFF held this year from March 31st to April 3rd.

“Oblivion Season” by director Abbas Rafei and “Ashes” by Alan Coulson from the UK shared the International Narrative Feature Award. The movie “Oblivion Season”, starring Sareh Bayat and Pejman Bazeghi, is about an ex-prostitute who starts a new life by marrying her lover but leaving the shadow of her dark past turns out not to be as easy as it had seemed beforehand.

“Lima” by Afshin Roshanbakht and Vahid Jafari received the International Animated Short Film Award. Lima repeats old memories trying to remember his lost father until he himself gets old.

“Blue-Eyed Boy” directed by Amir-Masoud Soheili won the International Narrative Short Film Award. The film tells the story of a young boy suffering from an unusual type of color blindness that causes him to see the world in blue.

Sources: Tehran Times, Wikipedia | Garden State Film Festival, Mehr News Agency, imdb, gsff.org

Iranian documentary wins Amnesty International Film Prize

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Mehrdad Oskouei’s ‘Starless Dreams’ (Royahaye Dame Sobh) along with ‘Fuocoammare’ (Fire at Sea) by Gianfranco Rosi have won the Amnesty International Film Prize at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. Rosi’s documentary film about the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean off the Italian island of Lampedusa, won also the Golden Bear prize for Best Film.

Oskouei, one of Iran’s best documentary filmmakers, explores in ‘Starless Dreams’ the anguish and joys of girls in a juvenile correctional facility on the outskirts of Tehran. His small, all-male crew spent 20 days talking to the young women who gave them surprising access to their lives and feelings. The film won in Iran the Best Documentary Director Award at the 34th Fajr Film Festival earlier this year.

The German branch of Amnesty International has awarded the Amnesty International Film Prize for the first time at the Berlinale 2005. The aim of the prize is to draw the attention of audiences and representatives of the film industry to the theme of human rights and encourage filmmakers to tackle this topic. German actress Meret Becker, Swiss film maker Dani Levy and Markus Beeko, Director of Campaigns and Communications for Amnesty International Germany were the members of this independent jury at the Berlinale 2016.

Iranian filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei (1st R) and Italian director Gianfranco Rosi (2nd L) with Jury members Dani Levy (1st L) and Meret Becker (2nd R) in Berlin - Feb 20, 2016. Photo credits: Henning Schacht / Amnesty International

Iranian filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei (1st R) and Italian director Gianfranco Rosi (2nd L) with Jury members Dani Levy (1st L) and Meret Becker (2nd R) in Berlin – Feb 20, 2016. Photo credits: Henning Schacht / Amnesty International

About Mehrdad Oskouei
Oskouei, an independent producer, filmmaker, photographer and researcher, was born in Tehran, Iran in 1969. He has a B.A. in film direction from the University of Arts, starting in the theatre in 1981 and the film world in 1988. In 2010, Oskouei received the Prince Claus Award from the Netherlands.

Sources: Tavoos Online, Berlinale, Hollywod Reporter, Reuters, Wikipedia | Starless Dreams, Fajr Film Festival (in Persian)

Winners of the 32nd Tehran Short Film Festival (Photos)

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The winners were announced during the closing ceremony of Tehran’s 32nd Short Film Festival held at Andisheh Hall.

The jury members of the International Competition Section were Andrzej Bednarek from Poland, Matthias Flügge from Germany, Seigo Tono from Japan, Gipsy Chang from Hong Kong and Alireza Shoja Noori from Iran.

“A Warm Spell” by Toshimichi Saito from Japan received the Grand Prix of the festival. Best Fiction Film was awarded to “It Will Be Alright” by Patrick Vollrath from Austria. “Songbirds’ Shop” by Anatoliy Lavrenishyn from Ukraine won the Best Animation Award. Best Documentary was awarded to “Touch of Freedom” by Sardar Arshad Khan from Poland.

Jessica Dürwald from Germany received the Best Experimental Award for “Eat My Dream”, “Survival” by Masoud Hatami from Iran won the Special Jury Prize, “Electronic Town” by Tony Mullen from Japan was chosen as the Best Film from Asian Countries. Saeed Nejati from Iran received the Best Film from Islamic Countries Award for “Prohibition” and “Angelus Novus” by Aboozar Amini from Netherlands won the Best Anti-Violence Film Award.

Sources: Tavoos Online, Tehran International Short Film Festival, Fars News, ISNA 1, ISNA 2, Tasnim News, Mehr News

Iran wins gold at 2015 Youth & Cadets Chess World Championship

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Almost 1,600 chess players from 92 countries took part at the FIDE World Youth & Cadets Championship 2015 in Greece. India dominated the event, winning 11 medals, among them 5 gold. Iran and Bulgaria complete the top three with one gold and one bronze medal each. Azerbaijan, Germany, Greece, Uzbekistan and Vietnam have one gold medal each. Russia and USA took 4 medals each, but none of them was gold.

Iranian chess player Mosadeghpour Masoud cruised to the victory with 9.5 points from 11 games in the Open U18 leaving the nearest followers a full point behind. He has achieved the IM title norm after the completion of the event, showing that the rise of Iranian chess is real, notably in the males now, since the women had already made their mark more than once. After Iranian Pouya Idani’s surprise win in the 2013 WCCY Open U18, Masoud is now the nation’s second gold just two years later. (Final ranking of the Iranian players below).

Photo gallery: Iranians at WYCC 2015

Iranian players: Final ranking at WYCC 2015 after 11 rounds
1st Mosadeghpour Masoud (IM) – Open U18 – (Rank 1 out of 116 participants)
3rd Gholami Aryan (FM) – Open U14 – (Rank 3 out of 150 participants)
6th Asadi Motahare (WFM) – Girls U12 – (Rank 6 out of 120 participants)
6th Firouzja Alireza – Open U12 – (Rank 6 out of 150 participants)
8th Lorparizangeneh Shahin (IM) – Open U16 – (Rank 8 out of 150 participants)
9th Derakhshani Dorsa (WIM) – Girls U18 – (Rank 9 out of 80 participants)
11th Alinasab Mobina (WFM) – Girls U16 – (Rank 11 out of 95 participants)
12th Maghsoodloo Parham – Open U16 – (Rank 12 out of 150 participants)
12th Tabatabaei M.Amin (IM) – Open U14 – (Rank 12 out of 150 participants)
13th Khodashenas Mersad – Open U18 – (Rank 13 out of 116 participants)
18th Gholami Orimi Anahita (WIM) – Girls U18 – (Rank 18 out of 80 participants)
21st Baradaran Tamadon Arian – Open U10 – (Rank 21 out of 150 participants)
22nd Mahdian Anousha – Girls U12 – (Rank 22 out of 120 participants)
25th Daneshvar Bardiya – Open U10 – (Rank 25 out of 150 participants)
29th Kalantari Sedigheh (WFM) – Girls U14 – (Rank 29 out of 125 participants)
42nd Tahbaz Arash – Open U16 – (Rank 42 out of 150 participants)
59th Mahjoob Zardast Artemis – Girls U8 – (Rank 59 out of 87 participants)
63rd Hashemi Seyede Fatemeh – Girls U14 – (Rank 63 out of 125 participants)

Sources: FIDE WYCC 2015, chess-results.com, chessbase.com, IRNA

Iranian winners at ‘Graines d’artistes du monde entier 2015: Face or Mask’, a children and young adults competition in France

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Eighteen Iranian children have received awards or honorable mentions for their art work submitted to the international visual art competition held by the Centre pour L’UNESCO Louis Francois based in Troyes, France.

Every year the organization launches an international visual arts competition for children and young adults. This year, the Centre pour L’UNESCO Louis Francois received 5000 submissions from 53 countries.

Bahar Raznahan (1st place), Hediyeh Hasri (7th place), Sara Esmaeilinia (8th place) in the 10-13 age group and Pantea Nemati (12th place) in the 14-17 age group received awards.

Bahar Raznahan – 1st place (10 to 13 years category)
Hasri Hediyeh – 7th place (10 to 13 years category)
Sara Esmaeilinia – 8th place (10 to 13 years category)
Pantea Nemati – 12th place (14 to 17 years category)
Poster

Shakiba Bourki, Pouyan Pireh, Nazafarin Akia, Mardin Fathi, Sajjad Mohseni, Rastin Tajik, Parham and Pouya Javidan, Samin Abbasi, Zahra Hemmati, Amir Abbas Parast, Aynaz Shadmanesh, Soheil Kargar, Kiarash Samimi, Fatemeh Abiri and Mohammad-Mehdi Khoshhal received honorable mentions. The drawings were collected and submitted by the Iranian Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.

