TEHRAN – Iranian filmmaker Reza Mirkarimi who is also the director of Iran’s Fajr International Film Festival has been selected for the jury of the 16th edition of the Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival in Armenia, the Persian service of ISNA reported on Sunday.

Russian screenwriter Aleksandr Mindadze, Swiss director Nicolas Wadimoff, American executive director of the Tribeca Film Festival Amy Hobby, British producer Elizabeth Karlsen, Italian film critic Paolo Bertolin and French actress Nino Kirtadze are the other members of the jury.  

A lineup of ten Iranian films will go on screen in various section of the festival.  

Among the films are “Umbra” by Saeid Jafarian about a young woman who is looking for her missing partner at midnight and “The Ashes” by Aryan Golsurat about a couple, who are looking for a place to burn a corpse they are carrying in the trunk of their car.

“Slaughter” co-directed by Saman Hosseinpur and Ako Zandkarimi, about a family that is forced to slaughter their lone cow to pass the hard, cold winter days and “Return” by Shahriar Purseyyedan about Rahim, a man who after 23 years in prison returns to his hometown to meet his brother will also be screened. 

The lineup also includes “Driving Lessons” by Marzieh Riahi about a young girl who must have a man from her relatives accompany her on driving lessons and “Day for Night” by Kaveh Ebrahimpur about a young filmmaker who enters an old house in search for his feature film location. 

“Song Sparrow”, a co-production of Iran and Denmark by Iranian director Farzaneh Omidvarnia, about a group of refugees who by themselves try to reach a safe country in search of a better life, and “Beloved” by Yasser Talebi about an 82-year-old woman who prefers a hard, solitary herder’s existence with her cows to a more comfortable life among people will also go on screen. 

Also included are “Absence” by Fatemeh Zolfaqari about a devastating earthquake that struck the Kurdish town of Sarpol-e-Zahab, and “Axing” by Behruz Shoeibi about a woman addict who thinks that her girl is dead while she is alive and lives with her father.

The Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival will be held from July 7 to 14.

Photo: Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi in an undated photo.

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