TEHRAN — Iranian filmmaker Behnam Asadollahi’s short film “White Death” has won an award at the 10th TOKYO TANPEN fest. in Japan, marking its first international festival appearance.
Written and directed by Asadollahi, the 12-minute film was selected for the festival’s First Select in the General category, which featured 26 films. The 10th edition received 357 submissions from 57 countries and regions. The First Select screenings were held Sept. 29-30 in Tokyo.
“White Death” explores human relationships and social issues through themes of love and forgetting.
Asadollahi, an independent filmmaker born in Ardabil, is a cinema graduate and has made seven short films. His work has been screened at more than 60 national and international film festivals.
His previous films include “The Worse Than Believing in a Dream,” “Speaker,” “Heavy Shadows of the Crow,” “Frequency,” “Silent” and “Good Handwriting.”
“White Death” was produced by Abbas Adali and stars Touran Ghorbani Sadegh, Jalal Muhammadlou, Abbas Adali and Parisa Atash-Sard. Armin Daneshvar is the cinematographer, Yaser Hassani is production and costume designer, Reza Saheb-Nazar is makeup designer, and Zahra Pasandi is assistant director.
Following its Japanese festival appearance, “White Death” is also competing at the Culture X Frames Filmfestival in Innsbruck, Austria.
The Iranian Youth Cinema Society (IYCS) has maintained an active branch in Ardabil since 1985. The society has nearly 4,000 members nationwide and operates offices in several cities across Ardabil province, supporting filmmaking and cinema-related activities.
Ardabil province, home to the city of Ardabil, is located in northwestern Iran and comprises 12 counties.