Sources: Facebook | Centre pour l’UNESCO Louis François, Tavoos Online

Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) honors Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya

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The 2015 edition of Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) has awarded Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya during a ceremony held in Brisbane, Australia. She received the event’s Special Mention for the Best Performance by an Actress for her portrayal of a nurse in ‘Avalanche,’ directed by Iranian filmmaker Morteza Farshbaf.

Kirin Kiki won the award for Best Performance by an Actress for her role in “An” from Japan while the award for Best Performance by an Actor went to Jung Jaeyoung for his role in “Right Now, Wrong Then” from South Korea.

Apichatpong Weerasethakul from Thailand received the best film award for “Cemetery of Splendor” and Alexey German Jr. from Russia won the best director award for “Under Electric Clouds”. The award for best cinematographer went to Mark Lee Ping-bing from Taiwan for his collaboration in director Hou Hsiaohsien’s “The Assassin”.

The 2015 APSA International Jury was presided by South Korean filmmaker Kim Dong-Ho. He was joined by Mostofa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh), Zhang Xianmin (China), U-Wei Bin HajiSaari (Malaysia), Alexei Popogrebsky (Russia) and Negar Javaherian (Iran). Javaherian won the UNESCO Award at the APSA in 2013 for her performance in Maziar Miri’s “Painting Pool”.

Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia – November, 2015 (Photo by APSA)
Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia – November, 2015 (Photo by APSA)
Iranian actress Fatemeh Motamed-Arya and South Korean actor Jung Jaeyoung at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia – November, 2015 (Photo by APSA)
Iranian actresses Fatemeh Motamed-Arya and Negar Javaherian (Member of the international jury) at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia – November, 2015 (Photo by APSA)
Nominees for Best Performance by an Actress at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia – November, 2015 (Photo by APSA)
Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia – November, 2015 (Photo by APSA)
Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) in Australia – November, 2015 (Photo by APSA)

Established in 2007, APSA is an international cultural initiative to honor and promote the films, actors, directors, and cultures of the Asia-Pacific region, under the auspices of UNESCO and FIAPF – International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

About Fatemeh Motamed-Arya
Born in 1961, Fatemeh Motamed-Aria is one of the most significant Iranian actresses, who has won numerous national and international awards, including the Best Actress Prize of the 2011 Montreal Film Festival in Canada and the Prix de Henri-Langlois award of the 2012 Vincennes International Festival in France. ‘Once Forever’ (1993), ‘Blue-Veiled’ (1995), ‘Gilaneh’ (2004) and ‘Here Without Me’ (2011) are among the films she has performed in so far.

Sources: Tehran Times, Payvand, asiapacificscreenacademy.com, Instagram | apscreenawards, taghato.net

Iranian artist Pariyoush Ganji honored with Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun

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Iranian artist Pariyoush Ganji has been honored with the Order of the Rising Sun by the Japanese government. She received the “3rd Class, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon Order of the Rising Sun” at the Embassy of Japan in Tehran.

The 70-year old artist was commissioned by the Japan Foundation to conduct research in the city of Kyoto on Sassanid-era designs, which had been transferred via the Silk Road and appeared on the kimono, the traditional Japanese female costume, and the belt obi.

In addition, Ganji, who has been teaching in Iranian art universities, has long promoted the Japanese art of sumie (Japanese black ink painting) and shoi (traditional Japanese architecture) in her classes. She has had a big share in introducing and promoting Japanese art in Iran and has also helped elevate the artistic exchanges between Iran and Japan.

The Japanese government honored 89 foreign nationals on November 3rd, 2015. Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami also received the Order of the Rising Sun in 2013.

The Order of the Rising Sun was established by Emperor Meiji of Japan in 1875 and was awarded in nine classes until 2003. The badge features rays of sunlight from the rising sun. The design of the Rising Sun symbolizes energy as powerful as the rising sun in parallel with the “rising sun” concept of Japan (“Land of the Rising Sun”).

The order is awarded to those who have made distinguished achievements in international relations, promotion of Japanese culture, advancements in their field, development in welfare or preservation of the environment.

Sources: Tavoos Online, Embassy of Japan in Iran, Honar Online I, Honar Online II, Wikipedia | Order of the Rising Sun

Iran wins bronze at the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup

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Russia won the final of the Beach Soccer International Cup after defeating Tahiti 5-2. Iran’s victory over Egypt brought Iran the tournament’s third place. Tahiti had a very succesful run, reaching the final after qualifying for the first time to the knock-out stage of the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup.

The 2(3)-2(2) penalties win for Iran over Egypt was a thrilling match. The tension was palpable as the third period began with a 1-1 score and no clear advantage for either team, until an early goal from M. Abdelnabi gave Egypt the lead. All that changed when Iran tyed the game at 2 with one minute left and after a scoreless three-minute extra-time period, the teams headed into a penalty shoot-out.

Eight teams participated at this fifth edition of the Samsung Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, which took place at Jumeirah Beach in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 3rd to 7th. The invitation-only tournament has been held annually starting in 2011. The competition is similar to the FIFA Confederations Cup.

IRAN-EGYPT – Match stats
Goals: 1-0: M. Samir, min. 7 (2); 1-1: A. Akbari, min. 5 (2); 2-1: M. Abdelnabi, min. 10 (3); 2-2: F. Boulokbashi, min. 1 (3).
Penalties: A. Naderi: Make; M. Samir: Make; M. Morshedi: Make; A. Aboserie: Make; A. Akbari; Make; Hassane: Miss.

Sources: Mehr News Agency, The National, beachsoccer.com, Wikipedia | Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, Twitter @BeachSoccer_WW, Twitter @DubaiSC

Iran’s women win silver medal at the Asian Canoe Polo Championships in Hong Kong (Photos)

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The 16th Asian Canoe Polo Championships have been held in October 2015 in Hong Kong, with over 200 players in four categories (Men, U21 Men, Women, U21 Women) from eleven participating countries (Brunei, China, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Hong Kong).

Iran, Singapore, Chinese Taipei and Japan dominated the finals of the Championships. Each of them respectively won a championship in the end. Iran won a total of four medals (one gold, two silver and one bronze) and the top scorer titles in the U21 men and women categories.

Singapore’s women canoe polo team defeated five-time defending champions Iran 3-1 in the final, winning the title for the first time. Singapore had fallen to Iran at the final hurdle thrice (2005, 2009 and 2013). Iran’s U21 women team cut Singapore’s title hopes winning the final 5-1. Iran men won bronze after future champion Japan defeated them 7-6 in the semifinals. The U21 team lost 2-6 to Chinese Taipei in the final to settle for a silver medal.

Photos of the Iranian team during the championship in Hong Kong

The Asian Canoeing Championships are subdivided into three tournaments: canoe sprint, canoe slalom and canoe polo. Canoe polo is a combination of canoeing and water polo. The canoes that are used are lighter and shorter than a conventional one, for easier manoeuvrability. Two teams of five players attempt to score using a water polo ball in an area slightly smaller than an Olympic-sized pool. The game can be played in a swimming pool or a lake. The 20-minute game is divided into two halves, with a three-minute interval. The players score by sending the ball into a goal, which is suspended 2m above the water’s surface. Besides using the paddles, players can also use their hands to pass the ball, similar to the practice in water polo. Each player has to wear protective gear such as helmet, vest and face guard.

Sources: Wikipedia | Asian Canoeing Championships, The Straits Times, Asian Canoe Confederation, Iran Daily, Fars News, Sportsoho

Iran wins sixteen medals at the Asian Canoe Sprint Championships in Palembang, Indonesia

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The 16th Asian Canoeing Championships, hosted in Palembang, Indonesia from November 4th to November 8th,  were attended by 500 athletes from 21 countries: Cambodia, China, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, North Korea, South Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, Vietnam. Unfortunately athletes from Nepal and Pakistan were not able to attend the event due to a delay in their visas.

Iran had a very succesfull run winning a total of sixteen medals (five gold, five silver and six bronze). Kazakhstan dominated the tournament, grabbing the most medals.

