26th Fajr International Film Festival

The 26th International Fajr Film Festival were held from February 1 to February 11, 2008 in Tehran, Iran. It consisted of seven competitions: "Seeking the Truth" ( Competition of Spiritual Cinema), "Eye for the Real" (Competition of Iranian Documentary Cinema) held in two subsections for "long films" and "short and medium-length films", "Contending for Symorgh" (Competition of Iranian Cinema — Featured Films), "Eastern Vista" (Competition of Asian Cinema), "World Panorama" (International Competition) in two subsections for "short films" and "featured films". [Cite web|url=http://www.fajrfestival.ir/english/Fajr/asp/competition_head.asp| title = Fajr Festival Competitions | accessdate=2008-02-11| publisher = FajrFestival.ir] Awards were given to the winners in the closing ceremony on February 11. [Cite web|url = http://www.fajrfestival.ir/farsi/Fajr/asp/awards_head.asp|title = The Winners of 26th Fajr International Film Festival| accessdate = 2008-02-11]

National Films

Featured Films

*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: “As Simple As This” produced by Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: Majid Majidi for “The Song of Sparrows”
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: “As Simple As This” jointly written by Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi and Shadmehr Rastin
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Actor: Amin Hayai (“Night”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Actress: Hengameh Ghaziani (“As Simple As This”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Supporting Actor: Mohsen Tanabandeh (“A Testimonial For God”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Supporting Actress: Mahtab Nasirpour (“The Son Of Soil”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Editor: Hasan Hasandoost (“The Song of Sparrows”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Cinematographer: Hosein Jafarian (“The Wall”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Composer: Hossein Alizadeh (“The Song of Sparrows”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Makeup Artist: Saeid Malekan (“The Song of Sparrows”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Sound: Iraj Shahzadi (“Green Fire”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Costume and Stage Designer: Zhila Mehrjouei and Sholeh Navab Tehrani (“Green Fire”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Special Effects: Hosein Talabeigi (“Flags Of The Castle Of Kaveh”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best First Film Director: Seyyed Rouhollah Hejazi (“In The Middle of Clouds”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film (Spectators' Choice): “A Women Is Always Involved” produced by Mohsen Aliakbari

hort Films

*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Short Film: “Boomerang” directed by Dariush Gharibzadeh

Documentaries

*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Documentary Filmmaker: Mehdi Moniri (“Tinar”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Short Documentary Filmmaker: Hamed Khosravi (“The Gloomy Song of Mountains”)

Spiritual Films

*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: “The Island” by Popel Lotkin
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: “The Professor And His Favorite Equation” by Takashi Kuizomi
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: “The Son Of Soil” jointly written by Mohammad Ali Ahangar and Mohammad Reza Gohari

Inter-religious Films

*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: “Musicbox” by Farzad Motamen

International Films

*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: “Wind Waves In The Meadow” by Jozan Film Institute
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Juries Special Award: “Très bien, merci” produced by Paulo Branco and directed by Emmanuelle Cuau (Portugal)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: Semih Kaplanoglu (Turkey) for “Yumurta” (The Egg)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: “El Violin” (The Violin) by Francisco Vargas (Mexic)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film (Spectators' Choice): “Très bien, merci”
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Technical And Artistic Achievement: Özgür Eken (“Yumurta”)

Asian Films

*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Film: “In The Historical Expectancy” by Katsuyuki Avana
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Director: Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi (“As Simple As This”)
*Crystal Simorgh Prize for Best Screenplay: “As Simple As This” jointly written by Seyyed Reza Mirkarimi and Shadmehr Rastin

References