TEHRAN- Iranian documentary “The Long Winter”, directed by Hassan Jafari, won the Best Film Award at the 10th International Documentary Film Festival of CIS Countries “Eurasia.Doc,” which concluded in Minsk, Belarus, on October 2.

The film was among the winners announced at the festival’s closing ceremony, receiving the Prize of the 10th CIS Documentary Film Festival “Eurasia.Doc” in the Best Film category, Mehr reported on Sunday. 

“The Long Winter”, a 44-minute documentary, tells the story of an elderly couple living in a village in northern Iran. The film follows the couple as they confront the difficulties of rural life and the wife’s illness, while facing a difficult decision over whether to remain in their village or move to the city.

Jafari directed the film, with Farzaneh Fathi as screenwriter, Farahbakhsh Farhadnia as cinematographer, Yasser Talebi as editor and Yasser Faryadras as producer.

The documentary was produced by the Nehzat Media Arts Center and the Documentary, Experimental and Animation Cinema Center.

Jafari has directed several documentary works, including “Forty Years of Love”, “Kijakarchal”, “Paradise”, and “Last Breaths”.

The 10th edition of Eurasia.Doc was held from September 28 to October 2 in Smolensk, Russia, and Minsk, Belarus. According to the festival’s official website, 361 films from 14 countries were submitted to the main competition, with 34 works eventually selected for the final competition.

The festival brought together documentary filmmakers, journalists, experts and audiences from several countries, with films addressing historical events, contemporary social issues, human experiences and developments in different societies.

The festival’s Grand Prix was awarded to the Russian documentary “39th Medical Unit: The Battle for Life”, directed by Anastasia Mikhailovskaya and Artem Somov. Other films receiving the Eurasia.Doc festival prize included Russia’s “Dulag 142 – Death Camp” and Belarus’ “The Untold War: Women’s Fate”.

SAB/