TEHRAN – The Iranian short film “A Death for Life” written, directed, and produced by Mohammadreza Setarehshenas will represent Iran at the 15th International Haiku Amateur Little Film (HALF) Festival, set to be held in Kerala, India, from September 13 to 14.

Selected for the Mynoote Section, the one-minute film, shot in a single take (plan-sequence), tells the story of a female pigeon that dies, and whose mate also dies upon seeing the scene, IRNA reported.

The short film has been featured in various international festivals, such as the Kalakari International Film Festival in India, the Blow-Up Chicago International Arthouse Film Awards in the U.S., the La Boheme International Film Festival in Russia, and more.

It has also been a finalist at the Busan New Wave Short Film Festival in South Korea, was nominated at the Lancillotto al Cinema Film Festival in Italy, and won the Special Prize in the Experimental section of the Black Cat Award International Film Festival in Bolivia, among others.

Born in Gilan Province, north of Iran, Mohammadreza Setarehshenas, 35, began filmmaking in 2013. He holds a Master’s degree in cinema and is a university lecturer, instructor at the Iranian Youth Cinema Society, writer, cinematographer, editor, photographer, producer, and director.

He is also a filmmaking and photography instructor at the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in Gilan, and has served as a judge in four photography competitions at the same institute, among other roles. He has so far directed 10 short films, including “Twelve O’clock Position” and “D L s”.

Haiku Amateur Little Film Festival for short films of less than 5 minutes is being annually organized by Insight, the creative group, an association of amateur short filmmakers based at Palakkad, with operations worldwide.

“Haiku” refers to a very short form of Japanese poetry, used here to denote any kind of brevity in aesthetic creativity.

“Amateur” refers to a work created by its maker without the primary intention of making a profit. The meaning of “amateur” as something lacking professional quality does not apply in this context.

“Little” indicates the short duration of the film, defined as “a maximum of 5 minutes total runtime, including opening and closing credits.”

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