Oscars: Iran Selects Documentary ‘Finding Farideh’ For International Feature Film Race

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Iran has chosen documentary Finding Farideh, directed by Azadeh Mousavi and Kourosh Ataee, to represent it for the Oscars’ newly-dubbed International Feature Film category — formerly known as the Best Foreign Language Film race. The picture follows the titular character who travels to Iran to find her real family after having been abandoned 40 years prior and adopted by a Dutch couple. In a blog post, Eline Farideh said she was “over the moon” to be recognized with the submission.

Winner of the Best Documentary prize at Iran’s Cinema Celebration Academy Awards, Finding Farideh has been invited to various festivals including the Big Sky Documentary Festival in Montana, the International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival in Kiev, the Istanbul Film Festival and the Kazan International Muslim Film Festival in Russia as well as Iranian Film Festivals in Cologne, Prague and Zurich.

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This is the first time that a documentary is Iran’s official submission. The country has previously won the category twice, each time with a film directed by Asghar Farhadi (2011’s A Separation and 2016’s The Salesman).

According to The Tehran Times, Finding Farideh was selected from a shortlist of 10 movies. It now joins a handful of films submitted for the 92nd Academy Awards including Algeria’s Papicha, Georgia’s Shindisi and Switzerland’s Wolkenbruch with many more to come.

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