Results – Senior
Women C1 200m Fatemeh Karamjani (Gold)
Women C1 500m Fatemeh Karamjani (Silver)

Men K4 1000m Ali Aghamirzaei / Babak Darban / Farzin Asadi / Amin Boudaghi (Gold)
Men C1 200m Adel Mojallalimoghadam (Bronze)
Men K1 1000m Farzin Asadi (Bronze)
Men K2 200m Ali Ojaghu / Seyedkia Eskandanihahosseini (Bronze)
Men K2 1000m Ali Aghamirzaei / Amin Boudaghi (Bronze)

Photos: Iranian canoe athletes at national and international canoeing competitions

Results – Junior
Women K1 200m Mina Abdolahi (Gold)
Women K2 500m Ebrahimi / Tahmasabi (Gold)
Women C1 200m Atena Raofi (Bronze)
Women K1 500m Mina Abdolahi (Bronze)

Men C1 1000m Nabi Rezayi (Gold)
Men K1 1000m Alireza Farmande (Silver)
Men K2 1000m Masoud/Sharifi (Silver)

Dragon boat races
Women 200m (Silver)
Women 500m (Silver)

Sources: Wikipedia | 2015 Asian Canoe Sprint Championships, palembantribunnews.com, antarasumsel.com I, antarasumsel.com II, antarasumsel.com III, The Straits Times, Mehr News 1, womencanintl.com, Mehr News 2

Iran wins silver at the 2015 Futsal Grand Prix in Brazil

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Brazil defeated Iran 4 to 3 to win the final game of the 2015 Futsal Grand Prix in Uberaba, Brazil.

Iran advanced to the finals after defeating Paraguay 2:0 and after achieving 9 of 9 possible points in Pool B by winning 7:3 against Uruguay, 4:1 against Colombia and 7:0 against Angola.

The host nation is the most successful team in the history of the tournament with nine titles while Spain has won the competition once in 2010. Iran has finished in second place three times and in third place two times out of ten editions.

The Grand Prix de Futsal, first held in 2005, is an international futsal competition of the same kind of the FIFA Futsal World Championship but with invited nations and held annually in Brazil.

Sources: Facebook | CBFS, Mehr News, Wikipedia | 2015 Grand Prix de Futsal

Winners of the International Theater Festival for Children and Youth 2015 in Hamedan, Iran (Photos)

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The winners of the 22nd International Theater Festival for Children and Youth were introduced during the closing ceremony held on Tuesday, October 6th, in Hamedan.

Veteran Iranian director, Marzieh Boroumand, was honored for her lifetime achievements. Boroumand is most famous for her hits “Grandmother’s Home” and “School of Mice”, two popular puppet series from the 1980s.

About fifty theater troupes from nine different countries attended early October to the 22nd International Theater Festival for Children and Youth.

Related article: International Theater Festival for Children and Youth in Hamedan, Iran (Photos)

Sources: Tavoos Online, Mehr News Agency, ISNA, IRNA

Winners of Asian Women’s Futsal Championship welcomed in Iran (Photos)

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Iran women’s national futsal team were received at the airport in Tehran by their families, fans, Football Federation officials and a number of media representatives after having been crowned inaugural champions of the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship in Malaysia.

Fereshteh Karimi was awarded AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2015 Most Valuable Player after beating Japan 1-0 in a thrilling final at the Nilai Indoor Stadium. The 26-year-old scored six goals in the campaign but undoubtedly her most important was the one she notched in the final.

Sources: IRNA Photos, AFC | Iran crowned inaugural AFC Futsal Champions, AFC | Fereshteh Karimi attributes MVP accolade to team effort

Youth Music Festival 2015 in Tehran, Iran – Part 2: Winners (Photos)

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Close to 250 young musicians participated in this festival which was held in two main sections of classical and traditional Iranian music. The competition was held in three age groups ranging from 10-27 years old.

In the classical section, the highest number of instrumentalists played the piano, violin and guitar, while in the traditional section santur, tar and setar were mostly present. Traditional Persian music was held in eight sub-categories, including seven instrumental and a vocal section.

Related article: Youth Music Festival Practice & Performance (Photos) – Part 1 https://theotheriran.com/2015/09/22/youth-music-festival-2015-in-tehran-iran-part-1-practice-performance-photos/

Sources: tavoosonline.com, MEHR | Photos, nay.ir

Iran’s basketball team crowned champion in 2015 William Jones Cup in Taiwan

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The Iranian national men’s basketball team has finished first at the 2015 William Jones Cup in Taiwan, after pulling off an emphatic victory over Russian squad Spartak Primorye.

On Saturday, the Iranian sportsmen registered a 78-54 win against the Vladivostok-based side in a match staged at the Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City.

In the history of the William Jones Cup, Iran is the second most successful nation behind the United States.

Former NBA player Hamed Haddadi was selected as Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Haddadi, his Iranian team mate Mehdi Kamrani were also named as part of the “Mythical Five” of the tournament.

About William Jones Cup:

The R. William Jones Cup (also known as the Jones Cup) is an international basketball tournament held annually since 1977 in Taipei, Taiwan. It was named in honor of basketball promoter Renato William Jones, who was one of the founders of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Like the Olympics and the FIBA Basketball World Cup, it has both men’s and women’s versions. The men’s version is currently being dominated by American teams since the tournament’s inaugural staging.

Sources: Payvand | News, wikipedia | William Jones Cup, MEHR | Photos, Bleacherreport

Taha Zaker: Iranian artist wins Graphis gold award

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“Contemporary Musicians”, the poster series by Iranian graphic designer Taha Zaker received the gold award of the Graphis Poster Annual 2016. The collection including seven posters by Zaker has been produced in Tehran Studio, and the winners were announced by the jury late July.

Graphis is a Zurich-based international journal of visual communication, the first edition of which was published in 1944. Graphis is committed to presenting and promoting the work of exceptional talent in graphic design, advertising, photography and art/illustration.

About Taha Zaker
Born in 1987, Zaker is a graduate of graphic design. He is the art director and graphic designer at Tehran Studio. He has also produced several documentaries and experimental films. He has also designed the poster of the 33rd Fajr International Film Festival and several other movies such aa “I Am Not Angry”, “Rainy Day”, and “Parviz”.

Photo credit: graphis.com
Photo credit: graphis.com
Photo credit: graphis.com
Photo credit: graphis.com
Photo credit: graphis.com
Photo credit: graphis.com
Photo credit: graphis.com

Sources: Tehran Times, Mehr News, Graphis.com

Iran puts on remarkable show at RoboCup 2015 in China

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The 19th RoboCup Tournament took place from July 19th to July 23rd, 2015 in Hefei City, East China with more than 2000 participants from 47 countries. The Iranian teams achieved three first places, three second places and two third places along with top spots at technical challenges and other awards.

Many Iranian High Schools participated at the event. At the 2D Simulation RoboCup Soccer Competition, Phonix from Atomic Energy High School was awarded Best New Team, finishing 10th. At the same competition HERMES from Allameh Helli Highschool was 5th and Genius2015 from Ghazal High School, Shiraz was 11th.

AUT-UofM is a team formed by Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) in Iran and University of Manitoba (UofM) in Canada
AUT-UofM team member celebrating with his robot. Photo credit: ilpost.it via STR/AFP/Getty Images
Photo credit: gmw.cn via Xinhua/Liu Junxi
Photo credit: ilpost.it via STR/AFP/Getty Images
Photo credit: jschina.com.cn via Xinhua/Liu Junxi
Photo credit: gmw.cn via Xinhua/Liu Junxi

Detailed results for top Iranian teams

1) RoboCup Rescue Competition
Rescue Simulation: 1st S.O.S (Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran), 2nd MRL (Mechatronic Research Lab, Islamic Azad University of Qazvin, Iran), 3rd SEU_Jolly (China)

Rescue Robot: 1st MRL (Iran), 2nd iRAP_Junior (Thailand), 3rd YRA (Islamic Azad University of Yazd, Iran) // Innovative User Interface Award: Hector Darmstadt (Germany) and MRL (Iran).

