The Silk Road Film Festival (SRFF), which wrapped last week in Dublin, held screenings for 7 days across the city on Asian, Arab, Persian and Middle Eastern cinema.
Professional filmmakers, student filmmakers and guests enjoyed a variety of film screenings, SRFF featured exhibitions, chats with industry guests, seminars and a masterclass with Iranian Cinematographer Mahmoud Kalari. Kalari’s four-hour masterclass presented a Scene by Scene breakdown of award winning films ‘A Separation’ (Jodái-e Náder az Simin) and ‘Fish & Cat’ (Mahi Va Gorbeh). The presentation was followed by a Q&A session, which was chaired by Award Winning Irish Director and Cinematographer Michael Lavelle (Patrick’s Day). Kalari received the Silk Road Film Festival 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award for Master of Cinematography and was presented with the award by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Oisin Quinn, during the Opening Ceremony at the Lord Mayor’s Mansion House.
Other special guests who attended the festival include Sam Lahoud and Nicolas Khabbaz from Notre Dame University International Film Festival, Iranian Director Khashayar Mahmoodabadi and Amir Hossein Haghighi of Haghighi Persian Carpets.
The festival, which received submissions from 29 countries, handed out a number of student awards sponsored by Production Minds including Best Student Animation to Gavin Hoffman and Eoin Coakley for ‘Complicit’ and Best Student Documentary/Film to Sarah Lafferty for ‘Mama’s Boy’. The Silk Road Awards went to Masahiro Yoshino for Best Actor (Ningen); Ezgi Asaroglu for Best Actress (A Fall from Heaven); Shinichi Tsunoda for Best Cinematography (Ningen); Babak Nazari for Best Animation (Sugarland); and Cagla Zencirci and Guillaume Giovanetti for Best Director (Noor) among many more.
Founders/Directors of Silk Road Film Festival, Carla Mooney, Delwyn Mooney and Steinar Oli Jonsson, highlighted the main aim of the festival is to assist filmmakers to diversify and learn about cinema from these regions and help them network and promote their work internationally.
For more information about the SRFF and its activities, as well as for regular updates about Arab, Middle Eastern and Asian films, filmmakers and festivals go to Silk Road Film Festival.com
