The Kazan International Muslim Film Festival has picked Iranian director Narges Abyar for its jury. Abyar, director of acclaimed Iranian dramas “Track 143” and “When the Moon Was Full”, has been honored by several international festivals and cultural centers.

Earlier in March, she was honored with the Director Achievement Award at the International Women Filmmakers Festival 2022 in Izmir, Turkey.

In 2020, she received the HUM Women Leaders Award at the Governor’s House in the Pakistani city of Karachi.

Her 2019 drama “When the Moon Was Full” received the audience award at the 23rd Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia.

The Kazan festival jury also includes Hamid Benamra from Algeria, Anara Kashaganova from Kazakhstan, Amer Salmeen Al Murri from the UAE, Haobam Paban Kumar from India, Ihsan Kabil from Turkey and Elham Shahin from Egypt.

In addition, Russian filmmaker Valery Fomin and the rector of Tatarstan’s Russian Islamic University, Rafik Mukhametshin, will join the jury of the 18th edition of the festival, which will take place from September 7 to 11 in the capital of Tatarstan, a semi-autonomous region in southwest Russia.

Earlier in July, the Kazan festival announced its official lineup.

The Iranian movies “Silent Glory”, “Boars”, “No One Is Waiting for You” and “Nomad Girl” will be competing in various sections of the festival.

“Silent Glory” directed by Nahid Hassanzadeh will be screened in the feature film competition.

In this film, 35-year-old Rohan agrees to marry Mahi, an old man who had been the village teacher for many years. Mahi is now the caretaker of the village shrine in whose healing power he does not believe. Rohan begins her new life in a small room in the shrine. She meets a young boy who has taken refuge in the sanctuary of the shrine to be healed. When the boy dies suddenly, Rohan loses all her beliefs like her husband. The fanatic villagers do not tolerate the presence of two heathens in the shrine and the village anymore.

Directed by Gholamreza Jafari, “Boars” will be shown in the short film category.

It follows a man who marries a widow whose late husband had passed away abroad. However, villagers later tell him that her husband is alive and back. The three have found themselves in a dilemma.

“No One Is Waiting for You” and “Nomad Girl” have been selected to be screened in the documentary competition.

Directed by Mohsen Eslamzadeh, “No One Is Waiting for You” is about Sepideh Alizadeh, the director of a center for homeless women in southern Tehran, and her assistant Mona who once was one of the women supported by the center. Now Mona and Sepideh want to track the two children she left 28 years ago, however, they don’t have any trace of them.

“Nomad Girl”, a short documentary by Ruhollah Akbari, follows the daughter of one of the nomadic tribes, who, despite all the problems caused by the traditions and common beliefs about girls exercising, achieves much success in kickboxing. She tries to persuade the families of the girls in the area to encourage them to attend training classes in a nomad “black tent”.

The Kazan festival also plans to review Iranian cinema in a special program entitled “Iranian Cinema Day”.

The program is scheduled to screen “That Night’s Train” by Hamidreza Qotbi, “When the Moon Was Full” by Abyar, and “Wolf Cubs of the Apple Valley” by Fereidun Najaf.

In addition, the Iranian films “Yalda, the Night of Forgiveness” by Masud Bakhshi and “Balit” by Morteza Rahimi will be screened in the festival’s non-competition program. /T.T/

The “Ardabil 2023” event is an excellent opportunity for the northwestern province to be introduced internationally, an official with the province’s governorate has said.

For Ardabil, it is imperative to gain promotion on a global scale… It should take full advantage of the event, Kamaleddin Mirjafarian explained on Saturday.

To hold this event and to make maximum use of this opportunity, different organizations should fully cooperate, the official added.

Moreover, private investors should cooperate to gain the opportunity to showcase their products and facilities, he explained.

Plans should also be made to introduce the province’s tourism capacities through foreign exhibitions in Eco member countries and other global markets, he stated.

In 2019, Ardabil along with Sari, the capital of Mazandaran province, were selected as the cultural capitals for the Economic Cooperation Organization for 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Last April, the tourism authorities of the province announced that they have developed extensive plans to draw more tourists during the winter to the province and make it the winter tourism hub of the country.

Sprawling on a high, windswept plateau, Ardabil is well known for having abundant natural beauty, hospitable people, and its silk and carpet trade tradition. It is also home to the UNESCO-registered Sheikh Safi al-Din Khanegah and the Shrine Ensemble.

The province is freezing in winter and mild in summer, attracting thousands every year. The capital city of Ardabil is usually recorded as one of the coldest cities in the country in winter. /T.T/

The Republic of Korea defeated Iran 26-22 in the 9th Asian Men’s Youth (U19) Handball Championship Thursday night.

This is the third time that the Republic of Korea has won the Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship. The Republic of Korea had previously won the title in both the inaugural 2005 and 2014 editions.

Eleven nations competed for the title and five places at the World Championship in an event held at the following two venues across Bahrain.

In the bronze medal match, Saudi Arabia defeated Japan by 26–25. This bronze medal is the first ever medal won by Saudi Arabia in the Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship.

The Republic of Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Bahrain have qualified for the 10th IHF Men’s Youth (U19) Handball World Championship to be held in Croatia in July / August 2023. /T.T/

Iranian Defense Ministry unveils the latest precision strike unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by the country’s Armed Forces.

Ababil (Flock of Birds), as the new drone is named, was unveiled during a visit by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf to an exhibition held by the ministry on Saturday.

The Armed Forces’ latest achievement in the field of unmanned aircraft is a cruise missile carrying a drone with high destructive power.

