TEHRAN -- Iranian director Hadi Mohaqeq’s acclaimed movie “Immortal” won the Silver Apricot for best feature at the 13th Golden Apricot -- Yerevan International Film Festival, the organizers announced on Saturday.

Mohaqeq and producer Majid Barzegar dedicated the award to the legendary Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami who died earlier this month.  

The film also received the Ecumenical Jury Prize at the event.

“Immortal” is about Ayaz, a sixty-year-old man who detests his life. He feels guilty about the death of his family and is constantly in search of ways for ending his life.

The film and Kazakh director Yerlan Nurmukhambetov’s “Walnut Tree” shared the best film award in the New Currents section at the 20th Busan International Film Festival in last October.

The Golden Apricot for best film went to “Ungiven” by Branko Schmidt from Croatia while “The Prosecutor, the Defender, the Father and the Son”, a joint production of Bulgaria, the Netherlands and Sweden by Iglika Triffonova received a special mention in this section.

The Golden Apricot for best documentary was presented to “Across the Don” by Evgeny Grigorev from Russia while “Don Juan”, a joint production of Sweden and Finland by Jerzy Sladkowski, won the Silver Apricot in this section.

This year, the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival (GAIFF) paid tribute to Kiarostami by organizing an exhibition of his photos from the series “The Road” at the Dalan Art Gallery on July 12.

Photo: A poster for “Immortal”

MMS/YAW