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Iranian Family Drama Wins at Berlin Film Festival

   VOA News  February 19, 2011
   The  cast  and  director  of  the  Iranian  film  Nader  and  Simin, A
   Seperation

Photo: AP / Markus Schreiber

   Iranian  actress  Leila  Hatami,  Director  Asghar  Farhadi, actresses
   Sarina  Farhadi  and Sareh Bayat , from left, attend a photocall about
   the  movie 'Nader and Simin, A Seperation' at the Berlin Film Festival
   on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2011.

   The Iranian drama "Nader and Simin: A Separation " won the Golden Bear
   award  for  the  best  picture  and  also picked up the best actor and
   actress prizes at the Berlin film festival Saturday.
   The  movie  directed  by Ashghar Farhadi portrays a marriage in crisis
   and  explores  Iran's  class divisions and a clash between traditional
   and modern ways of living and thinking.
   In  his acceptance speech, Farhadi paid tribute to fellow Iranian film
   maker  Jafar  Panahi,  who  was  unable  to come to Berlin after being
   sentenced  to  six  years  in  jail  and  banned  from film-making and
   traveling  for  20  years  on  charges  of  anti-government activity.Â
   Panahi  won  the best director award in 2009 for his movie "About Elly
   ."
   The  runner-up  prize,  the  Silver  Bear,  was  awarded  to Hungarian
   director Bela Tarr's for "The Turin Horse ."
   German  film  maker Ulrich Koehler won this year's best director award
   for  his  movie  "Sleeping  Sickness,"  while American director Joshua
   Marston  and  his  co-writer Andamion Murataj took the best screenplay
   award for "The Forgiveness of Blood ," a drama set in Albania.

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