Iranian doc wins jury special award at TRT festival

TEHRAN,May 12(MN) -- Iranian documentary “Mokan” won a special jury award at the TRT 2012 Documentary Awards in Istanbul on May 7. Directed by 32-year-olf filmmaker Mohammad-Ali Hashemzehi, the documentary is about an old Iranian couple, which leave their home in a city to spend the rest of their life cultivating palm trees in a remote town in Sistan-Baluchestan Province. “Time Passing”, a documentary about Iranian musician Nader Mashayekhi and the efforts he made to revive the Tehran Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2008, also won another special jury award of the event. The documentary has been directed by Dutch filmmaker Frank Scheffer, who has helmed “To Be or Not to Be”, which is biopic on Mashayekhi. Turkish film expert Mehmet Demirhan, Bulgarian director Atanas Hristoskov, Korean film expert Dae Hyun Cho, Tunisian TV producer and director Abdelmajid Jallouli, Danish film expert Ove Rishoj Jensen, Uzbek director, actor and scriptwriter Nozim Tulyakhodjaev, Albanian director and scriptwriter Pluton Vasi, and Polish director Piotr Zlotorowicz were the members of the jury. The film was screened in the international competition section, was added to the festival in 2010. The documentary festival, which is held annually by the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT), was established in 2009.