“The Past” wins Prize of Ecumenical Jury at Cannes

TEHRAN,May 27(MNA) -- Oscar winning Iranian director Asghar Farhadi’s latest family drama “The Past” won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, organizers announced on Saturday. The film is about an Iranian man, who has ongoing domestic problems with his French wife. He deserts her and his two children to go back to his homeland, Iran. “How do we take responsibility for our past mistakes? In a thriller style, the director shows the daily life of a stepfamily, where everyone’s secrets and the complex relationships gradually disentangle. A dense, deep and engaging film that illustrates this verse: ‘The truth will make you free’ (John, 8:32),” the jury wrote in a press release. The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury is an independent film award, which was established in 1974 by Christian filmmakers, critics and other film professionals. “It honours works of artistic quality which bear witness to the power of films to reveal the mysterious depths of human beings through what concerns them, their hurts and failings as well as their hopes,” the group wrote in its constitution. The Ecumenical Jury is composed of 6 members who are nominated by SIGNIS for the Catholics and Interfilm for the Protestants. SIGNIS and Interfilm also appoint ecumenical juries at the Berlin International Film Festival, the Locarno International Film Festival, the Montreal World Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and several other film festivals. Farhadi’s “A Separation” also won the prize at Berlin International Film Festival in 2011.