TEHRAN – Iranian director Alireza Dehqan’s documentary “Darkened Water” (“Owsia”) has been picked as best film at the 14th SCINEMA International Science Film Festival in Australia, the organizers have announced.

The film is about an aqueduct in the central Iranian city of Yazd that has supplied water to the city for 2,500 years. Now, it is rotting away due to bureaucracy and corruption.

“A fascinating well-made film about this living UNESCO heritage site, social politics and the complex issue of water rights,” the jury of the festival wrote about the film.

SCINEMA, which is the largest science film festival in the southern hemisphere, is being organized every year in collaboration with the BBC Earth.

Winners were announced before the screening of the films selected to be shown at the festival, which will be held at Palace Cinemas in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Perth from June 7 to 19.
 
Science features, shorts, documentaries, animated and experimental films from filmmakers around the world will be shown during the event.

The award for best documentary went to “Fix and Release” by Canadian director Scott Dobson while Kim Albright from Australia was crowned best director for “The Purple Plain”.

“Einstein-Rosen” by Spanish director Olga Osorio was selected as best short film and the special jury award was presented to British writer/director Alice Wade for her “Test Tube Babes”.

Photo: A scene from Iranian director Alireza Dehqan’s documentary “Darkened Water”

MMS/YAW