CASTLE OF DREAMS
Castle of Dreams
(Ghasr-e Shirin)
Directed, Produced & Edited by: Reza Mirkarimi
Written by: Mohsen Gharaei , Mohammad Davoodi
Based on an Original Idea by: Reza Mirkarimi
Executive Producer: Mohammad Sadegh Mirkarimi
DOP: Morteza Hodaie
Costume and Production Designer: Atoosa Ghalamfarsaie
Music: Amin Honarmand
Sound: Saeed Bojnourdi
Make-up: Mahmoud Dehghani
Visual Special Effects: Mahmoud Najafi
Cast: Hamed Behdad (Jalal), Zhila Shahi (Najmeh), Azadeh Nobahari (Nasrin), Nioosha Alipour (Sara), Youna Tadayyon (Ali), Akbar Ayeen (Behrouz).
Iran, 2019, ALEXA SXT Plus, DCP, 4K, Color, 1:1.85, 5.1, 86 mins.
Language: Farsi + Azeri
Logline:
To tame him, you must make your distance with him less and less day by day…
Synopsis:
When mom is terminally ill at the hospital, dad comes along after the long years of absence. Anxious and hesitant, he has got no way but taking his son and his daughter away. But to which destination when he has not managed to build the castle of dreams drawn by mom for the children?
Director’s View:
Sunk in harsh realities in a violent world, a helpless man can be tamed by sweet dreams…
Director’s Profile:
Born in Tehran in 1967, Reza Mirkarimi is a graduate of Graphic Arts from the University of Fine Arts in Tehran. He began his career in cinema as director, writer and producer in 1987 with a short film and two TV series. His directorial debut, The Child and The Soldier (1999), won national and international awards in Isfahan, Nantes and Zlin. His second feature, Under the Moonlight (2000) won the 40th International Critics Week Best Feature Award at the 2001 Cannes International Film Festival. It went on to win the Best Director Award and the Special Jury Prize at the Tokyo International Film Festival in 2001, and the Golden Peacock Award at the International Film Festival of India. Mirkarimi has so far won seven Golden Simorgh awards at the Fajr Film Festival. Three of his films were selected as Iran’s submission to the Oscars for the Best Foreign Language Film category: So Close, So Far (2005), A Cube of Sugar (2011), and Today (2014). His fourth and fifth feature films, As Simple as That (2007) and Daughter (2016), won the Golden George Award for Best Picture at the 30th and the 38th Moscow International Film Festival respectively. His latest film, Castle of Dreams (2019), won big at Shanghai, receiving three awards for the best picture, the best director and the best actor.
He has served two terms as managing director of KHANEH CINEMA (Iranian Alliance of Motion Picture Guilds). Reza Mirkarimi has been also the festival director of Fajr International Film Festival for the last 4 years.
Feature Films: 1999- The Child and the Soldier; 2000- Under the Moonlight; 2003- Here, A Shining Light; 2005- So Close, So Far; 2007- As Simple as That; 2011- A Cube of Sugar; 2014- Today; 2016- Daughter; 2019- Castle of Dreams.
Festivals & Awards:
1- Fajr National Film Festival (Iran – February 2019).
- Best Script Award.
- Best Original Score Award.
2- Shanghai International Film Festival (PRC – June 2019).
- Best Feature Film Award.
- Best Director Award.
- Best Actor Award.
3- International Film Festival «East&West. Classics and Avant Garde» (Russia – August 2019).
- Golden Sarmatian Lion for the Best Film.
4- Batumi International Art Film Festival (Georgia- September 2019).
- Best Director Award.
- Georgian International Critics Award.
5- Vancouver International Film Festival (Canada – September 2019).
6- Family Film Awards (USA – September 2019).
- Best Foreign Film Award.
7- Selmani International Film Festival (Iraq- October 2019).
- Best Director Award.
8- Asiatica Film Mediale – Rome Asian Film Festival (Italy – October 2019).
- Best Film Award.
8- Cambridge Film Festival (UK – October 2019).
- Audience Award.
9- Antalya Golden Orange International Film Festival (Turkey – October 2019).
- Best Director Award.
- Best Actor Award.
10- Iranian Film Festival Australia (Australia – October 2019).
- Opening Film.
- Best Film Award.
- Best Script Award.
- Best Actor Award.
- Best Actress Award.
11- Carthage International Film Festival (Tunisia – October 2019).
12- Sao Paulo International Film Festival (Brazil – October 2019).
14- Denver Film Festival (USA – November 2019).
15- Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Australia – November 2019).
- Best Script Nomination.
16- San Diego Asian Film Festival (USA – November 2019).
17- 20th Anniversary of Asiatica in Cineteca of Bologna (Italy – November 2019).
18- Malatya International Film Festival (Turkey – November 2019).
19- Festival International de Cinéma d’Auteur de Rabat (Morocco – November 2019).
20- Cyrus International Film Festival (Canada – November 2019).
- Best Actor Award.
21- Tbilisi International Film Festival (Georgia – December 2019).
22- Kerala International Film Festival (India – December 2019).
23- Dhaka International Film Festival (Bangladesh – January 2020).
- Best Film Award.
- Best Director Award.
24- Iran-ci – Festival of Iranian Films in Prague (Czech Republic – January 2020).
- Audience Award.
25- Within the Family International Festival of Family and Children’s Films (Russia – July 2020).
- Grand Prize.
- Special Jury Award for the Best Child Actor (Nioosha Alipour).
26- Universal Film Festival (USA – August 2020).
- Best Drama Nominee.
27- Imagineindia International Film Festival (ُSpain – September 2020).
- Second Award for the Best Actor (Hamd Behdad).
- Best Script Nominee.
- Best Music Nominee.
28- Wales International Film Festival (UK – September 2020).
29- Religion Today Film Festival (Italy – September 2020).
- Best Feature Film Award.
- Grand Prize in the Spirit of Faith Nominee.
- Best Soundtrack Nominee.
30- 013CIFF – Cinecitta International Film Festival (The Netherlands – October 2020).
31- Asian Film Awards (South Korea – October 2020).
- Best Script Nominee.
- Best Actor Nominee.
32- Asian Film Festival – Barcelona (Spain – October 2020).
- Panorama Section.
33- Cinéma(s) d’Iran (France – June 2021).
34- Lift Off Sessions @ Pinewood Studio (UK – July 2021).
35- Iranian Film Festival Australia – Online Program (July – August.2021 – Australia).
36- Iranian Film Cycle in Casa Asia (Spain – July 2021).
37- Golden Jury International Film Festival (India – December 2021).
- Best Actor Award Category.
News:
Best Screenplay Nomination for CASTLE OF DREAMS in Asia Pacific Screen Awards
Three IRIMAGE Titles in the competition of Asia Pacific Screen Awards
CASTLE OF DREAMS wins the Best Film Award in East & West IFF
External Links:
THR – Review: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/castle-dreams-1218070
THR – News: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/castle-dreams-wins-big-at-2019-shanghai-film-festival-1220523
Screen Daily – News: https://www.screendaily.com/news/irans-castle-of-dreams-takes-top-honours-at-shanghai-film-festival/5140637.article
Variety – News: https://variety.com/2019/film/asia/shanghai-festival-winners-1203250945/
China Daily – News: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201906/24/WS5d103d49a3103dbf14329d9c.html
World Sales:
Sales: mohammad@irimageco.com
Festivals: kamyar@irimageco.com
www.irimageco.com