Narges Abyar, the director of the Iranian drama, ‘When the Moon Was Full,’ said Estonian people were really involved with the story of the film and asked whether the film was made in locations of the real terrorists and what happened to the films characters then.
Although the Estonian people do not have enough information about Iran’s southern cities with common borders with Pakistan, they are completely aware of the concept of extremism which was displayed in the film.
The first screening of the film, also its first international debut, was on November 23. The film’s second and third screenings were on November 25 and November 30, all of which were received well by Estonian audiences.
Abyar said terrorism is discussed everywhere in today’s world and is still seen in Iraq and Syria. When several innocent people are being killed in terrorist attacks, we cannot remain indifferent to it. It is interesting that several Europeans have also been involved in terrorist acts and that is why the majority of Europeans feel the threat of the extremists. This feeling is clear when audiences in Estonia communicate with extremism displayed in the film and a lot of questions arise in their minds.
Abyar’s film won the audience award at the 23rd Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival on November 30.
“I dedicate this award to the people of Iran, as this is an award I received from the people and audiences,” Abyar said after accepting the award.
“I have good memories of this festival. I attended the festival three years ago and I won the best director award for ‘Breath’ at the event,” she added.
‘When the Moon Was Full’ tells the story of a woman from Tehran who marries a man from an Iranian province near the border of Pakistan. Soon after, she discovers that her new brother-in-law is a religious extremist trying to recruit her husband for his bloody cause.
The true love story had its premiere in Tehran during February at the 37th Fajr Film Festival where it won the Crystal Simorgh for best film and Abyar was named best director.
The movie also won Hootan Shakiba the award for best actor, while Elnaz Shakerdoost was crowned best actress for her role in the film.
IranDaily