TEHRAN -- Iranian actor Mahdi Afshari has received the Best Actor in an Indie Film award at the September 2026 edition of the World Film Festival in Cannes – Remember The Future for his performance in the science-fiction short film Artificial man, written, directed and produced by Iranian filmmaker Pouya Golpour.
According to the festival’s official September 2026 results, Artificial man received recognition in several categories. Golpour won Best Director Short Film, while Sharareh Sadri received the Best Actress in a Short Film award and Aylin Homauon was named Best Young Actress in a Short Film. The film also won Best Asian Film in the festival’s World Mosaic Categories. The festival lists the awards under the country designation Iran.
Artificial man is a science-fiction short set in the near future, where artificial intelligence has advanced beyond human control and intelligent robots threaten the natural environment and human life. The film stars Afshari, Sadri and Homauon.
Afshari has appeared in a range of Iranian feature-length, medium-length and short films, including Taboo of Liro, Etude, Eleven Minutes, Diaspora, The Best Event, Sunny Nights, The Hands of the Clock, Rattle, The Last Envelope and Delivery. He has also worked as an assistant director and director’s adviser.
As a filmmaker, Afshari directed the short film Metamorphosis, which has been screened at several international film festivals.
The World Film Festival in Cannes – Remember The Future 
is a hybrid international film festival featuring monthly and annual competitions. Its program includes independent films, short and feature films, documentaries, animation, experimental cinema and acting categories.
The festival announced its September 2026 results on September 27. Iranian filmmaker Ghazaleh Mazinani also received the Best Experimental Film award for her film Staccato.
With its September results, Artificial man received five recognitions in total: four individual awards for its cast and director, along with the Best Asian Film award.