Iran has selected the thriller “World War III”, which won two awards at the Venice Film Festival this month, as its Oscar entry for the Academy Awards in 2023.
The Farabi Cinema Foundation, which has almost exclusively selected the country’s Oscar picks since 1994, announced the choice on Monday.
“After viewing 75 films, the selection committee unanimously chose ‘World War III’ to represent Iranian cinema”, it said in a statement.
Directed by Houman Seyyedi, 41, it won both the best film and best actor award at the 79th Venice International Film Festival in its Orizzonti section of the festival, which provides a platform for world cinema.
Seyyedi, who is also an actor and screenwriter, won the award for best performance and best screenplay at Tehran’s Fajr Festival in 2014 and 2017.
The film tells the story of Shakib — played by actor Mohsen Tanabandeh — a homeless worker who becomes an actor in a movie about the atrocities committed by German dictator Adolf Hitler.
The committee chose the film for “its prestigious international successes, its high technical level, its exceptional direction, and its innovative screenplay”, Parviz Sheikhtadi, selection committee spokesman, told official state news agency IRNA.
Iran has previously enjoyed success as the Oscars. Iranian director Ashgar Farhadi has received Academy Awards in the foreign film category twice, for the “A Separation” in 2012 and “The Salesman” in 2017.
The 95th Academy Awards are due to be held in Los Angeles on March 12, 2023.
