26th Fajr International Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The 26th International Fajr Film Festival were held from February 1 to February 11, 2008 in Tehran
, Iran
. It consisted of seven competitions: Seeking the Truth ( Competition of Spiritual Cinema), Eye for the Real (Competition of Iranian Documentary Cinema) held in two subsections for long films and short and medium-length films, Contending for Symorgh (Competition of Iranian Cinema — Featured Films), Eastern Vista (Competition of Asian Cinema), World Panorama (International Competition) in two subsections for short films and featured films. Awards were given to the winners in the closing ceremony on February 11.
Tehran
Tehran , sometimes spelled Teheran, is the capital of Iran and Tehran Province. With an estimated population of 8,429,807; it is also Iran's largest urban area and city, one of the largest cities in Western Asia, and is the world's 19th largest city.In the 20th century, Tehran was subject to...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It consisted of seven competitions: Seeking the Truth ( Competition of Spiritual Cinema), Eye for the Real (Competition of Iranian Documentary Cinema) held in two subsections for long films and short and medium-length films, Contending for Symorgh (Competition of Iranian Cinema — Featured Films), Eastern Vista (Competition of Asian Cinema), World Panorama (International Competition) in two subsections for short films and featured films. Awards were given to the winners in the closing ceremony on February 11.
Featured Films
- Crystal SimorghCrystal SimorghThe Crystal Simorgh is the most prestigious award given by Fajr International Film Festival, Iran's major annual film festival.It is awarded in several categories of International Competition as well as Iranian Cinema Competition....
Prize for Best Film: As Simple As This produced by Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: Majid MajidiMajid MajidiMajid Majidi is an internationally and critically acclaimed Iranian film director, film producer, and screenwriter. Majidi's films have touched on many themes and genres and he has won many international awards.-Biography:...
for The Song of SparrowsThe Song of SparrowsThe Song of Sparrows is a 2008 Iranian movie directed by Majid Majidi. It tells the story of Karim, a man who works at an ostrich farm until he is fired because one of the ostriches fled. He finds a new job in Tehran, but he faces new problems in his personal life... - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: As Simple As This jointly written by Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi and Shadmehr Rastin
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Actor: Amin HayaiAmin HayaiAmin Hayaei Mamadzade , Actor is one of the young stars of the past decade of Iranian cinema...
(Night) - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Actress: Hengameh Ghaziani (As Simple As This)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Supporting Actor: Mohsen Tanabandeh (A Testimonial For God)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Supporting Actress: Mahtab Nasirpour (The Son Of Soil)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Editor: Hasan Hasandoost (The Song of Sparrows)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Cinematographer: Hossein JafarianHossein Jafarian-Career:Hossein Jafarian is a graduate of Tehran's University of Dramatic Arts. He began his career working for Iranian state-run television where he shot over 40 documentaries and TV shows before retiring early soon after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. His feature film debut was with 1984's Tatooreh...
(The Wall) - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Composer: Hossein AlizadehHossein AlizadehHossein Alizadeh , is an Iranian composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and tar and setar instrumentalist and improviser, described by Allmusic as a leading Iranian classical composer and musician....
(The Song of Sparrows) - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Makeup Artist: Saeid Malekan (The Song of Sparrows)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Sound: Iraj Shahzadi (Green Fire)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Costume and Stage Designer: Zhila Mehrjouei and Sholeh Navab Tehrani (Green Fire)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Special Effects: Hosein Talabeigi (Flags Of The Castle Of Kaveh)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best First Film Director: Seyyed Rouhollah Hejazi (In The Middle of Clouds)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film (Spectators' Choice): A Woman Is Always Involved produced by Mohsen Aliakbari
Short Films
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Short Film: Boomerang directed by Dariush Gharibzadeh
Documentaries
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Documentary Filmmaker: Mehdi Moniri (Tinar)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Short Documentary Filmmaker: Hamed Khosravi (The Gloomy Song of Mountains)
Spiritual Films
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: The Island by Popel Lotkin
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: The Professor And His Favorite Equation by Takashi Kuizomi
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: The Son Of Soil jointly written by Mohammad Ali Ahangar and Mohammad Reza Gohari
International Films
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: Wind Waves In The Meadow by Jozan Film Institute
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Juries Special Award: Très bien, merci produced by Paulo BrancoPaulo BrancoPaulo Branco is a Portuguese film producer.-Selected filmography:* The Territory * Three Crowns of the Sailor * City of Pirates * Manoel's Destinies * Treasure Island...
and directed by Emmanuelle Cuau (PortugalPortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
) - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: Semih KaplanogluSemih KaplanogluSemih Kaplanoğlu is a Turkish playwright, film director and producer.-Career:He graduated from the Cinema and Television Section of the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Dokuz Eylül University in his hometown...
(TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
) for YumurtaEgg (2007 film)Egg is an award-winning 2007 Turkish-Greek drama film directed by Semih Kaplanoğlu. The film is the first instalment of the Yusuf Trilogy, named after the eponymous lead character of the series, which includes Milk and Honey, filmed and released in reverse chronological order...
(aka Egg) - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: El Violin (The Violin) by Francisco Vargas (MexicoMexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
) - Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film (Spectators' Choice): Très bien, merci
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Technical And Artistic Achievement: Özgür Eken (Yumurta)
Asian Films
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: In The Historical Expectancy by Katsuyuki Avana
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi (As Simple As This)
- Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: As Simple As This jointly written by Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi and Shadmehr Rastin