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‘Black Rabbit, White Rabbit’ wins top honor at Chinese film festival
At the closing ceremony of the Hainan International Film Festival, held on China’s Hainan Island, Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri’s “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” was awarded the prestigious Golden Coconut for Best Film.
The honor was presented by renowned artistic director Marco Müller and jury president Juliette Binoche, the acclaimed French actress, according to ISNA.
Mokri, who was attending the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia at the time, sent a message of gratitude that was read aloud by Amir Esbati, representing the film’s team at the ceremony. Esbati expressed joy at the jury’s recognition, calling the award a significant achievement for the production group.
Just days earlier, the film had also been recognized in the festival’s “Emerging Talents” section, winning the Best Talent Award.
Mokri, an acclaimed Iranian filmmaker, directed “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit”, a joint production between Tajikistan and the United Arab Emirates. Featuring a distinguished ensemble of Tajik actors, the film had already made waves at the Busan and Indian film festivals before securing screenings at London and Chicago.
Produced with the support of Tajikfilm Studio in Tajikistan, the project was shot in both Tajik and Persian. The cast includes Babak Karimi, Hasti Mohamayi, Kubriya Dilyubova, and Bejan Dulyatov. The screenplay was co-written by Mokri and Nasim Ahmadpour, with Negar Eskandarfard serving as producer.
“Three seemingly unrelated stories woven together into a mysterious whole, marked by meticulously choreographed long takes, dark humor, and flashes of magical realism that embody Mokri’s playful meta-cinematic puzzle,” reads the film’s synopsis.
Distributed internationally by DreamLab Films, “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” has also been selected by Tajikistan as its official submission for the Best International Feature category at the Academy Awards.
This marks Mokri’s fourth feature film. His debut, Fish & Cat (2013), won the Special Orizzonti Award at the Venice Film Festival. He followed with Invasion (2017), which premiered at Berlinale, and Careless Crime (2020), screened in Venice and awarded the Jury Prize at the Chicago International Film Festival.
The film is set for a screening tour across China following the festival. It will continue its festival journey, competing next at the Kerala International Film Festival in India.