TEHRAN – Iranian director and producer Ali Atshani’s comedy “Katyusha” has been named best film at the Love International Film Festival in Santa Monica, California in the U.S. on Saturday.

The film also brought Mahmud Atshani the award for best cinematographer, the Bita Film Company that is the distributor of the film announced.

“Katyusha” is about a middle-aged religious man, Khalil, who is supposed to take care of a spoiled son of a wealthy man as his bodyguard for a number of days. The gap between their social levels and worldviews creates some problems.

Atshani has made the comedy “1st Born” starring Val Kilmer, William Baldwin and “Prison Break” actor Robert Knepper.

As the first co-production between Iran and America, the film tells the story of a newlywed couple, Iranian-born Ben and his American wife Kate, who are living in California. When the couple’s first pregnancy faces complications, both sides of their family must come together — a rather complicated notion as Ben’s father Hamid is an anti-American Iranian politician, while Kate’s father Biden (Kilmer) is an American politician who takes a hardline stance against Iran.

Photo: Iranian director and producer Ali Atshani poses after accepting the best film award for his comedy “Katyusha” during the Love International Film Festival Santa Monica, CA in the U.S. on September 21, 2019.

MMS/YAW