TEHRAN -- Mehrdad Oskouei’s documentary, which follows a young Afghan artist’s attempts to leave Iran, adds another major prize to its international festival run.
A Fox Under a Pink Moon, directed by Iranian filmmaker Mehrdad Oskouei with Soraya Akhlaghi, has won the Best Documentary award at the Durban International Film Festival in South Africa, according to the film’s Iranian producers.
The award adds to an increasingly prominent international festival run for the documentary, which won Best Film in the International Competition at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2025.
The film follows Akhlaghi, a young Afghan artist living in Iran, over five years as she attempts to reach Europe and reunite with her mother in Austria. Much of the film was recorded by Akhlaghi herself on a mobile phone, while Oskouei directed remotely. The resulting work combines self-filmed documentary material with her drawings, sculptures and animation, creating a portrait that moves between personal testimony and artistic expression.
At Durban, the film competed in the festival’s official documentary competition. The 2026 Durban International Film Festival designated its Best Documentary award as an Academy Award-qualifying prize, making the festival an important stop for
 films pursuing a path toward Oscar consideration.
The film has continued to build an international profile since its IDFA success. At the 2026 Millennium Docs Against Gravity festival in Poland, it received the FIPRESCI Award, the Amnesty International Poland Award and a special mention in the main competition.
The unusual production process is central to the film. Akhlaghi recorded her own life and experiences with a phone, sending the footage to Oskouei, who worked with her remotely. International festival materials describe the film as a hybrid of documentary, autobiographical cinema and animation, with Akhlaghi functioning simultaneously as its subject, cinematographer and co-creator.
The film is produced by Oskouei Films, with French sales company Cat&Docs handling its international distribution. It has been selected for festivals including IDFA, CPH, Sydney and Millennium Docs Against Gravity, among others.
The Durban prize strengthens the film’s position on the international documentary circuit and its campaign for further recognition during the 2026 awards season.