TEHRAN -- Masud Naqashzadeh’s “The Child and The Angel” was selected best film of the festival this year and gathered a total of four awards at the 23rd Hamedan International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults.

The movie tells the story of a girl named Fereshteh and her 11-year-old nephew who have lost their family in Khorramshahr during the Iran-Iraq war. Mona Ahmadi, Mohammad Reza Zadsorur, Afshin Hashemi, Qasem Zare, and Shabnam Moqadami are among the cast.
The winners of the 23rd edition of the gala were awarded Golden Butterflies during the closing ceremony of the five-day event on August 6.
The ceremony began with a short speech delivered by government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham and Deputy Culture Minister for Cinematic Affairs Mohammadreza Jafari-Jelveh. The jury then presented awards.
Following is a list of winners in the major sections of the event:
* Iranian Films Section
Best Film: “The Child and the Angel”
Best Director: Gholamreza Ramezani “Playmate”
Best Screenplay: “The Child and the Angel” (Masud Naqashzadeh)
* Full-Length Video
Best Film: “Wings of Happiness” (Behruz Shoeibi)
Jury Special Award: “12 Days” (Mostafa Qorbanpur)
Best Young Actor: Parsa Nasirian “Wings of Happiness”, Mohammad-Javad Jafarpur “12 Days”
Best Young Actress: Sogol Nosrati “Legend of the Sun” and Mona Ahmadi “Child and Angel”
* International Section
Best Asian Film: “The Child and the Angel” by Masud Naqashzadeh (Iran)
Best Short Video: “Varmints” by Marc Craste (England)
Best Long Video: “Wings of Happiness” by Behruz Shoeibi and “Someone is On the Way Coming” by Rahbar Qanbari (Iran)
Best Animation: “Twilight” (Mohammad-Ali Soleimanzadeh)
Best Young Actor: Mehrshad Esfandiari “Someone is On the Way Coming”
Best Screenplay: “The Piano Forest” by Masayuki Kojima (Japan)
Best Director: Atalay Tasdiken for “Mommo” (Turkey)
Jury Special Award: “Cosmic Boy” by Alê Abreu (Brazil)
* Short Film
Best Film: “Snowy Moms” by Peyman Nahan-Qodrati
* Animation
Best Animation: “Don’t Eat Your Neighbor” (Mahmud Nafisi)
Jury Special Award: “Proof Box” by Babak Nazari
* Short Video
Best Video: “A Beautiful Snowy Day” by Mahaya Petrosian and Amir Tudeh-Rusta
The new section named ECO members’ children’s cinema of this edition granted its award to “Paint and Painting” by Mehdi Jafari (Iran) and “Mommo” by Atalay Tasdiken (Turkey).
The jury also dedicated its special award to “The Flight of Ducks” by Ali Shah-Hatami.
Members of the children’s jury handed their award to “A Span of the Sky” by Ali Vazirian.
Five foreign cineastes judged this edition of the festival which ran from August 2 to 6 in Hamedan.
Iranian filmmakers Rasul Sadr Ameli and Ebrahim Foruzesh accompanied by foreign children’s cinema experts Lucia Rikaki, Luiza Lins, Handan Ipekçi, Veda Kumar, and Hassan Alilash were also on the jury.
A variety of programs, side section activities, and commemoration ceremonies were held during the event. Three Iranian movies competed in the international section of the festival, which welcomed 14 films from 12 countries.
The gala also included a program in which tributes were paid to filmmakers Ali Shah-Hatamni, Masud Karamati, and the late author of “Good Stories for Good Children,” Mehdi Azar Yazdi.
Caption: Hamedan International Film Festival for Children and Young Adults poste