Berlin festival honors Iranian documentary ‘Inferior Shadows’
Iranian filmmaker Ramin Khalighi’s documentary ‘Inferior Shadows’ claimed the Best Feature Documentary Award at the seventh annual Doc.Berlin Documentary Film Festival, showcasing at the historic Babylon Cinema in Berlin.
The festival, part of the global Doc.World network, highlights leading regional and international documentaries and fosters dialogue between filmmakers and audiences worldwide. Out of roughly 2,000 submissions, 23 films from countries including France, Lebanon, Mexico, the United States, Poland, Belgium, Qatar, Canada, Estonia, Germany, and Iran were selected for the official program, ILNA reported.
Khalighi’s film, which previously won the Best DokuBox Film prize at the ninth DokuBaku International Documentary Festival in Azerbaijan, offers a close portrayal of a family grappling with poverty and addiction, surviving through scavenging for recyclables.
“The story is a journey between suffering and hope,” Khalighi said. “It is an effort to endure and reach better days.” During filming, three family members received treatment at a rehabilitation camp and returned to society, starting a new chapter in their lives.
Festival director Chris De Meister said in his closing statement that documentaries “do more than declare truth; they create spaces to confront moral dilemmas and spark dialogue.”
He described ‘Inferior Shadows’ as “a profoundly brutal yet humane tragedy,” noting that audiences remained silent for an extended period after the credits rolled, sensing “something rare and human.”