LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Wednesday night, The 5th Annual Noor Iranian Film Festival (www.noorfilmfestival.com) (NIFF)—an international event that educates the non-Iranian community about the culture and heritage of Iranians through the medium of cinema—presented awards for its 2012 line-up of competition films. Each film features a theme about Iran and/or Iranian talent—either in front of or behind the camera. Over 300 celebrities, VIPs and filmmakers were in attendance. The red carpet Awards Ceremony was held at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony was co-hosted by David Diaan and Melissa Shoshani with a special performance by the Beshkan Dance Academy.
The festival kicked-off on Friday, August 3rd at Laemmle's Music Hall in Beverly Hills. A special screening of "A Separation"—directed by Asghar Farhadi, and the first Iranian film to win the Oscar® for Best Foreign Film—took place on Tuesday, August 7th as the Closing Night film. The event was presented by festival co-founder, director and producer Siamak Ghahremani and sponsored by Emirates Airlines, Ritmo Mundo Watches, Pars Equality Center, Guard-A-Heart and Enlite Community.
2012 NIFF winners are:
Audience Favorite – "The Iran I Remember," by director Morteza Rezvani.
Best Feature Film – "Losing Her," by directors Dave Moutray and Shahaub Roudbari.
Best Feature Film Director – Esmaeel Mihandoust for "A Very Close Encounter."
Best Documentary – "Be Like Others," by director Tanaz Eshaghian.
Best Documentary Director – Beate Petersen for "Nasseredin Shah and his 84 Wives."
Best Story – "My City Pizza," by director Ala Mohensi.
Best Short Film – "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night," by director Ana Lily Amirpour.
Best Short Film Director – Ana Lily Amirpour for "Pashmaloo."
This year's jury included: actor Tony Plana ("Ugly Betty," "An Officer and a Gentleman"); one of Iran's most legendary actors, Behrouz Vossoughi; Award winning Iranian-American writer and journalist Homa Sarshar; actor Navid Negahban ("Homeland," "The Stoning of Soraya M"); and Emmy® Award winning actor Kristoff St. John.
Ghahremani says, "This was a landmark year for us, being the festival's fifth anniversary. We were thrilled to hold our 5th Annual Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles in order to bridge the gap between Iranian and non-Iranian communities. With the success of recent movies such as 'A Separation' and 'Circumstance,' Iranian films are receiving more recognition and attention than ever."
In 2005, Iranian-born Siamak Ghahremani co-founded the Noor Iranian Film Festival (with actor Anthony Azizi), and the inaugural international event occurred in 2007. ("Noor" means "light" or "knowledge.") Two years of planning and orchestration were required due to this being the first competition Iranian Film Festival outside of Iran, as well as the first Iranian-American Red Carpet event.
Competition films on the 2012 slate included: "The Iran Job," "4 Minutes," "Bitter Milk" and "A Very Close Encounter." A full list of the films can be found online at www.noorfilmfestival.com.
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