Iranian short film ‘Hooves Beat’ shines at Sharjah festival
Iranian short film ‘Hooves Beat’ has taken the top prize at the 11th Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth (SIFFCY), beating out a French film in the final round of competition.
Hooves Beat’ won the Best International Short Feature Award at the festival, which was held from October 5 to 12 in Sharjah.
During the week-long festival, a total of 98 films from 18 countries were presented, chosen from an impressive 1,834 submissions reaching 73 nations, highlighting the event’s importance as a key venue for noteworthy cinematic works.
The film, directed and produced by Fargol Masrurirad and Seyyed Hossein Zeitunnejad, previously won the Human Rights Award at the Kurdish Film Festival Berlin.
‘Hooves Beat’ tells the story of Tino, a teenager living with his parents in a border village in Kurdistan. His only friend is a horse that belongs to his father. An accident in the mountains forces Tino to make a difficult decision.
Fereydoun Hamedi, Shabbou Soleimani, and Mardin Sheikhmoradi are in the cast of the film
The film has been screened at numerous international film festivals, including the Duhok International Film Festival, BUFF Malmö Film Festival in Sweden, the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival, and Seoul Yeongdeungpo International Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival.
The Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth was established in 2013 and is one of the most important children’s film festivals in the region. The festival aims to promote media literacy and creativity among children and young people, showcasing the best films about children and young people from around the world.