Iranian “Close Encounter” director Esmaeil Mihandust honored at Noor festival

TEHRAN,Aug.11(MNA) -- Iranian filmmaker Esmaeil Mihandust won the best director award for “A Very Close Encounter” at the Fifth Noor Iranian Film Festival in Los Angeles. Mihandust was not able to attend the closing ceremony of the festival, which was held on Wednesday, and the film’s star Anna Nemati accepted the award on his behalf. Running from August 3 to 8, the Noor Film Festival is an Iranian film festival held annually by U.S.-based Iranian cineastes to familiarize the non-Iranian community with the culture and heritage of Iranians around the world through the medium of cinema. Starring Ladan Mostofi, Shahrokh Forutanian and Sorush Sehhat, “A very Close Encounter” tells the story of a car accident on a highway.