2) RoboCup Soccer Competition
Humanoid League – Adult Size: 1st THORwIn (USA), 2nd Baset Adult-Size (Baset Pazhuh Tehran Cooperation, Iran), 3rd HuroEvolution AD (Taiwan) // Technical challenges: 1st Baset Adult-Size (Iran), 2nd HuroEvolution AD (Taiwan) and CIT Brains Adult (Japan), 3rd THORwIn (USA)

Humanoid League – Teen Size: 1st Team Parand (Parand Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran), 2nd HuroEvolution TN (Taiwan), 3rd AUT-UofM (Amirkabir University of Technology – University of Manitoba, Iran – Canada) // Technical challenges: 1st HuroEvolution TN (Taiwan), 2nd place shared between WF Wolves & Taura Bots Teen (Germany & Brazil) and AUT-UofM (Iran & Canada)

Small Size: 1st CMDragons, Carnegie Mellon University (USA), 2nd MRL, Qazvin Islamic Azad University (Iran), 3rd ZJUNlict, Zhejiang University (China) // Technical challenges: 1st ER-Force (Germany), 2nd ZJUNlict (China), 3rd MRL (Iran)

Middle Size: 1st Water (China), 2nd TechUnited Eindhoven (Netherlands), 3rd ARES (China) // Technical challenges: 1st MRL (Iran), 2nd NuBot (China), 3rd Tech United Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2D Simulation: 1st WrightEagle, University of Science and Technology of China (China), 2nd HELIOS2015, Fukuoka University, Osaka Prefecture University, (Japan), 3rd Gliders2015, University of Sydney and CSIRO (Australia) // Best New Team: Phonix (Atomic Energy High School, Iran).

About RoboCup
RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition aiming to promote robotics and artificial intelligence research, by offering a publicly appealing, but formidable challenge. The name RoboCup is a contraction of the competition’s full name, “Robot Soccer World Cup”, but there are many other stages of the competition such as “RoboCupRescue”, “RoboCup@Home” and “RoboCupJunior”. The official goal of the project is “By the middle of the 21st century, a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players shall win a soccer game, complying with the official rules of FIFA, against the winner of the most recent World Cup.”

Other related articles: The other Iran | RoboCup

Sources: RoboCup 2015 | Results, Mehr News Agency | News 1, Wikipedia | RoboCup, Mehr News Agency | Photos, RoboCup Humanoid League, Mehr News Agency | News 2

Sara Khadem: Iran’s top ranked chess Woman Grand Master and Under-12 world champion

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Sara Sadat Khadem-al-sharieh (born March 10, 1997) is an Iranian chess Woman Grand Master. As of July 2015, she is ranked world no. 4 girl player and no. 66 junior player. She won the Under-12 World Youth Chess Championship (Girls) in 2009. She played at the 40th Chess Olympiad in 2012. Her current ELO rating is 2412.

FIDE Titles
International Master (IM), 2015
Woman Grand Master (WGM), 2013
Woman International Master (WIM), 2011
Woman FIDE Master (WFM), 2008

Quick interview at the Olympiad in Tromsø 2014:

Sources: wikipedia | Sara Khadem, FIDE top women chess players of Iran

Iran’s chess grandmaster Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami attained top 4 spot at DC International 2015

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Iranian GM Ghaem-Maghami (2562) shared the first place with British GM Luke McShane (2685), Indian GM Magesh Panchanathan (2541) and Bulgarian IM Andrey Gorovets (2514).

In the last round of the blitz section of the competitions held in Washington DC, US in 9 round Swiss, the 32-year-old Iranian national came first with the overall score of 7 out of 9. 123 chess players from 39 countries participated at this event which took place from June 25 to 30. The Iranian grandmaster secured 16 units to his international rating.

About Ehsan Ghaem-Maghami
Ghaem Maghami, born January 11th, 1982, is the first international grandmaster in Iranian chess history (2000), and the best Iranian chess player with regards to his ranking and rating since the age of 14, having won twelve Iranian Chess Championships (the last one in 2015).

In 2009, he won a 20-game combined match (four classical, four rapid and twelve blitz games) against Anatoly Karpov, played with a special rule: play to mate or dead draw. On the 8th and 9th of February 2011, he claimed the Guinness record for simultaneous chess games. After 25 hours, the final results were 580 wins, 16 draws and 8 losses for a total score of 588 out of 604 or 97.35 percent. Ten more boards were added which he won but which were not counted for the record.

He is a bachelor of law and now doing a masters in law and sports management at the University of Tehran. On the July 2015 FIDE list, he holds an Elo rating of 2570 (best Elo rating: 2633, April 2005). Ghaem-Maghami is married to Iranian WIM Shayetesh Ghader Pour (Elo rating: 2198 in July 2015. Best Elo rating: 2252, November 2011).

Sources: Mehr News Agency, Chess Events | DC Int’l 2015 Standings, BZ Basellandschaftliche Zeitung | Sport (in German), FIDE | Ratings, chessgames.com | Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, FIDE | World record by Ghaem-Maghami

Iran’s ‘Cloudy Children’ from Reza Fahimi is the Grand Prix winner at ‘SSFF and Asia’

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Iranian filmmaker Reza Fahimi’s Cloudy Children emerged as the big winner at the Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia (SSFF & ASIA) 2015, receiving the Grand Prix of the event that was held in Tokyo and Yokohama from June 4 to 14.

Set in a central Iranian village, the film narrates the story of two students fighting over things that they could never have, and in the end they share everything that does not belong to them.

In 2004, the festival was officially accredited by the Academy Awards, making the festival Grand Prix winner eligible for nomination in the short film category of the academy.

About Reza Fahimi
Reza Fahimi, born 1987 in Iran, is a scriptwriter and a director. He studied filmmaking at the Soore Art University of Tehran, with Directing as a major. Cloudy Children is his second short film. It was awarded Best Film, Best Direction (Fiction Film) and Best Screenplay at Tehran International Short Film Festival, 2014, Iran.

Filmmaker Reza Fahimi holds the Grand Prix award for his short film “Cloudy Children” during the closing ceremony of the 2015 Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia

Sources: Tehran Times | News, shortshorts.org | Program 2015 | Cloudy Children, tehranisff.ir | 31st TISFF Announces Winners in National Competition Section

Reza Ghasemi wins Iran’s 1st international 100m medal

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Sprinter Reza Ghasemi won the bronze medal in the 100m-event at the 21st Asian Athletics Championships in Wuhan, China
Femi Ogunode from Qatar improved his continental mark in the men’s 100m final as he sprinted to 9.91 secs (+1.8) to win gold ahead of home favourite Zhang Peimeng (10.15) and Iranian Reza Ghasemi (10.19) on the second evening of the Asian championships.

Iranian discus thrower Mahmoud Samimi claimed a bronze medal
India’s Vikas Gowda successfully defended his title from Pune as he hurled the disc to 62.03m. Asian record-holder Ehsan Hadadi from Iran could not find his rhythm and ended up with ‘no mark’. Kuwaiti Eisa Zankawi (61.57) and Iranian Mahmoud Samimi (59.78) were the other medalists of the day.

Sources: Asian Athletics Association | News 1, Asian Athletics Association | News 2, Facebook | Asian Athletics Championship, China Foto Press | Sports | 2015-06-04, Mehr (MNA) | Sports

 

Photography: Sheed Award – Exhibition in Tehran

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Selected photos of the 5th edition of SHEED Award (Independent Award for Social Documentary Photography) were exhibited at the Iranian Artist’s Forum. Workshops, meetings and lectures by experts and professionals were also held parallel to the event.

The selected works have been chosen by a jury composed of five members including Mehran Mohajer, Peyman Hooshmandzadeh, Jalal Shams Azaran, Mehdi Vosughnia and Arash Khamushi.

About Sheed Award
Founded in 2010, Sheed Award is an independent, non-profit and non-governmental photography award presented annually to a social documentary photographer. The award aims to encourage and promote social documentary photography among Iranian photographers.

Sources: Tavoos Online | News, Facebook Sheed Award | Photos, ISNA | Photos, Honaronline 1, Honaronline 2

Iran’s national team: Latest successes in water polo, volleyball and taekwondo

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Water polo: Iran crowned FINA World Water Polo Development Trophy champion
Iran mantained its undefeated record in the 5th FINA World Water Polo Development Trophy with a 13-5 win over powerhouse Uruguay in the final match. In front of cheering crowd, team Melli won its second water polo gold medal in the nation’s history after 41 years. Iran had claimed the gold medal in the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran. On its way to the final, Iran defeated Tunisia, Indonesia, Guatemala and Austria.

Launched in 2007, the FINA Water Polo Development Trophy gathers teams from nations in Africa, the Americas and Asia where it is still not a major sport, seeking to develop water polo on a global level.

Volleyball U23 - 2015 Asian Championship - Iran (Gold medal)Volleyball: Iran won Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship
Iran confirmed their strong form at the Asian Men’s U23 Volleyball Championship by powering past formidable Korea 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 25-21) in a thrilling final showdown to become
the first team in history to capture the championship. Iran and Korea qualify for the  FIVB Volleyball Men’s U23 World Championship in Dubai, UAE, from August 24-31, 2015.

