Tehran – The latest film by famous Iranian filmmaker Shalam Mokli, entitled “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” will premiere the world at the 30th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) held in Korea from September 17th to 26th.
Mokri’s fifth feature film, selected for the Vision-Asia section, is a co-production between Tajikistan and the United Arab Emirates, deals with the fate of three who are intertwined through apparently unrelated events, Isna reports.
The director is reworking a classic Iranian film in Tajikistan. Studio Armorer worries that the guns they use are not prop guns, they fear consequences. A young woman arrives at the location and claims that she will be given an audition. At the same time, in another part of town, Sarah has recently recovered from a car accident, but suddenly realizes that her accident is all part of a conspiracy. The fates of these people are inevitably intertwined.
The 139-minute film cast includes Babak Karimi, Hasti Momai, Kibrillo Dilyobova and Bezan Daviliatov.
According to film producer Negar Eskanderfer, “We are also planning to release it in Iran at the same time as the foreign festival.”
Eskanderfer, who also produced Mokri’s previous film, “A Crime of Carelessness,” described “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” as a continuation of Mokri’s filmmaking process. “This film is a complicated story of the fate of three people whose events in life seem superficially unrelated.”
“This is the best film Shahlam Mokri has made in his film career, and more importantly, I think Mokri himself believes this and considers this film his best film,” she added.
Shahram Mokri, 47, won the Venice Film Festival Horizons Award in 2013 for her second feature film, Fish & Cat.
In 2018, his third film, “Invasion,” was screened at the 68th Berlin Film Festival and was nominated for a Teddy Award.
He also won the silver Hugo Medal at the Chicago Film Festival in the main section and won the Venice Critics’ Best Screenplay Award for his fourth film, “Crime of Carelessness.”
Mokri is a founding member of the ISFA Cinema House Short Film Association. He also served on the association’s board of directors for three terms. In 2003 he was named the nation’s best youth in the arts field by the National Youth Organization. He was nominated for the 2013 Asia Pacific Screen Award for Director of “Fish and Cat.”
All of his films were huge successes, both by film critics and by the masses. Mokli also sits on ju judges at several international film festivals, including the 78th Mosta Internationale Real Arte Cinematography, Venice, the 57th Chicago International Film Festival, and the 2021 Orizonti Ju judge at the 75th Locarno International Film Festival in 2022.
Dedicated to discovering and introducing exceptional Korean and Asian films, the Busan International Film Festival brings exceptional films to global audiences while solidifying Busan’s identity as a mecca for Asian cinema and visual culture.
Widely regarded as an acclaimed film festival in Asia, Biff plays a pivotal role in shaping the region’s cinematic landscapes, proudly rising up alongside famous film festivals around the world.
Photo: “Black Rabbit, White Rabbit” scene by Shahram Mokri
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