Short Film “Taji” Wins Best International Film at the 38th Foyle Film Festival and Approved for the Oscars
The short film Taji, written and directed by Mahdi Borjian, won the Best International Film award at the 38th Foyle International Film Festival 2026 in Ireland. It was also announced as the representative for Iran at the 99th Academy Awards in 2027.
In the jury’s statement for the Foyle Festival, they praised Taji as “an engaging film with moments of humor, one that carefully builds tension and ultimately reaches a rich and satisfying conclusion.” Based on this, Taji will compete at the upcoming Academy Awards.
The 38th Foyle International Film Festival took place from November 19th to 30th, 2025.
Taji tells the story of Taji, a factory forewoman who is strong and resilient. Amidst her struggles, she faces an important decision about her life.
The cast includes Fatemeh Neshabouri, Morteza Khajani, Shamila Tabesh, Fatemeh Hasani, Rouhiyeh Mahmoudi, Faizeh Vafaee, Elaheh Mochani, Ali Bagheri, Ahad Shamlou, with special guest appearance by Gholamreza Ramazani, and Johnnyar Eskandarian, the child actor.
The crew of Taji includes:
- Producer, Writer, and Director: Mahdi Borjian
- First Assistant Director and Planner: Navid Karimpoor
- Second Assistant Director: Pouria Soleimani
- Director’s Assistant: Yasaman Zolqi
- Scene Secretary: Zahra Mahdavi
- Director of Photography: Mostafa Sadeghi
- Photography Consultant: Adib Sobhani
- First Assistant Cinematographer: Saeed Karami
- Cinematography Team: Ali Manoochehrpanah, Navid Abdi, Ali Rezaei, Mohammad Rizaabadi
- Color Grading and Lighting: Farbod Jalali
- Subtitles: Soheil Rezvani
- Behind-the-Scenes Photographer and Cinematographer: Navid Sajadi Hosseini
- Camera Operator: Ali Salehi
- Steadicam: Amir Kotbzadeh
- Storyboard: Ali Bagheri
- Editor: Ali Shikhi
- Music: Behnam Rad
- Sound Design and Mixing: Mohammad Hossein Ebrahimi
- Sound Editing: Zahra Akhavan Abiri
- Sound Assistant: Amin Ashouri, Sheno Studio
- Sound Recordist: Mahdi Feyzmanyan
- Sound Assistant: Mohsen Maslah
- Set and Costume Design: Sahar Shahamat
- First Assistant for Set: Omid Najoomi
- Set Manager: Mohammad Nasiri Far
- Costume Assistant: Katayoun Farbod
- Makeup Design: Omid Golzadeh
- Makeup Artists: Hanieh Mahmoudabadi, Zahra Hamidi
- Production Manager: Morteza Rahmani
- Logistics Manager: Ramin Alizadeh
- Art Department Supervisor: Mehrdad Jozi
- Mobile Cinema: Mohammadreza Mashhour Niknam
- Poster Designer: Hamed Vaghari
- Public Relations and Media Consultant: Azadeh Fazli
