Pegah Ahangarani’s Rehearsals For A Revolution has won Cannes’ documentary award, the L’Œil d’or, with Alexander Murphy’s Tin Castle receiving a special mention from the jury.
Playing in Cannes Special Screenings section, Rehearsals For A Revolution is the first feature by actress Pegah Ahangarani, and focuses on several key moments in recent Iranian history when the country entertained real hope for social change, only to find it repeatedly crushed.
These are told through portraits of five people from her life, including family members and mentors, as a way to illuminate Iran’s history from the 1979 Islamic Revolution to now, even incorporating the war with the US and Israel that began in February.
The Czech Republic and Spain co-production is produced by Medianest and Fasten Films. French distribution is through Jour2Fête Distribution, while The Party Film Sales handles international sales.
The jury said: “This film allows us to enter the intricate and complex reality of contemporary Iran through a braiding of personal, historical, and poetic cinema. In its search to find the language to express the truths of the moment, Rehearsals for a Revolution is not afraid to question its own gestures — to doubt itself and to be vulnerable. The jury was struck by the masterful script and vivid, urgent storytelling, and by a filmmaker who carried us through violent waves of history while never losing sight of the value of each individual human life.”
Meanwhile, Alexander Murphy’s Critics’ Week title Tin Castle received a special mention from the jury.
The French Irish filmmaker’s documentary introduces a family of Irish travellers who are under threat of eviction from the trailer they call home. Producers are David Collins and Eamon Hughes of Samson Films and Cosme Bongrain of Goodseed Productions. Dulac Distribution will release in France, and Breakout Pictures in Ireland. Films Boutique is selling.
The jury said: “This film captivates us from the very first images and continues to impress us with cinematic craft at its highest level. The filmmakers gaze directed at his heroes and heroines expresses their intimacy without invading it. Through its precisely calibrated perspective Tin Castle invites us to reflect on the position and role of the documentary camera and deploys love as a cinematic and political force.”
The L’Œil d’or jury was charied by Ukrainian director Mstyslav Chernov alongside New York Film Forum director Tabitha Jackson, French actress Géraldine Pailhas, French-Algerian-Palestinian director and actress Lina Soualem, and French journalist Victor Castanet.
The documentary prize of the Cannes Film festival, it rewards a film presented in the Official Selection: Competition, Un Certain Regard, Out of Competition, Midnight Screenings, Special Screenings, and Cannes Classics. Documentaries presented by the Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week can also participate. The prize is endowed with €5,000.
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