TEHRAN – “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” directed by Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri won an award at the 7th Hainan Island International Film Festival (HIIFF), which was held from December 3 to 8, in Sanya, China.

The festival handed out its Golden Coconut Award for the best picture to Mokri’s film at the award ceremony, ISNA reported.

The film, which world premiered in Busan’s Visions–Asia section, has been screened in festivals in London and Chicago so far. The 139-minute movie is a production of Tajikistan and the UAE and has been selected as Tajikistan’s submission to the 98th Academy Awards.

The award was presented by famous actress Juliette Binoche, the head of the jury, and the renowned producer Marco Müller, who served as the artistic director of the festival.

Amir Esbati, the production designer of the film, received the award as Mokri and Nagar Eskandarfar, the producer of the film, had attended the Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia and the Singapore International Film Festival in Singapore, respectively, at the time of the award ceremony.

However, Shahram Mokri had sent his appreciation text to the festival, which was read by Esbati on the stage.

The international distribution and distribution of the film is handled by DreamLab Films company, managed by Nasrin Mirshab, and it is planned to appear on a theatrical tour in China after the festival. 

“Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” will also take part in the competition section of the International Film Festival of Kerala in India, from December 12 to December 19. 

Mokri develops multiple plot strands in this engrossing, multilayered, playful, and skilled drama centering around Sarah, the victim of a suspicious car crash who is swaddled in bandages and at odds with her controlling husband. 

What turns out to be a film-within-a-film-within-a-film zooms out to include the remake of a classic Iranian movie in Tajikistan, a prop master worried about a prop gun, and an actress looking for her big break. Of course, their fates collide through multiple fluid, bravura circular takes, often covering the same time frame, bold touches of magical realism, and an eternal mystery.

In this spinning story, Mokri adheres to Anton Chekhov’s principle that every element introduced must pay off – each detail turns into both promise and distraction, its meaning fractured across mirrored scenes, time loops, and reenactments. 

The continuous long take becomes a choreography of precision and misdirection, shaping what is seen and believed. Mokri exposes how cinema deceives by allowing it to perform its own paradox: sleight of hand and its undoing.

The cast of the 2025 movie includes Babak Karimi, Hasti Mohammaï, Kibriyo Dilyobova, and Bezhan Davlyatov, among others.

This year's edition of the Hainan Island International Film Festival set a new benchmark, receiving a record-breaking 4,564 film submissions from 119 countries and regions, totaling over 2,900 hours of footage-making it the most international and diverse festival to date.

The star-studded lineup of film luminaries led masterclasses on various aspects of cinema. Attendees included Canadian director James Cameron, French actress Juliette Binoche, Italian film producer Marco Mueller, and Chinese production designer Hwarng Wern-ying. They shared insights on film art, international film curation, performing arts, and technological storytelling.

Additionally, the festival hosted the Chinese premiere of the latest installment of Cameron's “Avatar” series on December 8, giving lucky audiences in Sanya the chance to catch the film ahead of its nationwide release on December 19.

HIIFF is co-hosted by China Media Group and the People’s Government of Hainan Province. It is held annually in the city of Sanya, China. It aims to promote international culture exchanges and collaborations, enhancing innovative development in the film industry, and fostering creativity in filmmaking.

SS/SAB