It was another remarkable success for Iran, who have made a clean sweep of all the Asian men’s age group titles, also including the Asian Youth Boys’ U18 Championship in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2014, the Asian Men’s Junior U20 Championship in Manama, Bahrain in 2014 and the Asian Senior Men’s Championship in Dubai, the UAE in 2013.

Taekwondo: Iran took the men’s overall title; Gold for Khodabakhshi and Ashourzadeh; Bronze for Yaghoubi and Kimia Alizadeh
Iran took the men’s overall title with three gold medals and one bronze for a total of 65 points, followed by Russia and Uzbekistan at the 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Championships in Chelyabinsk, Russia.

In the men’s -58kg category Farzan Ashourzadeh Fallah known as “The Tsunami” won gold over Belgium’s Si Mohammed Ketbi in the final showdown.In the men’s -80kg division, Iranian Mahdi Khodabakhshi took the gold. In the male -63kg category Iran’s Abolfazi Yaghoubi Jouybar won bronze. Iran’s Bijan Moghanlou was selected as the best male team coach.

Kimia Alizadeh ist the first Iranian woman to win a medal at the World Taekwondo Championships. Alizadeh defeated Olympic gold medal winner Jade Jones 10-9 in the quarterfinals round but lost to Mayu Hamada from Japan 5-3 in the semifinals and claimed the bronze medal.

Sources: FINA Trophy 2015 | News, FINA Trophy 2015 | Gallery Iran-Uruguay, FIVB | News, WTF | News, Tasnim News Agency | News, World Taekwondo United News 1, World Taekwondo United News 2, ISNA | Photos

The Fish & I: Awarded Iranian short film by Babak Habibifar

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The Fish and I is an Iranian short film directed, written and acted by Babak Habibifar that recounts the story of a blind man trying to save his fish. The film, screened at the 2015 Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival (Young Audience Program), has won several international honors:

  • Young Jurors Prize; 20min|max Internationales Short Film Festival Ingolstadt, Germany (June, 2015)
  • Special Audience Award; 12th CLAM International Film Festival of Solidarity in Navarcles, Spain (May, 2015)
  • Best Short Film; 6th Skepto International Film Festival in Cagliari, Italy (April, 2015)
  • Honorable Mention; 11th Rengo International Film Festival, Rengo, Chile (February 2015)
  • Special Jury Mention, Young Jury Prize for the Best International Short Film and Mediterranean Diet Award (a cash prize dedicated by a Spanish Institution); 16th International Short Film Festival “City of Soria” in Soria, Spain (November, 2014)
  • Jury Grand Prize and Audience Award; Short Short Story Film Festival in Providence, USA (November, 2014)
  • Most Original Film; Uhvati Film Festival in Novi Sad, Serbia (September, 2014)

About Babak Habibifar
Babak Habibifar is an Iranian writer and director. His short fictions include The Fish and I (2014), After seventeen hours (2013), Somewhere up there (2013) and After fifteen years (also known as Crossword puzzle, 2012). This last film was highlighted by the Jury at the 2013 Strawberry Shorts Film Festival in Cambridge, England. Besides directing, Habibifar has worked as an actor and is also a gifted photographer, having won several photography awards in national competitions.

Sources: Mehr News Agency | News, Art Film Festival | Portfolio | Babak Habibifar, Green Film Festival in Seoul | The Fish and I, NacióDigital.cat | CLAM Festival, Skepto International Film Festival 2015 | Awards and Special Mentions, Rengo International Film Festival, Heraldo.es | Noticias, Press TV | News, Merging Arts Productions | SSS Film Festival, Uhvati Film Festival | Awards, The House of Films | News, 20min|max Film Festival, Odense Film Festival (OFF15), indiehometv.festhome.com (all awards and screenings)

Safi Yazdanian: Iranian film director

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Safi Yazdanian, born 1960 in Tehran, is an Iranian film director, writer, translator and film critic. He graduated in Theater and Cinema Studies in 1988, starting his career as a reviewer and columnist in Iranian magazines.

In 1995 he ventured into filmmaking. His earliest films, documentaries and shorts, include:
– In search of Scheherazade (Dar jostojouy-e shahrzad, 2002) with Leila Hatami as narrator
– My boats (Ghayegh-ha-ye man, 35mm, 2005), with Ali Mosaffa as Farhad, was Yazdanian’s first short fiction. It won the Best Film Award at Tehran’s International Short Film Festival
– Entracte, 2009.

Yazdanian’s feature directorial debut was 2014 with What’s the time in your world? (Dar donya-ye to saát chand ast?). The movie premiered at the 19th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF 2014) and was honored with the FIPRESCI (Federation Internationale de la Press Cinematographique) Award.

Besides directing he also edited Nahid Reazaei’s documentaries The water and Atefeh (Ab va Atefeh, 2001) and Dream of silk (Khab-e abrisham, 2003) and wrote together with Ali Mosaffa Mosaffa’s first feature film Portrait of a lady far away (Sima-ye zani dar doordast).

Sources: IRNA | News, FIPRESCI | People | Safi Yazdanian, Festival Scope | Director | Yazdanian, Safi, International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam | Industry, Clermont International Short Film Festival | Safi Yazdanian , Cinéma du Réel | Archives | Ab va Atefeh, Cinéma du Réel | Archives | Khab-e abrisham, IMDb | Portrait of a Lady Far Away, Guest List 2014 Busan International Film Festival (PDF), BIFF | History | 19th (2014) | Safi Yazdanian

Reza Mirkarimi: Awarded Iranian film director

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Reza Mirkarimi, born 1966 in Tehran, is an Iranian film writer and director. He graduated from Fine Arts University in Graphic Arts. His cinema activities began in 1987 with a series of shorts followed by two TV series aimed at young people.

His 1999 first feature, ‘The Child and The Soldier’, has won several national and international awards. In 2000 his second feature ‘Under the Moonlight’, dealing with social and religious issues won the Best Feature Award at the 40th Critics’ Week at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival.

Three of his films have been presented by Iran for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar: ‘ So Close, So Far’, ‘A Cube of Sugar’ and his current feature, ‘Today’ Reza Mirkarimi has also sat on several international film festival juries.

Filmography (as director)
– 2000: Koodak va Sarbaz (The Child And The Soldier)
– 2001: Zir-e Noor-e Maah (Under The Moonlight)
– 2002: Inja Cheraghi Roshan Ast (Here Is A Shining Light)
– 2005: Kheili Dour, Kheili Nazdik (So Close, So Far)
– 2008: Be Hamin Sadegi (A Simple as That)
– 2011: Yek Habe Ghand (A Cube of Sugar)
– 2014: Emrooz (Today)

Short Films, Documentary and TV Series
– For Him (Short / 1987)
– A Rainy Day (Short / 1987)
– Rooster (Short / 1987)
– The Adventures of Mrs. Aziz (TV Series / 1996)
– Hemmat School Kids (TV Series 1997)
– Iranian Carpet (Documentary / 2006)

Awards
Film: Koodak va Sarbaz (The Child And The Soldier)
Honor Diploma for Best Director – Fajr International Film Festival 2000
Silver Baloon – Three Continents Festival 2000
Golden Shoe – Zlín Film Festival 2001

Film: Zir-e Noor-e Maah (Under The Moonlight)
Best Director Award tied with Gjergj Xhuvani for Slogans – Tokyo International Film Festival 2001
Special Jury Prize – Beirut International Film Festival 2001
Special Jury Prize – Tokyo International Film Festival 2001
Special Jury Award – Fajr International Film Festival 2001
Critics Week Grand Prize – Cannes Film Festival 2001
Silver Peacock Special Prize of Jury – Delhi International Film Festival 2002

Film: Inja Cheraghi Roshan Ast (Here Is A Shining Light)
Best Screenplay – Asia-Pacific Film Festival 2002
Crystal Simorgh Best Director – Fajr International Film Festival 2003
Special Jury Prize – Bali International Film Festival 2004

Film: Kheili Dour, Kheili Nazdik (So Close, So Far)
Crystal Simorgh Best Film – National Competition, Fajr International Film Festival 2005
Best Film Award – Celebration House of Cinema 2005

Film: Be Hamin Sadegi (A Simple as That)
Golden St. George – 30th Moscow International Film Festival 2008
Russian Guild of Film Critics Award – International Competition, Moscow International Film Festival 2008
Crystal Simorgh Best Director – Fajr International Film Festival 2008
Crystal Simorgh Best Screenplay with Shadmehr Rastin – Competition of Asian Cinema, Fajr International Film Festival 2008
Crystal Simorgh Best Director – Competition of Asian Cinema, Fajr International Film Festival 2008
Crystal Simorgh Best Director – National Competition, Fajr International Film Festival 2008

Film: Yek Habe Ghand (A Cube of Sugar)
Special Jury Prize – Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema 2012
Best Film – Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema 2013

Film: Emrooz (Today)
Best Film Award Rabat International Film Festival 2014

Sources: Wikipedia | Reza Mirkarimi, Internet Movie Data Base | Reza Mirkarimi

Reza Attaran: Awarded Iranian actor, director, screenwriter and singer

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Reza Attaran (born 1968 in Mashhad) is an Iranian actor, director, screenwriter and singer. He won in 2008 the Best Actor Award at the Gol Agha Comedy Festival and is regarded as one of the most creative and prolific Iranian comedy actors.

