“Yalda” to compete in Pyeongchang Intl. Peace Film Festival

TEHRAN –(Iranart)- Iranian director Masud Bakhshi’s movie “Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” will be screened at the 2nd Pyeongchang International Peace Film Festival as the organizers have recently announced the official lineup.

Seven other films will be competing in this category of the festival, which will be running in the South Korean city of Pyeongchang from June 18 to 23. 

“Yalda” is a co-production of Iran, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Lebanon, and it will be competing in the International Feature Competition category of the festival with three films from Korea and four from other countries. 

Yalda is about a young woman, Maryam, who has been sentenced to death for murdering her husband, Nasser. Iranian law allows for the victim’s family to forgive her and spare her life, so Maryam’s fate will be decided by Nasser’s daughter, Mona, on the country’s most popular televised reality show. 

In front of millions of viewers during Yalda, the winter solstice celebration, Maryam and Mona discover that forgiveness can be difficult as they relive the past.

“Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness” received the Grand Jury Prize of the World Cinema Dramatic section at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah in February.

“A Distance Place” by Kunyoung Park, “Dust and Ashes” by Hee-kwon Park, and “Way Back Home” by Sunjoo Park are the three movies from South Korea competing in the official section of the Pyeongchang festival. 

Other movies are “Identifying Features”, a co-production of Mexico and Spain by Fernanda Valadez, “Nafi’s Father” by Mamadou Dia from Senegal, “Negative Numbers” by Uta Beria from Georgia and “Tony Driver” by Ascanio Petrini from Italy.

source: Tehran Times