Iranian films to compete in San Francisco festival

TEHRAN,April 7(MNA) -- Two Iranian films will compete in the 26th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival, which will be held from April 25 to May 9. “The Last Step” directed by Ali Mosaffa is an entry in the New Directors section of the festival and “Downpour” by Bahram Beizaii will be screened in the World Cinema section of the event. “The Last Step”, which is an adaptation of James Joyce’s short story “The Dead”, is about Leila, a movie superstar who is mourning over the loss of her husband. On the set of her film, she suddenly finds herself totally powerless to control her laughter before the camera and no one could ever guess the reason behind the hysteria that began at the scene of her husband’s death. “Downpour”, a black and white film, which was produced in 1971, is about an educated teacher who is transferred to a poor, conservative area—and becomes involved with a student’s beautiful older sister. Founded in 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. Held each spring for two weeks, the festival is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation, featuring some 150 films and live events with more than 100 filmmakers in attendance and nearly two dozen awards presented for cinematic excellence.