The 19th CinemaVerite International Documentary Festival celebrated its winners at a ceremony in Tehran’s Vahdat Hall, where filmmakers were honored with the festival’s prestigious Turquoise Medals and commemorative trophies.
Network and Presidential Strategic Awards
- Network Documentary Award: “For Ibrahim, a Man with a Camera” – Ali Mohammadi Sadeghi
- Presidential Strategic Award: “Crossroads of Incidents” – Farshad Ektesabi
Student Section
- Honorable Mention: “Misophonia” – Sogand Rezaei
- Honorable Mention: “Maschkrasie” – Amir Kamali Al-Mooti
Photography Section
- Honorable Mention: Asghar Besharati (Geometry of Fishing)
- Honorable Mention: Amirhossein Yousefi (Fouchel)
- Honorable Mention: Pejman Molaei (Black Death Mine)
Gaza Section
- Jury Special Prize: “Notes on Exile” – Gustavo Castro (Brazil/Palestine)
- Best Film:
- “The Game Goes On” – Mohammad Mesbah (France/Palestine)
- “Gaza, a Childhood Stolen” – Moamen Ghoneim (Palestine/Qatar)
International Section
- Jury Special Prize: “Voices from the Edge” – Erwin Serrano & Victor Rakhun (Mexico)
- Special Mention: “Refugees” – Adam Nutt (Australia)
Short & Medium-Length Documentaries
- Best Medium-Length Documentary: Sepideh Sepahi (Cyrus)
- Best Feature-Length International Film: “BZ501” – Urim Cherwatolo
- Special Mention: “Red Moon Eclipse” – Caroline Gembal (Belgium)
Iran Section
- Honorable Mentions:
- “Rash” – Nima Mahdian
- “Whisper of Things” – Ali Hamraz
- “Aras, Raging River” – Hadi Afredeh
- Jury Special Prize: “A Branch on the Water” – Mohsen Eslamzadeh & Mohammad Mehdi Habibi
Shahid Avini Awards
- Golden Avini Medal: “A Small Canal Amid the Marshes” – Morteza Paye-Shenas
- Silver Avini Medal: “Standing Beside the Thames” – Seyed Mostafa Mousavi Tabar
- Bronze Avini Medal: “Depth of Field” – Ali Shahab-od-Din & Mohammad Ali Yazdanparast
Sardar Vatan Section
- Award presented to Rear Admiral Naser Sarnevesht, the main figure in “Depth of Field”, with the festival’s trophy and a model of the Jamaran patrol boat.
National Section
- Best Short Documentary Director: Ebrahim Hesari (The Grape Season)
- Best Medium-Length Documentary Director: Sepideh Sepahi (Cyrus)
- Best Documentary Research: Hamed Saadat (Qaem Forest)
- Best Feature-Length Documentary Director: Heyman Khaledi (The Singing Wings)
- Best Voice & Script: Arash Es-haqi (Fighting the Body) & Ali Kohan (Qaem Forest)
- Best Sound Design: Arash Ghasemi (Lamasu)
- Best Music: Afshin Azizi & Arash Azizi (Her Name Is Woman)
- Best Editing: Ali Farahani-Sadr (Unfinished Dream)
- Best Cinematography: Farshad Afshinpour (Wild Alborz)
- Special Jury Mention: Sara Talebian (Unfinished Dream)
Best Film
- Turquoise Medal for Best Film: “For My Daughter” – Mehdi Avaz Zadeh, Hashem Masoudi & Mojtaba Ehsani
- Special recognitions were also given for: “Nasir, Fifth Symphony”, “Return of the Iranian Grave”, “Like an Avalanche”, “Agira”, and “Under the Lore Tree”.
Audience Choice Award
- “Kabook” – Jafar Sadeghi, produced with the support of the Center for Expansion of Documentary Cinema.
The festival celebrated a wide spectrum of voices and visions in documentary filmmaking, shining a spotlight on both emerging talent and seasoned storytellers capturing the realities of Iran and the world.