He graduated from high school in Mashhad majoring in Economy and moved to Tehran to study Industrial Design at the University of Tehran. Despite enjoying his field of study he turned to acting. In 1980s he started playing theatre under Hassan Hamed, portraying non comic roles until 1992 when Hamed passed away.

Attaran made his television debut playing his first comedy role as Reza back in 1994 in the TV Series Happy Hour (Saate Khosh) directed by Mehran Modiri alongside actors like Reza Shafii Jam, Nasrollah Radesh, Arzhang Amirfazli and Nader Soleimani.

In 1994 he married Farideh Faramarzi, a film editor and actress. She played with her husband in the movie Absolute Rest (Esterahate Motlagh) directed by Abdolreza Kahani.

Between 1997 and 2003 he started directing his own TV series where he achieved great recognition and fame for his singing skills. At that time he formed a music band called Dampaei (Slippers) together with Youssef Teimouri and other artists. Since then he has become the most successful comedy series maker in Iranian TV.

Attaran made his debut as a film director in 2011 with I feel sleepy (Khabam Miad). In 2013 he directed and acted in Red Carpet (Farshe Ghermez); Attaran’s sarcastic take on film festivals, fame and stars.

He was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 30th, 31st and 32nd Fajr International Film Festival: In 2012 for I feel sleepy (Khabam Miad), in 2013 for The Corridor (Dehliz) and in 2014 for Sensitive floor (Tabagheye Hasas).

TV shows
Happy Hour (Saate Khosh, as Reza, comedy, 1995-96)
Acacia Alley (as Faramaz, director: Reza Attaran, comedy, 2002-03)
Vagabond (as Ahmad, director: Reza Attaran, comedy, 2004)
The Accused Fled (as Ramin, director: Reza Attaran, comedy, 2005)
Shirin-va-Torsh (as Naser, director: Reza Attaran, comedy, 2007)
Turning Point (as Nader, director: Reza Attaran, comedy, 2008)
Ghalbe Yakhi (as Esfandiar, crime/drama, 2012)

Films
– 2015: Sperm whale (shooting, as Arjang, director: Saman Moghadam)
– 2015: Absolute Rest (Esterahate Motlagh, as Davoud, director: Abdolreza Kahani)
– 2014: Bar Bad Rafteh (Director: Reza Attaran)
– 2013: The Corridor (Dehliz, as Behzad, Director: Behrouz Shoaibi)
– 2013: Red Carpet (Farshe Ghermez, director: Reza Attaran)
– 2013: Sensitive Floor (Tabagheye Hasas, as Kamali, director: Kamal Tabrizi)
– 2013: Kalashnikov (Director: Kamal Tabrizi)
– 2012: By no reason (Bikhod & Bijahat, director: Abdolreza Kahani)
– 2011: I feel sleepy (Khabam Miad, as Reza, Director: Reza Attaran)
– 2010: Whatever God Wants (Harchi Khoda Bekhad, director: Navid Mihandoost)
– 2010: No men allowed (Voroode Aghayan Mamnoo, as Vahid Jebelli, director: Rambod Javan)
– 2010: Absolutely tame is a horse (Asb Heivane Najibi Ast, as Behruz Shakiba, director: Abdolreza Kahani)
– 2009: Az Ma Behtaroon (Director: Mehrdad Farid)
– 2009: Nish O Zanboor (Director: HR Slahmnd)
– 2009: Khoros Jangi (Director: Masood Atyabi)
– 2009: Bad Az Zohre Saghie Saghi
– 2008: Aghaye Haft Rang (Director: Shahram Shah-Hosseini)
– 2008: Empty chair (Sandali Khalli, director: Saman Astrky)
– 2007: Token (Neshani, director: Fereydoun Hassanpour)
– 2007: Tasvie Hesab (Director: Tamineh Milani)
– 2007: Tofighe Ejbari (as Ata, director: Mohammad Hossein Latifi)
– 2007: Quarantine (Gharantineh, director: Manouchehr Hadi)
– 2006: A hat for the rain Kolahi Baraye Baran (Director: Masood Navabi)
– 2006: Tigh Zan (Director: Alireza Davoodinejad)
– 2005: Havoo (Director: Alireza Davoudinejad)
– 2002: Kolah Ghermezi Va Sarvenaz (Director: Iraj Tahmasb)
– 2000: Cinderella (Director: Bijan Birang)
– 1997: Sarzamine Sabz (Director: Bijan Birang)

Awards
Best Actor Award at the 2008 Gol Agha Comedy Festival
Crystal Simorgh for Best Director in the New Vision section at the 30th International Fajr Film Festival for I feel sleepy (Khabam Miad), 2012
Statuette for Best Actor at the 15th House of Cinema Awards for Absolutely tame is a horse (Asb Heivane Najibi Ast)
Statuette of Golden Smile for Best Comedy Actor in the 2nd Sun’s Smile Awards for both Absolutely tame is a horse (Asb Heivane Najibi Ast) & No men allowed (Voroode Aghayan Mamnoo)
Diploma of Honor for Best Actor at the 6th Critics & Writers Guild’s Awards for By no reason (Bikhod & Bijahat), 2012

Sources: Wikipedia | Reza Attaran, Reza Attaran | Biography, picbazi.com | The legendary Attaran, Iran Novin Film | Red Carpet – Director’s Biography

Mehdi Fakhimi: Awarded Iranian architect

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Iranian architect Mahdi FakhimiBorn on September 13, 1980, in Iran, Mohammad Mahdi Fakhimi got a Master’s degree in Architectural Engineering from Azad University in 2006.

He founded his first company named “Ideh-Pardazan Akad Group” in 2008 and continued his professional activity in three focused on three domains of architecture: urban planning, graphic interior design.

At that time his first book “Interior Design─From Architecture to Interior Decoration” was published.

He started teaching at Tehran Soore University as well as at Kish International Campus; the international branch of Tehran University located in Kish Island. His second book “Architecture & Urban Tele-democratic”, derived from his master thesis, was published in 2011.

Fakhimi resigned from teaching in 2013, working only as a supervisor and adviser for students who were looking forward to benefit from his knowledge for their theses.

Awards
Silver A Design Award in A’Design Award & Competition 2014-2015
Honorable Mention in 8th annual International Design Awards (IDA)
Jury Award of the Architecture and Urban Design Contest /2007
Winner of the 5th overall Architectural Photography Contest /2007

Sources: www.mahdifakhimi.com, A’ Design Award & Competition | Face Top Clinic

Iranian female researcher Soudabeh Davaran awarded a UNESCO Medal

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UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova presented the UNESCO Medal “For the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies” to eight laureates during a ceremony organized at UNESCO Headquarters on 10 April 2015.

The laureates of this 4th edition are Mr. Valentin Bukhtoyarov, Mr. Vladimir Fortov, Mr. Mikhail Kovalchuk and Mr. Mikhail Selyanin (Russian Federation), Ms. Constance Chang-Hasnain (United States), Ms. Tebello Nyokong (South Africa), Mr. Shem Wandiga (Keny) and Ms. Soodabeh Davaran (Iran).

© UNESCO – P. Chiang-Joo
Soudabeh Davaran, Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
UNESCO Medal for Contribution to the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies

The Medal was established in 2010 at the initiative of the Thematic group on “Nanoscience and Nanotechnologies” of the International Commission on the Development of the Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) – one of the world’s largest knowledge bases on sustainable development, evolving under the aegis of UNESCO.

About Prof. Soudabeh Davaran
She got her Master of Science in Chemistry in 1990 and in 1996 her PhD in Polymer Chemistry from Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran, where she is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry since 2010. Her books include Dyehouse in Textile Industry, Advanced Nanoparticles in Biomedical Sciences and Impacts of Biodegradable Polymers Towards Biomedical Applications. She was considered one of the TOP 100 SCIENTISTS of 2008 and 2012 by the International Biographical Center of Cambridge.

