TEHRAN – “Hussein, Who Said No”, the controversial religious drama by Iranian director Ahmadreza Darvish, won the grand prize for the best full-length feature at the 7th Baghdad International Film Festival, the organizers announced on Monday.

Darvish dedicated the award to the victims of the Mina disaster and expressed hopes for peace in the Islamic countries and in the world during the closing ceremony.

The festival opened with “Hussein, Who Said No”, which is about the uprising of Imam Hussein (AS) against the Umayyad dynasty in 680 CE. It has been dubbed into several languages, including Arabic and English.

The Iranian premiere of the film was halted after protests from ulemas and certain people who slammed the movie over its depiction of some Shia saints.

In addition, “The Fish and I” by Iranian director Babak Habibifar won the first prize in the short film section of the festival.

In the long-feature category, the first prize went to “Escapes” by director Mercedes Gaspar Salvo from Spain and “Alone on Board” by Joseph Guay from Belgium won the second prize.

The special jury prize was presented to “Lovers Die Standing” by Shahram Maslakhi from Iraq. The cast and crew members of the film are Iranian.

Photo: A scene from “Hussein, Who Said No”

RM/YAW
END