TEHRAN -- The 11th Donya-ye Tasvir Cinematic and TV Films Celebration was held on Friday night at the Milad Tower after a two-year hiatus.

The celebration, organized annually by the Persian cinematic monthly Donya-ye Tasvir (Picture World), is Iran’s only film gala held by the private sector. The magazine was banned in March 2008 and publication resumed about a year later.
“Night Bus” by Kiumars Purahmad is about an Iranian teenage combatant and a middle-aged soldier who are tasked to relocate a group of Iraqi prisoners of war by bus behind the front during the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, which in Iran is called the Sacred Defense.
Directed by Majid Majidi, “The Song of Sparrows” tells a bittersweet parable about the struggles of a family living in a rural area outside Tehran. In early 2008, Reza Naji won a Silver Bear prize for best actor at the 58th annual Berlin International Film Festival for his role in “The Song of Sparrows.”
The ceremony began after an hour delay with a short speech delivered by Elham Hamidi, the best actress of the previous edition.
Pop singer Reza Yazdani continued with his song “Persian Gulf” warming up the ceremony, and left the stage amidst endless applauding and cheering by the audience.
The monthly’s managing director Ali Mo’allem was next who came on the stage and announced the winners for this year, not mentioning a word about the two-year hiatus of the gala.
The 11th edition of the event was held in collaboration with Iran’s Steel Azin Football Club which claims to be an art and cultural club as well.
Several seats in the hall were dedicated to members of the Steel Azin team Ali Karimi, Mehdi Mahdavikia, and Hossein Ka’bi and its coach Hamid Estili.
Estili was next to be invited to the stage to speak and said, “I am delighted to be here. Steel Azin is a cultural and sports club and I hope it will develop its cultural activities more in the future.”
The ceremony continued with the presentation of awards to the winners by different cinematic figures and several football players who were invited on stage.
A list of the recipients of Golden Hafez trophies follows:
* Best Film: “The Song of Sparrows” produced and directed by Majid Majidi
* Best Director: Kiumars Purahmad for “Night Bus”
* Best Screenwriter: Asghar Farhadi “Tambourine”
* Best Actors: Reza Naji “The Song of Sparrows” and Hamed Behdad “The Third Day”
* Best Actresses: Bahareh Rahnama “Tambourine” and Hengameh Qaziani “So Simple”
* Best Musician: Mohammadreza Darvishi “The Green Fire”
* Best Sound Recorder: Mohammadreza Delpak for “The Song of Sparrows”
* Best Stage and Costume Designer: Abbas Bolondi “Child of the Earth”
* Best Editor: Hassan Hassandust “The Third Day”
* Best Make-up Artist: Mehri Shirazi “Night Bus”
* Best Cinematographer: Mehdi Jafari “Night Bus” and Faraj Heidari “Parkway’
* Best TV Series: “Gharib’s Life” by Kianush Ayyari
* Best TV Series Director: Bahram Bahramian “Hourglass”
* Best TV Series Screenwriter: Alireza Naderi and Alireza Kazemipur “Forbidden Fruit”
* Best Comedian: Ardalan Shoja-Kaveh “The Quadrangle”
* Best Comedienne: Maryam Amir-Jalali “Sweet and Sour”
* Best TV Actress: Azita Hajian “Hourglass”
* Best TV Actor: Mehdi Hashemi “Gharib’s Life”
* Best TV Series Singer: Alireza Qorbani “Zero Degree Turn” and Reza Yazdani “Gradual Death of a Dream”
* Best Documentary: “Lady of Red Rose” by Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
Veteran film dubber Manuchehr Esmaeili was also honored and received a best Lifetime Achievement Award, and the jury special award was given to “The Green Fire” director Mohammadreza Aslani.