TEHRAN – Iranian drama “No Prior Appointment” won the Golden Saint George for best film and “Breeze”, another Iranian production, received the Silver Saint George for best short at the 44th Moscow International Film Festival, the organizers announced on Friday.

Directed by Behruz Shoeibi, “No Prior Appointment” also won the Silver Saint George for best actress for its star, Pagah Ahangarani.

She received the award for her portrayal of Yasmin, a woman who when she was six, the same age as her son, immigrated with her family to Berlin. Now she has to come back to Iran due to her father’s death. Her son is suffering from autism, which makes it difficult for her to travel easily. She achieves a new understanding of humanity and death in her short stay in Iran.

“Breeze” by Hamidreza Qasemi follows an Iranian who has grown up in a European country. After the death of his parents, he goes to Iran, as it seems to be his homeland, but Iran turns out not to be the country he imagined, nor the one his parents told him about.

Iranian director Rasul Sadr-Ameli was a member of the jury headed by Russian actor Evgeny Mironov. Thandi Davids from South Africa, Hayk Kirakosyan and Andrei Kravchuk from Russia were other members of the jury. 

The Silver Saint George for best director was awarded to Sinisa Cvetic from Serbia for his comedy-drama “The Beheading of St John the Baptist”.

“The Instinct”, a Bangladeshi-Dutch co-production by Juboraj Shamim, was honored with a special jury prize “for Realism and Humaneness”.

Costel Cascaval was named best actor for his role in the Romanian film “The Voice Crying in the Wilderness” by Ciprian Mega.

“The Holy Archipelago” by Russian filmmaker Sergey Debizhev was picked as best documentary.

This is a large-scale canvass depicting life in the Solovetsky monastery. What does the spiritual life of man signify? What is a religious tradition and how does it relate to the modern world? How does faith influence human life? The Solovetsky islands are a milestone in the spiritual geography of Russia. They are marked by spiritual, historical and cultural events which have a profound bearing on the national memory. Located on the outskirts of Russia, the archipelago was destined to become one of the powerful symbols of the Russian spirit. The movie examines the deeper meaning of existence, faith, hope and love.

The prize for an outstanding contribution to world cinema was given to Eduard Artemyev, the Russian composer of electronic music and film scores.

The Silver Saint George for best film in the Russian premiere competition was garnered by “Intensive Care” by Peter Todorovsky, while “Kath” by Russian director Boris Akopov received a special mention.

Photo: Director Behruz Shoeibi (C) poses with jury member Rasul Sadr-Ameli (R) and an unidentified person in Moscow on September 2, 2022, after his film “No Prior Appointment” won the Golden Saint George for best film and the Silver Saint George for best actress for Pagah Ahangarani at the 44th Moscow International Film Festival.

MMS/YAW