Iranian short film awarded at Ecuador’s Cuenca Festival
Iranian filmmaker Nasrin Mohammadpour received a special jury mention for her short film ‘Twenty-One Weeks Later’ at the 24th Cuenca International Film Festival, which wrapped up earlier this month in Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca in Ecuador.
The festival, originally slated for June 25–30 but held with a slight delay, showcased dozens of international films, with a particular spotlight on human rights issues, including environmental and social concerns.
‘Twenty-One Weeks Later,’ written, directed, and produced by Mohammadpour, competed in the short film section and was singled out by jurors for its emotional weight and cinematic precision.
Held annually for over two decades, Cuenca’s festival has drawn global talent including Laurent Cantet, Isaki Lacuesta, Goran Paskaljevic, and Eduardo Noriega. Mohammadpour’s work now joins the legacy of award-winning films to emerge from the event, praised for capturing “the depth of human conflict in minimal time.”
This is not the first time ‘Twenty-One Weeks Later’ has turned heads on the global circuit. The film previously won the Special Jury Prize at Spain’s Taboo Nikaah Film Festival, Best Asian Short at South Korea’s 28th Busan International Short Film Festival, and a Jury Award at Turkey’s Golden Boll International Film Festival. It has also screened at major festivals in the UK (Raindance), Germany (Hof), the Dominican Republic (Santo Domingo), and Colombia (Santander), among others.
The film’s international distribution is handled by Cinerama, under the management of Neshat Bagheri.
The cast includes Banafsheh Riazi, Leila Hosseinzadeh, Soudabeh Bahraminejad, and Parisa Asgari.