2019 film directed by Massoud Bakhshi
Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness Film poster
Directed by Massoud Bakhshi Screenplay by Massoud Bakhshi Produced by
Jacques Bidou
Marianne Dumoulin
Ali Mosaffa
Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu
Bady Minck
Starring Cinematography Julian Atanassov Edited by Jacques Comets Production companies
Distributed by
Pyramide International
Little Dream Entertainment
Release dates
1 February 2019 (2019-02-01 ) (FIFF )
26 January 2020 (2020-01-26 ) (Sundance )
Running time
89 minutes Countries
Iran
France
Germany
Switzerland
Luxembourg
Language Persian Box office $354,395[citation needed ]
Yalda, a Night for Forgiveness (Persian : یلدا، شبی برای بخشش ; original title: Yalda , Persian: یلدا ) is a 2019 Iranian drama film directed by Massoud Bakhshi.
Plot
The storyline of is based on an actual top-rated Iranian reality television show. In this story, a young woman convicted of the murder of her much older husband faces the next-of-kin of the victim (his daughter), who has the power to grant her forgiveness and save the perpetrator from the death penalty . The young woman must plead for her life, while viewers can vote by sms to help avoid the penalty by getting the sponsors to pay for the blood money .[ 1] [ 2]
The actual TV show Mah-e Asal (meaning “Honey Moon”), aired daily from 2007 to 2018 during the Islamic religious festival of Ramadan , and often collaborated with Iran’s judicial system , which is based on Islamic law and includes the "eye for an eye " principle. The film has been transposed to Yaldā Night , an Iranian festival celebrated on the night of the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere .[ 1]
Cast
Release
Yalda premiered at the Fajr International Film Festival on 1 February 2019. It was selected for Sundance Film Festival in its 2020 edition .[citation needed ]
The film was selected for the Adelaide Film Festival , Thalin International Film Festival, Warsaw International Film Festival , Brisbane International Film Festival , Lugano International Film Festival, Luxembourg International Film Festival, Helsinki International Film Festival , Vancouver International Film Festival , and Cork International Film Festival , among others.[ 3] [ 2]
Awards
The film won the Grand Jury Prize for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival , it won also the Grand prix Cinéma award of ELLE magazine , Best director award of Antalya International Film Festival 2020, Best Screenplay at the Sofia International Film Festival , Best script in Barcelona International Film Festival , and the Circle Award in Washington DC Film Destival. It was also nominated for Lumières Award (equal to Golden Globe ) in France, and in various categories at the Bergen International Film Festival , Berlin International Film Festival , and the Pingyao International Film Festival .[ 4] [better source needed ]
References
External links