Italy’s Religion Today Film Festival to screen 4 Iranian movies

Tehran: Four films from Iran will be screened during the 27th Religion Today Film Festival, to be held in Trento, Italy, from September 18 to 25.

“Passion of Love” directed by Dariush Yari is the only Iranian feature film to participate in the event while the festival will also host short films “Bolour” by Helia Behrooz, “Phoenix” by Mona Shams, and “Numan” by Zohreh Zamani from Iran, ILNA reported.

“Passion of Love” narrates the poignant journey of the Karbala captives as they travel from Kufa to Sham. The story centers around Selma, a woman entrusted with the vital role of acting as the voice for the caravan of Karbala prisoners, particularly for Hazrat Zainab (SA). Selma is determined to educate and enlighten those who have been misled by Shimr and his deceived agents. Her mission is to ensure that the distinction between the oppressor and the martyr remains clear, preventing the truth from becoming obscured once again. As she raises the flag of Imam Hossein (AS) and leads the caravan alongside Hazrat Zeinab (SA), Selma ultimately becomes one of the loyal companions of Karbala, embodying the spirit of resilience and resistance.

Payam Ahmadinia, Reza Khodadad Beigi, Behzad Dorani, Bahram Ebrahimi, Nader Fallah, Mitra Khajeian, Roohollah Mehrabi, Shohreh Mousavi, Alireza Ostadi, Siamak Safari, Babak Vali, Mahdi Zaminpardaz, Shohreh Mousavi, Payam Ahmadinia, Behzad Dorani, Bahram Ebrahimi, Nader Fallah, Mitra Khajeian, Roohollah Mehrabi, Alireza Ostadi, and Siamak Safari are in the cast among others.

The 96-minute drama was the winner of Best Film in the Interfaith Section at the 42nd Fajr Film Festival earlier this year.

“Bolour” is the second directorial and Production debut of Iranian-American filmmaker Helia Behrooz, which she has made in Iran.

It tells the story of Bolour, a 19-year-old music instructor, who in the wake of the Taliban’s return to power in the summer of 2021, was urged by her family to swiftly depart Afghanistan. The one cherished item she insisted on bringing with her was a Robab, a musical instrument, that had been passed down to her from her father and grandfather.

Roshana Ebrahimi, Arash Azarm, and Sargol Lavasani are the key members of the cast of the 16-minute film.

“Phoenix,” produced by the Documentary, Experimental, and Animation Cinema Expansion Center, delves into the concept of migration and leaving one’s homeland. It was crafted using the actual voices of Iranian migrants across the world.

It is an animated documentary, six minutes, based on real sounds. The story of the film is about a person who decides to immigrate, and different voices of immigrants collected in documentary form narrate the feelings and events of the hero of the film.

The 23-minute “Numan” depicts a man from nowhere‚ with no background and no destiny‚ who is lost in his thought, living his spiritual death.

There will be 64 films in competition, coming from 32 countries, bringing guests and artistic works of global scope to Trento, speaking of faith and religion and winking at current events, involving the younger generations.

The international jury is composed of leading professionals from the international film industry including producer and researcher Fateme Javhersaz from Iran.

Born in 1997 as the first Italian festival of spiritual cinema and inter-religious dialogue, the Religion Today Film Festival has come a long way, and today this appointment with religious cinema is well known and appreciated all over the world.

Religion Today is an international and itinerant film festival dedicated to religious diversity for a culture of peace and interfaith dialogue. It promotes a journey “exploring the differences”, both in religious practices and beliefs and in cinematic styles and languages, towards a mutual enrichment through reciprocal knowledge and comparison.

Together with the world cinema competition, open to any film with a religious connection, it offers a platform for exchanging ideas and viewpoints, including a “living workshop” involving filmmakers of different faiths and nationalities.