TEHRAN – The Iran-Czech co-production “Endless Borders” by Iranian director Abbas Amini was honored at the 20th edition of Yerevan Golden Apricot International Film Festival, which came to an end in the Armenian capital on Sunday.

The film received the Golden Apricot at the Regional Panorama section dedicated to feature and documentary film competition from West Asia.

“Endless Borders”, opens in Baluchestan, in a small, scarcely “wired” village bordering Iran and Afghanistan, where complicated entanglements occur when an exiled Iranian teacher finds himself helping a refugee Afghan family fleeing the Taliban.

“Drifter”, a co-production of Portugal and France by Simao Cayatte won the Silver Apricot in this section, while “Magic Mountain”, co-directed by Mariam Chachia and Nik Voigt from Georgia received Jury Special Mention.

In the official competition of the festival, “Black Stone” by Spiros Jacovides from Greece won the Golden Apricot, while “Kiddo” by Zara Dwinger from Netherlands received Jury Special Mention.

“Black Stone” follows a documentary crew as they film civil servants who are absent from their duties. During the filming, the crew unexpectedly encounters Haroula, a Greek mother who is desperate and excessively protective, on a mission to find her son.
 
However, when Haroula's son is accused of fraud, she embarks on a journey with her other disabled child and a Greek-African taxi driver to bring him back to his rightful home, even if this means discovering who her son really is.

"Kiddo" follows the journey of Lu as she leaves the children's home and embarks on an adventure with her quirky mother, complete with cowboy boots, wigs, and sunglasses riding along in their trusty old Chevrolet. During their journey to the east, both of them fantasize about finally sharing an everlasting bond.

In this section, the festival also screened Iran’s “Silent House” co-directed by Farnaz and Mohammadreza Jurabchian.

The documentary tells the story of three generations of an Iranian family who live in a historic and exceptional hundred-year-old house.

The festival also honored Belgian filmmakers and brothers Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne as well as Filipino film director Lav Diaz with Parajanov’s Thaler for their outstanding artistic contribution into world cinema.

Photo: A scene from “Endless Borders” by Iranian director Abbas Amini

ABU/