“Fireworks Wednesday” lights up Kerala

The Iranian family drama “Fireworks Wednesday” (2006) won the Best Film Award of the 11th International Film Festival of Kerala at the closing ceremony of the Indian gala on Friday evening.

Also known as “Chaharshanbeh-Suri”, the movie is about a family in which the wife doubts her husband’s loyalty. Everything seems to indicate that the wife suffers from melancholia, but things turn out differently.

Starring Iranian superstar Hedyeh Tehrani along with Hamid Farrokhnejad and Taraneh Alidusti, "Chaharshanbeh-Suri" was awarded Crystal Simorghs for best director, best editing, and best actress at the 24th Fajr International Film Festival. The film also won the audience favorite award at the festival, which was held in Tehran in late January.

In addition, the movie won the Best Film Gold Hugo of the 42nd Chicago International Film Festival and the Junior Jury 3rd Prize of the 59th Locarno International Film Festival.

“Full or Empty”, “The Gaze”, “Cease-Fire”, “It’s Winter”, “Offside”, “Scream of the Ants”, and “From Afar” were the other Iranian films that competed in the Kerala festival.

Several Iranian films by prominent filmmakers such as Abbas Kiarostami, Bahman Farmanara, Sohrab Shahid-Sales, Dariush Mehrjuii, and Amir Naderi were also screened in the festival’s Early Iranian Cinema section.