Two Iranian films to be screened at Italy’s Della Lessinia festival
Two Iranian films will be featured at the 31st Della Lessinia Film Festival, scheduled to run from August 22 to 31 in northern Italy.
The festival, founded in 1995 in Verona province, originally focused on Italy’s Lessinia mountains but later broadened its scope to include mountain cultures and traditions around the world, ILNA reported.
This year’s lineup includes ‘Baraftoo,’ translate into ‘Within the Sun’ a documentary by Sepideh Jamshidi, in the competition section, and ‘The Plain Sings,’ a short fiction film by Gita Feizi, in a special screening.
The films shine a light on women’s roles and rural resilience in Iran’s mountainous west. ‘Baraftoo,’ co-produced by Ali and Sepideh Jamshidi, documents the lives of “hardworking women of the Zagros,” and was previously selected for the 56th Visions du Réel in Switzerland.
Feizi’s ‘The Plain Sings,’ written and directed by her and produced by Deyman Zandi, follows a young shepherd girl whose routine is disrupted by a wolf attack, forcing her to make a life-changing decision. The cast includes Darya Kakayi, Afshin Khedri, Sara Ahmadnejad, and Saman Saed Moucheshi. The film’s international distribution is handled by Daricheh Cinema.
Both selections mark a growing presence of Iranian cinema on the international mountain film circuit, offering global audiences fresh insight into the country’s rural narratives. The Della Lessinia Festival continues to draw attention for its focus on films that portray “life, history, and traditions” of mountain communities across continents.