TEHRAN- Iranian actress Shabnam Qorbani has been honored with the Golden Crane award for Best Actress at the 4th edition of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) International Film Festival for her performance in the feature film “The Gambler.”

The award was presented during the festival's closing ceremony on Sunday evening, Mehr reported. 

In the absence of Qorbani at the closing ceremony, the film's director, Mohsen Bahari, accepted the prize. In a symbolic move, Bahari attended the ceremony wearing a garment featuring the "Minab 168" design, symbolizing a tribute to the martyred children of Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab. 

During his acceptance speech, Bahari dedicated the award to the memory of children in Minab who were killed during the initial strikes by the United States and the Zionist regime against Iran. 

He recalled that two missiles directly targeted a school in Minab, resulting in the martyrdom of 168 students and teachers, including children as young as seven to twelve years old. "We dedicate this award to their souls, and we are certain that with their own small hands, they will seek their own justice," Bahari stated.

“The Gambler,” a social-mystery thriller produced by the Farabi Cinema Foundation, competed in the official selection of the international event. The film has already gained critical acclaim and international recognition, securing two awards at festivals in North Macedonia and Kyrgyzstan. The international distribution of the film is managed by the International Affairs Department of the Farabi Cinema Foundation.

The film features a cast composed of Kourosh Tahami, Armin Rahimian, Shabnam Qorbani, Amir Norouzi, Roshan Rostampour, and Emad Emami. 

The plot centers on a high-stakes cyber-attack targeting one of the country's banks during the 12-day war against Iran. The narrative follows an expert agent who grows suspicious of one of the bank's programmers, sparking a tense race to uncover the truth and safeguard national security.

On February 28, the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province, became the site of a devastating massacre as the United States and Israel initiated their strikes against Iran. 

While dozens of girls and boys aged between 7 and 12 were beginning their lessons, the school was targeted by a missile strike that caused the building to collapse, trapping children and teachers beneath the rubble. Iranian authorities confirmed a final death toll of 168 people, with at least 95 others wounded, marking one of the most harrowing incidents of the conflict's opening day.

Despite attempts by US and Israeli authorities to distance themselves from the carnage as images of the tragedy spread across social media, detailed forensic and digital investigations have painted a starkly different picture. 

An analysis by Al Jazeera’s digital investigations unit, utilizing over a decade of satellite imagery and recent video clips, revealed that the school was a clearly distinct civilian facility, separated from any adjacent military sites for at least ten years. Furthermore, witness accounts and satellite-based analyses confirmed that the school was triple tapped by three separate, deliberate strikes, leaving no doubt about the nature of the attack.

The international community has faced mounting evidence regarding the responsibility for this atrocity, with investigations from major global outlets including The New York Times, BBC Verify, CBC, and NPR all concluding that the United States was responsible for the strike. 

These findings have raised fundamental questions about the intelligence used to justify the bombing, as the patterns of the strike suggest a direct targeting of a civilian educational institution. The Minab school tragedy now stands as a somber testament to the immense human cost of the aggression and a focal point for those demanding international accountability.

Photo: Iranian director Mohsen Bahari (R) accepts the Best Actress award on behalf of Shabnem Qorbani during the closing ceremony of the 4th SCO International Film Festival on July 19, 2026. 
 

SAB/