The short fiction ‘Gaze’ by filmmaker Farnoosh Samadi has won the Audience Award at the 36th Uppsala International Short Film Festival, October 23-29, in Sweden.

The 15-minute film is about a woman who witnesses something happening in a bus on her way back from work. She has to decide whether to reveal it or not, according to the website of the festival.

‘Gaze’ participated in the festival along with over 300 short films from other countries, ranging from fiction and experimental films to documentaries and animations.

Samadi graduated from The Accademia di Belle Arti in Rome. She co-wrote three short films with Iranian scriptwriter and film director Ali Asgari: ‘More Than Two Hours’ (2013), ‘The Baby’ (2014) and ‘The Pain’ (2015). She also co-directed with him ‘The Silence,’ which premiered in Cannes in 2016. ‘Gaze’ is her second short as director.

The other short film from Iran participating at the event was ‘Animal’ by brothers Bahram and Bahman Ark. Depicting the indignities of migration, the 15-minute film shows a man who tries to cross a border in the guise of a ram.

The Swedish festival took place in Uppsala, near Stockholm, at four cinemas located in the city’s classic cinema district.