Israeli director wins prize at Iranian film festival

The film was co-produced between Nepal and the UK, with the participation of the companies Blue Shadows and 168 Wardour Filmworks.

By HANNAH BROWN
Ashmina (photo credit: Courtesy)
Ashmina
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Israel-born director Dekel Berenson’s movie, Ashmina, won a special jury prize at the Tehran Short Film Festival, which ended on Saturday night.
The film, which won an award at a festival in Iraq last month, is set in Nepal and tells the story of a girl who works with paragliding tourists. It does not take place in Israel and does not feature Israeli characters. The Britain-based Berenson did not identify it as an Israeli film at the festival.
However, Berenson is from Israel and served in the IDF. He left Israel in 2001 to study abroad. It seems unlikely that a film by any IDF veteran has ever won a prize at a film festival in Iran, at least not since the Islamic Revolution 40 years ago.
The film was co-produced between Nepal and the UK, with the participation of the companies Blue Shadows and 168 Wardour Filmworks.
In addition to prizes in Iran and Iraq, Ashmina won top prizes at the Krakow Film Festival and the Jerusalem Film Festival, which makes it eligible to be considered for a Best Short Film Oscar nomination and it is expected to be on the Oscar shortlist for Best Live Action Short Film, when the list is released next month. Last year, Israeli director Guy Nattiv won an Oscar in this category with his film, Skin.