Iranian films win four awards at Kazan International Film Festival
Tehran - BORNA - The feature film "Land of Angels," written and directed by Babak Khajepasha and produced by Manouchehr Mohammadi, won three awards at the 22nd Kazan International Film Festival.
The film received the festival's Grand Prix for Best Film, the Best Actress award for Solaf Fawakhraji, and the Best Cinematography award for Alireza Brazandeh.
"Land of Angels" — a joint production of the City Image Institute and Soreh Cinema Organization — had previously been the most award-winning film at the 44th Fajr Film Festival, where it received five Crystal Simorghs and eight honorary diplomas. The film is among Iranian cinema's productions with international appeal and capacity, featuring Arab actors and offering a human portrayal of war and the crisis in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the documentary "Velaat," directed by Zahra Bagheri, won the festival's Best Documentary award.
The documentary tells the story of "Sayfoor," a 94-year-old man who returns to his submerged homeland after 50 years — a village that was flooded after the construction of a dam. While Sayfoor's family considers the journey futile, he sets out alone on a road trip that depicts the unbreakable bond between humans and their land and identity.
In addition to these two films, Iranian cinema was represented by several other works in various sections of the festival, including the short fiction film "Very Very Far and Very Close" directed by Ahmad Heydarian in the Short Fiction Competition; the animation "Chavak" directed by Hojir Asadi in the Animation section; the films "Raha" directed by Hesam Farahmand and "Fish on the Hook" directed by Mohi al-Din Mozaffar (a joint production of Iran and Tajikistan) in the "Russia — Islamic World" section; and the feature film "Muhammad: The Messenger of God" directed by Majid Majidi in the special section on top films about Islam.
The 22nd Kazan International Film Festival was held from September 4 to 8, 2026 (September 13 to 17 on the Iranian calendar) in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia.
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