.jpg "The new shape of the Crystal Simorgh of the Fajr International Film Festival was unveiled during a ceremony in Tehran on January 27, 2013. (Mehr/Ashraf Tabatabaii)")
TEHRAN – The new shape of the Crystal Simorgh, which is given to winners at the Fajr International Film Festival, was unveiled during a ceremony in Tehran on Sunday.
The new award is a crystal statue of a simorgh, a mythical bird in Iranian culture.
It has been made in Bohemia, a major center for crystal and glass objects in the Czech Republic, Ebrahim Haqiqi, the designer of the award, said during the ceremony.
An old Czech man has crafted 50 samples of the award for this year’s winners of the festival.
“I am not very satisfied with the way the statues were made, but due to the time limits for crafting the statues for the festival, I was compelled,” Haqiqi said.
He plans to travel to Czech to closely supervise making the statues.
“Since the statues have been made by hand, they are unique and valuable, but we will face a problem if we cannot reach an agreement on making the statues for the coming editions of the festival, or if the Bohemian man dies,” Haqiqi stated.
The previous Crystal Simorgh had also been made in the Czech Republic. It was a flat rectangular-shaped crystal plate bearing an engraving of a simorgh.
The 31st edition of the Fajr International Film Festival, which is Iran’s most important event in film industry, will be held in Tehran from January 31, to February 10.
MMS/YAW
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