Iranian movie I’m Not Angry has won a prestigious prize at the 8th edition of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) festival held in Australia.

Directed by Reza Dormishian, the film was awarded the APSA Academy NETPAC Development Prize at the 2014 edition of the festival. Dormishian along with the Australian producer Emile Sherman were announced winners of two major prizes of the event ahead of the 8th APSA ceremony on December 11.

Dormishian’s second feature film competed with Winter Sleep (Turkey, France, Germany), Leviathan (Russian Federation), The Owners (Kazakhstan), and Memories on Stone (Iraqi Kurdistan).

The film’s leading actor Navid Mohammadzadeh was also nominated for the best actor award of APSA.

“A stunning and heart-breaking love story, with convincing characters and settings, proving the talented filmmaker’s ability to control all aspects of his film, the image, performances and even editing for a maximum effect,” the NETPAC Jury said of the film.

I’m Not Angry narrates the story of a university student, Navid, who drops out due to his activities and beliefs. The social drama nabbed the Asian New Talent Award for Best Film and the Best Director Award at the 17th edition of Shanghai International Film Festival.

Other Iranian winners were Merila Zarei and Rakhshan Bani-Etemad. Melbourne, directed by Nima Javidi, was nominated for the best screenplay award.

Merila Zarei won the best actress award for her role in Track 143. Director Rakhshan Bani-Etemad was presented the event’s Grand Jury Prize for her ‘Tales’. The movie is composed of seven short episodes, in which Bani-Etemad reveals the fate of some of the main characters in her previous films like ‘The Blue-Veiled’, ‘Under the Skin of the City’ and ‘Mainline’.

Sources: Press TV, The Iran Project