The aircraft has been outfitted with an optical seeker and a warhead capable of detecting targets. It is also able to capture and relay live images of the targets, lock on terrestrial targets, and destroy them with precision.

The Iranian Armed Forces are yet to unveil the exact flying range of the new drone and its destructive power./MNA/

Two Iranian plays have been invited to take part in International Mime Festival in Bangladesh.

Iranian plays “Flight” directed by Ofog Irji from Arak and “Helheleh” directed by Shayan Salami will take part in this event.

The fourth edition of the International Mime Festival will be held for the fourth year from October 21 to 23, 2022 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. /MNA/

The head of the National Disaster Management Organization Of Iran announced the launch of the Iranian ‘Ayat’ Satellite into space in the near future.

‘Ayat’ satellite will be launched into space in near future in the presence of the Iranian President, said Mohammad Hassan Nami.

This satellite is supposed to be placed into orbit and provide the country with information related to natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and landslides, he added. /MNA/

Three sportsmen of Iran’s national team have been chosen as the best players in the Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship.

Iran defeated India 12-25, 19-25, 25-22, and 15-25 to become the champions.

Arshia Behnejad was chosen as the best setter, Erfan Noroozi as the best defensive specialist, and Amir-Mohammad Golzadeh as the best outside hitter and the most valuable player of the event.

Iranian team received its seventh gold medal mounted the number of its medals to 12.

The 2022 Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship is the 21st edition of the Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championship, a biennial international volleyball tournament organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA).

The tournament was held in Riffa, Bahrain from August 22 to 29. /MNA/

Iranian film “Katvoman” has won the award for best fiction at the Festival International du Film Amateur de Kelibia – FIFAK in Tunisia.

Written and directed by Hadi Sheibani, the film shows a mom and son playing dressed up as Batman and Catwoman before dad returns for dinner. Through the play, the child discovers a difficult truth about his parents.

The 35th edition of FIFAK announced the winners on Saturday in the northeastern city of Kelibia as the Golden Hawk Grand Prix was awarded to “The Seine’s Tears” (“Les Lermes de la Seine”) by Yanis Belaid from France.

The animated film shows Algerian workers taking to the streets on October 17, 1961 to protest against the mandatory curfew imposed by the police prefecture.

The award for best animation film went to “Tea Hole” by Pierre Kazmierczak, while “Alaman” by Kyrgyz filmmaker Ilgiz Sherniyaz was selected as best documentary.

The award for best experimental film was given to “Palimpseste” by Mohamed Osman Kilani.

Created in 1964, FIFAK is a film event organized by the Tunisian Federation of Amateur Filmmakers and supported by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.

The festival is held with contributions from the National Center for Cinema and Image, and the Municipality of the city of Kelibia.

It is the oldest manifestation of cinema in Tunisia and the cradle of the majority of filmmakers and technicians of the Tunisian scene.

The festival is the most important meeting for young filmmakers, film lovers and students of film schools in Tunisia.

FIFAK aims to encourage the promotion and distribution of works of amateur, independent and school cinema.

It also enables amateur, independent and student filmmakers to compare their experiences, in particular through debates devoted to the participating films. /T.T/

Iranian short “Unrest” has been named best short at the Moscow International Documentary Film Festival – Doker.

Directed by Mohammad-Sadeq Esmaeili, the film is about a 14-year-old teenager who runs away from the house of his addicted father who forces him to live in an orphanage. Now he is trying hard to find his absent mother just for the first time. Additionally, he does not have an ID card and this is causing many problems in his daily life.

Five other Iranian films were screened at the Russian festival, but they failed to win an award as winners were announced last week.

A jury composed of Vladimir Golovnev from Russia, Camila Rodriguez Triana from Columbia and Fariz Ahmedov from Azerbaijan selected the winners of the short competition.

“Adjusting” by Dejan Petrovic from Serbia, “Zenerù” by Andrea Grasselli from Italy and “The Dream #9-2380 (IK-6)” by Lidia Rikker from Russia won special mentions in this section.

In the feature competition, “Mr. Tang” by the Chinese filmmaker Xia Su and Hongyu Su was picked as best film.

Sergey Dvortsevoy from Russia and Zoe Schmederer from Germany and Ammar Aziz from Pakistan were members of the jury for this category.

“Despite taking place in a fading world, this beautifully shot, slow-paced film is full of life,” the jury said about “Mr. Tang” and added, “It depicts a universal issue in an intimate portrait.”

“Mr. Tang” points to a makeshift brick wall built by the authorities that separates his property from the neighboring parcel, which has already been expropriated. As one of the last residents of the neighborhood, the 94-year-old is resisting the “revitalization of the old city”, meaning the demolition of the aging buildings. Pressure from the authorities steadily increases as he watches his wife’s health deteriorate with Alzheimer’s.

“MR. TANG” is a sensitive film about love and resistance and the portrait of an impressive man who won’t be upset by anything, not even by the threat of losing the house he has lived in all his life.

Victoria Fiore was named best director for “Hide and Seek” (“Nascondino”).

The Italian-UK production follows four years in the life of nine-year-old Entoni and his grandmother Dora in Naples during a critical state crackdown on crime that threatens Entoni’s future with forced removal and imprisonment.

The audience award went to “Jason” by Dutch filmmaker Maasja Ooms.

Ooms closely follows Jason as he struggles with the psychological effects of a traumatic childhood, which were only intensified when he was taken into juvenile residential care at the age of 16. During intense therapy sessions, it becomes clear how much he has been harmed, and how far-reaching the consequences are when wrong decisions are made in the youth care system. /T.T/