Special Mention from IDFA Short Documentary jury goes to Pegah Ahangarani

Iranian actress and director Pegah Ahangarani is honored with a special mention from the Short Documentary jury at the 2023 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).

News Center- The award ceremony of the 36th edition of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) took place in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Thursday (November 16). A special mention from the Short Documentary jury went to “My Father” directed by Iranian actress and director Pegah Ahangarani.

“For this filmmaker’s ability to transform archival photographs and video recordings into a film that combine to form an intimate visual narrative, and restores a sensitive, realistic, and influential era – with the negative and positive that it entails—in both public and private history, the jury gives a Special Mention to My Father by Pegah Ahangarani,” the jury wrote.

In the 19-minute documentary film “My Father”, Pegah Ahangarani talks about how the Iranian Revolution, and the turbulent times that ensued, affected her and her family. Illustrated with archive footage, news excerpts and family photos, she narrates her personal story, first from the point of view of a girl living in a world of fairy-tale heroes, and then gradually shifting to the perspective of an adult who could interpret the complex events.

The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The 36th edition of IDFA took place from November 8 to 19, 2023.