Iran’s ‘No Prior Appointment’ shines at Kazan festival
Iran’s ‘No Prior Appointment’ won top honors at the 19th Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema in Russia.
Directed by Behrouz Shoeibi and produced by Mahmoud Babaei, a production of the Farabi Cinema Foundation, the film received the Best Film and Best Leading Actress awards in a ceremony held during the festival’s closing night on September 9, as reported by IRNA.
Among the distinguished guests attending the closing ceremony were Deputy Prime Minister of Tatarstan Vasil Shaykhraziev, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan Irada Ayupova, Iranian Consul General to Kazan Davoud Mirzakhani, and Emir Kusturica, a renowned Serbian director, and various acclaimed filmmakers from Russia and around the world.
The Kazan festival featured a total of 52 films from 21 countries, including Russia, Iran, Syria, India, Iraq, Morocco, Tajikistan, Turkey, Greece, Oman, Kyrgyzstan, Tunisia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, the UK, Senegal, Nepal, Kazakhstan, Egypt, and Algeria, competing across categories such as Feature Films, Short Films, Long Documentaries, Short Documentaries, and the National Competition, showcasing works created in Tatarstan.
‘No Prior Appointment,’ a collaborative effort between the Farabi Cinema Foundation and the Image of the City Institute, tells the story of Yasmin, a woman who returns to her homeland of Iran after years in German exile following her father’s passing. Her journey is made all the more challenging by her six-year-old autistic son, but during her brief stay in Iran, she gains a profound insight into the essence of humanity and death.
This outstanding film made its Iranian debut at the 40th Fajr Film Festival in Tehran in 2021, where it earned Golden Simorgh for Best Film from a national perspective. Furthermore, ‘No Prior Appointment’ received more than 10 awards at the National Will Manifestation Awards, a companion event to the Fajr Film Festival, recognizing films that address key issues championed by various public organizations and institutions.
Distinguished juries from these organizations annually select winners from the films screened at the Fajr Film Festival.
The 19th Kazan International Festival of Muslim Cinema took place from September 5 to 9, celebrating the diversity and excellence of Muslim cinema from around the world.
Three other Iranian films, ‘Witness,’ directed by Aida Tebyanian, participating in the short story film competition; ‘Estatics,’ in the long documentary competition; and ‘Water, Wind, Dust, Bread,’ made by Mehdi Zamanpour Kiasari, were presented in the short documentary section at this event.