“The Pearl” picked as best film at Minsk festival

TEHRAN -- The Iranian movie “The Pearl” won the Award for Best Film for Children at the 21st Minsk International Film Festival “Listapad”, the organizers announced on Tuesday.

 

Directed by Sirus Hassanpur, the film is about young siblings named Maher and Mahrokh who obliged to earn a living following the onset of heart disease afflicting their father Karim, a pearl diver.

 

The film competed with seven other films at the festival, which runs from November 7 to 14 in Belarus.

 

Alireza Osivand, Parivash Nazarieh, Salimeh Rangzan, Sirus Kahurinejad and Mehdi Faqih starred in the film.

 

The festival aims to consolidate cultural ties between the Republic of Belarus and other countries, as well as creative connections between the filmmakers of participating countries.

 

The film won the UNICEF award at the 26th Isfahan International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults in 2012. 

 

According to the UNICEF report on the film, it “provides a realistic perspective of child labor and reflects situations where children are forced to distance themselves from their childhood.”

 

 

SB/YAW

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