TEHRAN – Iranian filmmaker Bahman Kiarostami’s documentary “Exodus” won the special jury award at the 30th New Orleans Film Festival, the organizers announced on Thursday.

The film was competing in the Documentary Features Competition section of the festival, which ran from October 16 to 23.
 
The film is about thousands of Afghan migrants who have lined up to leave Iran as the renewed U.S. sanctions have sparked a recession. But first, they must endure interrogations at an immigration center in Tehran.

The New Orleans Film Festival is an Oscar-qualifying event in all three Academy-accredited categories of narrative shorts, documentary shorts, and animated shorts. 

Jury award-winning films in these categories automatically qualify for consideration for the Annual Academy Awards without the standard theatrical run.

Photo: A poster for “Exodus” by Bahman Kiarostami.

RM/MMS/YAW