Iranian Filmmaker Wins Best Director Award in Canada

At the closing ceremony on March 12, Abyar was presented the Directors Guild of Canada, British Columbia (DGC BC) Award for Best Direction for her film ‘Breath’, Cinematicket website reported.

Every section of the festival was judged by an independent jury of industry professionals and in the best direction category, the winner was chosen by the Directors Guild of Canada.

Written and directed by Abyar, ‘Breath’ follows the young, imaginative and joyful ‘Bahar’ as she grows up in Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution and the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. A deep and well-crafted film, it depicts a child’s complex experience of family, school, friendship, literacy and social ambition.

Born in Tehran, Abyar, 46, has written nearly 30 story and fiction books for children, young adults and adults. She has also made several short and feature-length documentaries. ‘Breath’ is her third feature film which received the award for the film with a ‘National View’ at the 34th Fajr Film Festival in 2016 and had a successful screening in Iran last year.

Her first and second films, ‘Objects in Mirror’ and ‘Track 143 respectively, have also won several awards at prestigious festivals overseas.

The 2017 edition of the VIWIFF showcased a total of 46 short and feature films (narrative, documentary, experimental and animation) made by established and emerging women filmmakers from around the world. The festival seeks to celebrate and promote women working in screen-based media.

Besides screening films, it offered question and answer sessions and panel discussions related to the films, artist talks, networking events and workshops.