The documentary “Isatis,” directed by Alireza Dehghan, won the prize for the ecology section of the 9th Montenegrin Green Festival, one of the world’s top ecology festivals.
The Isatis documentary contains parts of the life of the Zoroastrians of Yazd. Parts of this movie documentary depicts Zoroastrians’ customs and lifestyle, prayers in the Pire Chak Chak shrine, the Zoroastrian tower of silence (dokhma), the Sadeh festival, and the joyful celebrations of the Zoroastrians. The 75-minutes documentary “Isatis” is the story of the ups and downs of a city that has shone like an agate for centuries on the dry and empty desert soil of this ancient land. It is part of the story of the coexistence of religions in Yazd, Muslims, Zoroastrians, and Jews, and the story of the four elements of water, wind, earth, and fire in the heart of the Iranian desert.
According to the public relations report of the Center for the Development of Documentary, Experimental and Animated Cinema, the documentary film “Isatis,” directed by Alireza Dehghan, received the award of the ecology section of the 9th Montenegrin Green Festival. The Green Festival of Montenegro is included in the list of the international green network in the category of the world’s top ecosystem festivals.
The documentary “Isatis” has already won the best film award of the 7th International Film Festival of Ocean City, USA, the special award of the secretary of the 14th Iranian International Documentary Film Festival “Cinema-Haghighat,” the Simorgh nomination for the best documentary film of the 39th Fajr Film Festival, the nomination for the best film of the 38th Netpack Fajr World Festival, Simin statue for the best documentary from the Rushd International Film Festival, the best film award of the international section of the 8th International Shahr Festival, the nomination for the best film and the best sound from the Iranian Cinema Documentary Festival, the best cinematography and the best music from the Iranian movie documentary festival.
The synopsis of this documentary film states: “This is the story of a journey. A journey of thousands of years in the heart of the barren desert, in the center of this ancient land. It is a story whose narrators are water, wind, earth, and fire. Listen with your heart and soul to this interesting story because it is an audible explanation.
Some of those involved in the creation of this documentary are: “Director Alireza Dehghan, producer: Alireza Dehghan and Rahil Sahrayi, cinematography director: Mehdi Azadi, research: Rahil Sahrayi and Alireza Dehghan, editor: Bahman Kiarostami and Pooya Parsa Maqam, composer: Sattar Oraki, Sound engineer: Ashkan Toloueiyan, sound engineer: Arash Ghasemi, text writer: Reza Atashi and Alireza Dehghan, text editor: Homayoun Emami, production manager: Mohammad Hossein Afzali, coordination manager: Mohammad Reza Vahdi, first assistant and scheduler: Mohsen Shahandeh, second assistant director: Faramarz Javaid, stage designer: Vahid Zabarjadi, stage manager: Ali Farrokh, costume designer: Zahra Ghiasi, coloring pictures: Hamidreza Fatourechian and Borna Jamshidi, special visual effects: Ali Nikoukar, subtitle: Reza Tarivardi, translation: Hassan Sharafuddin, poster designer: Mojtaba Mousavi, photographer and videographer behind the scenes: Amir Jalali, graphic designer: Maziar Aliyari, title designer: Behnam Abbasifar, media consultant: Azadeh Fazli, project executive: Film Farm, international distribution: Filmar Pictures under the responsibility of Sonia Sarlak.
The Green Festival of Montenegro aims to develop sustainable ideas about the protection of the countries’ natural resources and promote awareness and responsibility about the urgent need to protect and preserve the ecosystem and nature in general. The 9th Green Festival of Montenegro was held from 7 to 9 Amordad, equal to 29 to 31 July 2023, in the National Park Durmitor of Montenegro (registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List).