She is currently researching in following fields:
– Preparation of biodegradable polymeric micro and nanoparticles for drug delivery
– Synthesis of polymeric nano-particles for application in detection and treatment of human cancer
– Synthesis, characterization of functionalized magnetic nano-particles for drug delivery
– Synthesis and evaluation of biodegradable polymers for protein-peptide drug delivery
– Bio-material Scaffold Development for regenerative medicine and drug delivery
– Development of oral insulin delivery systems

Sources: UNESCO Media Services | Eight UNESCO Medals awarded to nanotechnology and nano-science specialists, Faculty of Pharmacy at Tabriz University | Soudabeh Davaran

Iranian architect Mahdi Fakhimi from AKAD Design winner of a Silver A’ Design Award in Italy

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The design of Face Top by Mahdi Fakhimi from AKAD Design won the notable Silver A’ Design Award at Interior Space and Exhibition Design Competition in 2014-2015

The design, construction and execution contract of this project entitled Face Top Clinic, was concluded in summer 2011 for a cosmetic surgery consultation clinic in Tehran, Iran. Farzaneh Moghadasi, Sara Savar, Masoumeh Chakeri, Elham Sabetghadam, Mohammad Razaghdoust and Tahmineh Vesal are, alongside Mahdi Fakhimi, the team that was involved in this project.

Fakhimi, Mahdi - AKAD Design Group 1

The team from AKAD Design (Mahdi Fakhimi, 4th from right)

“The key point in the design of this project was the utilization of continuous surface style which is different from most of the works which have been done up to now, the continuous surface style requires soft surfaces and avoidance of sharp and angular lines, to create a flow” said Mahdi Fakhimi about the design.

It is not the first time that this team receives a design award for Face Top. It had already won bronze at the 7th Annual International Design Awards in 2014 in the category “Interior Design – Renovation”.

Face Top Clinic in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2013
Face Top Clinic in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2013
Face Top Clinic in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2013
Face Top Clinic in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2013
Face Top Clinic in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2013

Hormoz Luxury Restaurant in Tehran, a runner-up in the Luxury Design Category in the same competition, is also a project by Mahdi Fakhimi along with Farzaneh Moghadasi, Sara Savar, Masoumeh Chakeri, Elham Sabetghadam and Hamid Ghorbani. It started in spring 2013 and finished by end of 2013.

Hormoz Luxury Restaurant in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2014
Hormoz Luxury Restaurant in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2014
Hormoz Luxury Restaurant in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2014
Hormoz Luxury Restaurant in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2014
Hormoz Luxury Restaurant in Tehran, Iran – Image credit: Mahdi Fakhimi 2014

About A’ Design Award and Competitions
The designs are judged by a panel of three different jury which is composed of Academic, Professional and Focus Group Members. A’ Design Award & Competitions, aims to highlight the excellent qualifications of best designs, design concepts and design oriented products. A’ Design Award & Competitions are organized and awarded annually and internationally in multiple categories to reach a wide, design-oriented audience. The Platinum A’ Design Award is given to the top 1% runner-up candidates (N° 1: 1st place, N° 2: 2nd and N° 3: 3rd place), the Golden A’ Design Award is given to top 3% candidates, the Silver A’ Design Award to top 5%, the Bronze A’ Design Award to top 10% and the A’ Design Award to top 20% runner-up candidates.

About AKAD Design Group
In 2002 a group of students beginning their careers started to work in teams using their knowledge from different fields. By 2008 AKAD Design Group was founded focusing on architecture, interior and graphic design.

Sources: A’ Design Award & Competition | Press release 36434, A’ Design Award & Competition | Mohammad Mahdi Fakhimi, AKAD Design | About, Mahdi Fakhimi | Projects, International Design Awards (iDA) 2014 | Renovation

Iranian film “Fish & Cat” (Mahi va gorbeh) by Shahram Mokri

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Fish & Cat (from Persian transliterated as Mahi va Gorbeh) is a 2013 mystery drama slasher Iranian film directed by Shahram Mokri. The film was first premiered at the 70th Venice Film Festival in September 2013.

“Selected in 2014 for New Directors/New Films (the annual spring showcase from the Film Society of Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, USA), Fish & Cat heralds the emergence of a fresh and original new voice in Iranian cinema combining formal experimentation with a sly sense of humour.”

Shahram Mokri’s second feature initially seems as if it might be the first Iranian slasher movie, but things are not always as they appear. Filmed in one long, bravura shot by top cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari (A Separation), it plays mind-bending games with time and place while a pair of potential serial killer cannibals stalk a group of camping students at a lake.

“In my short films I was trying to define a new meaning of time, of it being on one plane—very similar to the perspective Escher revealed in his paintings. I attempt to make type of experimental film that shows a new side of what the audience is used to seeing. On the other hand, Fish & Cat was produced due to my interest in slasher and genre films. I wanted to make a movie that would challenge our regular thoughts about time, and also one that used the same old genre structures. For Fish & Cat I took a real-life case and made it my own. It’s also a film that focuses on the Iranian youth generation. Because the film was been shot using just a single one, we rehearsed the film for two months exactly like we would have a theater performance. I decided to prepare with long rehearsals and we ran through the full movie twice a day. The actors do have theatrical backgrounds, so their experience being in front of an audience was helpful throughout.” – Shahram Mokri

Awards
– Special Prize, Venice Horizons Award: 70th Venice Film Festival (2013)
– Best Film Award: Lisbon & Estoril Film Festival 2013
– Muhr Asia Africa Special Jury Prize: Dubai International Film Festival 2013
– FIPRESCI Prize and Youth Jury Award: Fribourg International Film Festival 2014
– Best Film Award (International !f Inspired Competition) and SIYAD (Turkish Film Critics Association) Jury Award: 13th Istanbul Independent Film Festival (2014)

Fish & Cat (Mahi va gorbeh) (trailer):

Director: Shahram Mokri
Cast: Babak Karimi, Saeid Ebrahimifar, Siyavash Cheraghi Pour, Mohammad Berahmani
Producer: Sepher Seifi
Executive Producer: Shahrzad Seifi
Screenwriter: Shahram Mokri
Director of Photography: Mahmoud Kalari
Production Designer: Amir Esbati
Music: Christophe Rezai
Sound: Parviz Abnar
Production Company: Kanoon Iran Novin

Sources: Wikipedia | Fish & Cat, trigon-film.org (Photos), UCLA Happenings | Fish & Cat, The Hollywood Reporter, 13th !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) 2014 | Fish & Cat, Houston Iranian Film Festival | Fish & Cat

Shahram Mokri: Iranian film director and screenwriter

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Shahram Mokri (Persian: شهرام مکری‎) is an Iranian writer and film director. Born 1977 in Marand, Iran, Shahram Mokri is a graduate of cinema from Tehran’s Soureh College.

Raised in a family of movie lovers, director Shahram Mokri took multiple filmmaking workshops in his native Iran before enrolling in Tehran at the university to study cinema. He started making short films in 2000 and also edited television series and more than 20 short and documentary films.

“I belong to the group of movie lovers who cut out photos of movie stars from magazines,” recalls Mokri. “I’d hang them on my bedroom wall or stick them on my school notebooks. I’ve loved to make movies since I was a child and I’m so happy to still be doing it now.”

His short films brought him national and international recognition along with his debut feature film, Ashkan, The Charmed Ring And Other Stories, which had its international premiere at Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in 2009.

Mokri’s second film, Fish & Cat, premiered at the 70th Venice Film Festival and was awarded the Special Orizzonti Award for innovative content. He was nominated for the 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Award for Achievement in Directing for Fish & Cat. For his short film The Dragonfly Storm, Mokri won Best Director at the 2007 Noor Iranian Film Festival.

Filmography
– 2000: Electric Shock And Fly (short)
– 2002: Toofan-e Sanjaghak (The Dragonfly Storm) (short)
– 2005: Mahdoodeh-ye Dayereh (Limit of circle) (short)
– 2006: This is the question (documentary)
– 2007: Andosi (Ando-C) (short)
– 2009: Ashkan, angoshtar-e motebarek va dastan-haye digar (Ashkan, the charmed ring and other stories)
– 2011: Kham, pekhth, swkhth (Raw, cooked and burnt) (short)
– 2013: Mahi va Gorbeh (Fish & Cat)

Sources: Wikipedia | Shahram Mokri, Asia Pacific Screen Academy | Shahram Mokri, Houston Iranian Film Festival | Fish & Cat, Film Society Lincoln Center | Meet the (New) Director: Shahram Mokri

Iranian film “Tales” (Ghesseh-ha) by Rakhshan Bani-Etemad

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What will lighten our dark night? An untimely love?!

