TEHRAN – Iranian director Mohammad-Hadi Naiji’s social drama “Voice of Science” won the award for best film at the Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne, the organizers announced on Tuesday.

The film was screened in a category dedicated to movies with a budget under $250,000.   

Starring Hashem Mahmudifard and Shirin Esmaeili, “Voice of Science” tells the story of Mir Hashem, a young cleric whose wife leaves him because of angry creditors and his infertility problem.

In 2015, the Phoenix Film Festival Melbourne presented the same award to Iranian filmmaker Abbas Rafei’s “Oblivion Season”, a drama about the new life of an ex-prostitute.

According to the organizers, the PFFM aims to highlight both films with potential commercial success as well as low-budget ones of artistic merit and scope. 

Photo: A poster for “Voice of Science”

AFM/YAW
END