Spotlight on Films from Iran at #WFA2016 #WFASoDiverse

NEW YORK - Feb. 6, 2016 - PRLog -- New York City’s rapidly growing Winter Film Awards (WFA) Indie Film Festival (http://winterfilmawards.com), now in its fifth year, is establishing itself as a dynamic and exciting event in the heart of the City. Winter Film Awards focuses on diversity in Independent Film, with a special emphasis on highlighting women and minority filmmakers. We showcase films from emerging filmmakers from around the world in all genres and seek to show our audience a dazzling array of entertaining cinematic content they would never have the opportunity to see otherwise.

Among the 86 Official Selections to be screened at Cinema Village in the heart of Greenwich Village (22 East 12th Street, New York, NY 10003), the WFA team is proud to showcase three amazing films from Iran, providing a fascinating overview of the best of the region’s indie film community.

*  Impression:XPS-160 Directed by Tiyam Yabandeh. Short, 14 mins, screens Sunday Feb 21, Block 6: 1PM-4PM.  In a post-apocalyptic world, a blind photographer strives to develop a final photograph to celebrate the memory of his dead wife.

*  My Stolen Revolution Directed by Nahid Persson Sarvestani. Documentary, 75 minutes, screens Sunday Feb 21, Block 8: 8PM-11:30PM.  A student activist in Iran’s 1979 revolution that overthrew the dictatorial Shah, Nahid Persson Sarvestani fled to Sweden with her baby after Islamists seized power and began persecuting leftists who had been their revolutionary allies. Three decades later, events in Iran inspire Nahid to revisit that part of her life. Prompted by brutal crackdowns on anti-government protests in 2009 and long-suppressed guilt for abandoning a younger brother to imprisonment and death, the internationally acclaimed filmmaker locates and reunites with five female activists who survived torture and terror in the Islamist regime’s jails. Now living in exile, the women share gripping accounts of how their jailers tried to break them physically and spiritually.

*  Oblivion Season Directed by Abbas Rafei. Feature, 94 mins, screens Saturday Feb 20, Block 3: 1PM-4PM.  An ex-prostitute starts a new life by marrying her loved one, but leaving the shadow of her dark past is not as easy as it seemed before. Now she is the prisoner of her loved one and to earn her freedom she should fight with the masculine society… In Iran’s society today, making a film about prostitutes is a real challenge because the society and government deny their very existence. Oblivion Season shows a woman behind bars and fences all over today’s Tehran, who is trying to overcome all the intolerance and traditional and religious dogmatism in her society, to live and stay alive. A society which doesn’t wish to let her forget the past.

Corporate and local support of Winter Film Awards plays an critical role in the life of the Festival and underscores WFA’s commitment to quality, adventure and diversity in the art of cinema. WFA is privileged to continue our collaboration with Gray Line New York, Ride of Fame, B&H Photo & Video, Video Blocks/ AudioBlocks/

GraphicStock, Sony Creative Software, Jungle Software, Cyberlink, Glidecam, JT Talent, Gotham Mini Storage, Museum of Sex, PSPrint, Van Diemens NYC Restaurant & Bar, Yelp, Zacuto film rigs and ProductionHUB.

WFA is delighted to welcome new partners Carmel Car & Limousine Service, Big Apple Con, Citi Bike NYC, NYC Post Group, Bliss Spa, CourseHorse.com, Distribber, Film Collaborative, IndiePix Films, Rhino Camera Gear, our exclusive ticketing partner Eventcombo, Women’s Film Critic Circle (WFCC), Shake Share Media and Success with Teamwork.

Winter Film Awards (WFA) is a volunteer-run and operated 501(c)3 organization dedicated to showcasing emerging filmmakers and the celebration of the diversity of local and international film-making. For more information on tickets, schedules, sponsors, film descriptions and more, please visit www.WinterFilmAwards.com and find us on Facebook.