TEHRAN – The cultural attaché of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Russia announced that three Iranian films have been submitted to the secretariat of the first Open Eurasian Film Awards “Diamond Butterfly”, scheduled to be held in Moscow, Russia, on November 27th.
IRNA quoted Masoud Ahmadvand as saying, “Following the announcement of the Iranian Film Institute and the decision of the National Selection Committee, the films “Whisper My Name” directed by Rasoul Sadlamari, “In the Arms of a Tree” directed by Babak Khajepasha, and “My Daughter’s Hair” directed by Hessam Faramand have been officially submitted by Iran to the awards office.
“Whisper My Name” won the Crystal Simurgh Award for Best Film at the 43rd Fajr Film Festival in February.
The story is about Jiba, a teenage student and working girl. Living in a dormitory with no connection to her parents, she dreams of moving into her own room. She struggles to find her way to independence, but everything becomes even more complicated when her father Koslo shows up. He ran away from a mental hospital to celebrate his daughter’s birthday with her.
“In the Arms of the Tree” is Iran’s official entry for the 2026 Oscars in the International Feature Film category.
The film premiered at the 41st Fajr Film Festival and won two Crystal Simurgh Awards: Best Film and Best Screenplay. Furthermore, it won the Special Jury Award at the 10th Asian World Film Festival held in California, and the Best World Feature Film Award at the 22nd Chennai International Film Festival held in India.
The film depicts Kimia, a young woman who is divorcing Farid. The two sons were unaware of their parents’ decision and lived a normal life, spending their days with great interest in each other. Now, the father wants to keep one of his sons, and the mother wants to keep the other son. They have to prepare their children for this separation and start teaching them to stay away from each other. Seeing the story of separation from the children’s perspective can give a new direction to a couple’s life.
Last month, “My Daughter’s Hair,” also known as “Raha,” won the Best Film award at Italy’s 23rd Alice Nella Citta Film Festival.
The drama follows a family struggling in an unstable economy. Tohid, his wife and children lead an average life. Tohid buys a used laptop with the money he earns from selling his daughter’s hair, which brings him temporary joy. However, a conflict soon arises with a wealthy family over the true ownership of the laptop. As tensions rise, Tohid faces a harsh reality that will change his life and the future of his family.
The main objective of the Open Eurasian Film Award “Diamond Butterfly” is to remind the world of the true mission of cinema, which leaves commercial success behind and addresses values, culture and universal essence. The Open Eurasian Film Awards are open to all countries that strive to preserve traditional values and respect their national culture.
The film awards have already been compared to the Oscars in scale and importance, and are said to be one of the most anticipated initiatives in the global film industry. This is the first important event of the Eurasian Academy of Cinematic Arts, uniting representatives of the film industry from all over the world and opening new spaces for creativity, cultural dialogue and support of national film initiatives.
To date, more than 20 countries have already applied to join the Academy. A total of 30 works have been submitted so far.
The winner of the “Best Picture” nomination will receive a prize worth $1 million, while the other 11 winners will receive $250,000 in prize money. In addition, all winners will receive the award’s symbol, the Diamond Butterfly. Each statuette is encrusted with approximately 5,000 diamonds and was designed by Yuri Kuper, a renowned artist who has exhibited his work more than 50 times around the world.
The creation of the Diamond Butterfly Film Awards comes at a time when global cultural dynamics are rapidly changing, with countries increasingly using art and film to foster understanding across borders and counter geopolitical divisions.
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