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad’s latest film Tales is a collection of stories highlighting the difficulties the lower classes face in today’s society, from unemployed factory workers to poor or drug-addled women or those at risk of domestic violence.

The stories take us all over Tehran, with tales of patriarchal abuse, forced imprisonment and prostitution unfolding in taxis, trains and buses — each marked by fear, but also acts of courage and love.

After three decades of filmmaking the characters of my documentary and feature films are still alive to me and I live with them. “Tales” is returning to the characters of my previous films under today’s circumstances. Even though “Tales” is a complete independent version, but for me and the people who have seen my previous movies, is a review of the people’s fate and social conditions over the past three decades. Rakhshan Banietemad, director

Awards
– Best Screenplay Award: 71st Venice Film Festival (2014)
– Jury Grand Prize: 8th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (2014)

Tales (Ghasseh-ha) (trailer):

Director& Producer: Rakhshan Banietemad
Screenplay: R. Banietemad, Farid Mostafavi
Production Designer: Amir Esbati
Director of Photography: Koohyar Kalari
Sound Recorder: Yadollah Najafi
Sound Mix: Amirhossein Ghassemi
Editor: Sepideh Abdolvahab
Music: Siamak Kalantari
Make-Up Designer: Mehrdad Mirkiani
Production Manager: Nava Rohani
Executive Producer: Kanoon Iran Novin
Cast: Golab Adineh, Saber Abar, Farhad Aslani, Foojan Arefpoor, Bahareh Daneshgar, Mohammadreza Forootan, Shahrokh Forootanian, Babak Hamidian, Mehdi Hashemi, Negar Javaherian, Baran Kosari, Fatemeh Motamedaria, Peiman Moadi, Hassan Majooni, Habib Rezaei, Atefeh Razavi, Mehraveh Sharifinia, Khosro Shahraz, Rima Raminfar
Color, D-Cinema, 16:9, 88 min, 2014, Iran

Sources: Noori Pictures | Feature | “Tales” (Ghesseha), Aquila Style

Awarded film “13” by Iranian director Hooman Seyedi will be screened on Tiburon International Film Festival in California, USA

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Struggling to deal with his parent’s divorce and constant abuse at school, thirteen-year-old Behmani lashes out. He finds solace in a group of older street kids. They treat him as an adult and as one of their own. He soon gets in over his head when he becomes entangled in their own complex lives. Not truly understanding the consequences of his involvement within the group and their affiliates, Behmani finds himself stuck amid a murder. The film is a burst of youthful rage and an indictment of modern adolescence.

13 (Sizdah) / Dir: Hooman Seyedi / 2014 / Iran / Drama / 90 min
Cast: Amir Jafari, Azadeh Samdi, Rima Raminfar, Amir Jadidi, Navid Mohammadzadeh, Vishka Asayesh, Yasna Mirtahmasb

Venue: Tiburon Playhouse Theater, 40 Main Street
Showtime: Saturday, April 11, 2015 @ 08:30 PM

Awards
– 2014 Busan International Film Festival: New Currents Award
– 2014 Warsaw International Film Festival: NETPAC Award

About director Hooman Seyyedi
Born in 1980 in Rasht, Hooman Seyedi holds diploma in Graphics. He has made few short films and tele-movies. 13 is his debut feature film.

Sources: Payvand News of Iran, Tiburon Film Festival

Taraneh Alidoosti: Awarded Iranian actress, blogger and writer

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Taraneh Alidoosti is a Crystal-Simorgh winning Iranian actress. In a poll conducted among 130 film critics by Sanate Cinema magazine, she was voted the best Iranian actress of the decade. In 2012, a similar poll by the Film Monthly also chose her as the best actress of the decade.

Her father, Hamid Alidoosti, is a former member of the Iranian national football team and currently a football coach in Iran.

Career as actress
She began her acting career at age 17 with the leading role in Man, Taraneh, panzdah sal daram (I Am Tarane, Fifteen Years Old), (Rasul Sadr Ameli, 2002). Critics praised her performance as a defiant 15 year old girl who after a failed relationship is determined to rear a child on her own, while struggling with poverty and social stigma. She won the Bronze Leopard for Best Actress from Locarno International Film Festival in 2002, as well as the Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress from the 20th Fajr Film Festival, becoming the youngest ever to do so. Shortly after she set another record, getting nominated three consecutive times for the best actress prize at the Fajr Film Festival for her first three films. Since then she has maintained a steady but selective work flow in both theatre and cinema. She is mostly known for her choosy criteria in accepting challenging, dramatic roles, as exemplified by her long collaboration with Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi, making her one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation.

Blogging/Writing
In addition to her acting career she is also known for her writing as featured in her personal weblog . Additionally, her short stories and commentary pieces have been widely published in magazines and daily newspapers such as Shargh. In 2010, a piece written in support of director Asghar Farhadi, defending his comments in support of dissident Iranian artists, caused her weblog to be closed by government officials. Her new weblog however is active now. A collection of stories by Canadian author Alice Munro collected and translated by Taraneh Alidoosti, was published in 2011. It received the prize for best fiction translation at annual Book of Season Awards. She is fluent in English and German.

Awards
Bronze Leopard for Best Actress from Locarno International Film Festival in 2002
Crystal Simorgh for Best Actress from the 20th Fajr Film Festival (youngest actress to win the prize with 17 years)
Best fiction translation at annual Book of Season Awards

Filmography
2002: Man Taraneh, Panzdah Sal Daram (I Am Taraneh, Fifteen Years Old)
2004: Shahre Ziba (Beautiful City)
2006: Fireworks Wednesday
2008: Canaan
2008: Shirin
2008: Tardid (Doubt)
2009: Darbareh Elly (About Elly)
2010: Whatever God Wants
2011: Life With Closed Eyes
2011: At the End of 8th Street
2012: Modest Reception
2013: The Shallow Yellow Sky
2014: The Life Wedlock Mr Mahmoudi & Banoo

Sources: wikipedia | Taraneh Alidoosti, Bing Image Search

Iranian director Teimour Ghaderi: short film “It Hits Upon The Roof” shines in CourToujours Festival in Geneve, Switzerland

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Teimour Ghaderi’s ‘It Hits upon the Roof’ has won the special award of Switzerland’s courtoujours short film festival.

Iranian short film 'Rainfall of Roof'

The short film It Hits upon the Roof competed with representatives from Russia, France, Tajikistan, Belgium, Portugal, Egypt, Mexico, and Switzerland and managed to scoop the jury’s special award and a cash prize of 1,500 francs.

Produced by the Art Forum of Kurdistan province, Ghaderi’s narrative short movie depicts the life of a young boy who tries not to let his mother wake up by gathering the raindrops falling of their dripping ceiling into his hands.

It Hits upon the Roof has been screened in several international film festivals so far such as 2014 Lucania Film Festival in Italy, Lahore Short Film Festival 2013 Celebrating Iranian Heritage, and the third MiCe Film Festival in Valencia, Spain.

Synopsis
A house in a village, where only an old woman and a child live, the rain falls and starts dripping from the ceiling. The child tries to do something about the drips.

teimourAbout Teimour Ghaderi
Teimour Ghaderi, born 1992, graduated in screen writing and photography. He has written the short stories: The Address I’m lost and Summer Cold. Has directed three short films: Pomegranate is the Fruit of Paradise, Picking the down and It Hit Upon the Roof. Winner of 18 national and international awards (Canada, South Korea, Czech Republic and Turkey) for the films Pomegranate is the Fruit of Paradise and Picking the Down.

CourToujours Festival
The international short-film festival of Geneva, CourToujours, is a platform, giving young film directors or confirmed talents the opportunity to present their short-films to a diverse audience. The 11th edition of CourToujours took place in the Swiss city of Geneva from the 19th to 21st February 2015 at Maison des Arts du Grütli.

PS: Finding info about Teimour Ghaderi, like with many young Iranian artists, is not easy. An Iranian name can be written in many ways with latin letters. Some combinations I had to try to find this info were:
Teymour Qaderi, Teymur Qaderi, Teymour Ghaderi, …

Sources: IRAN FRONT PAGE, MEHR, Iranian Film Festival, viddsee.com