3 Iranian films competing in Giffoni festival

TEHRAN,July 20(MNA)-- Three Iranian films are competing in the 43rd Giffoni International Film Festival, the largest children’s film festival in Europe that is currently underway in the southwestern Italian town of Giffoni Valle Piana. “The Pearl” directed by Sirus Hassanpur, “The Green Umbrella” by Nasser Refaii and “The Kitten” by Shiva Sadeq-Assadi will be screened in the various sections of the event, which opened on July 19 and will be running until July 28, organizers have announced on their website. “The Pearl” is about Karim, a pearl diver who lives in one of the southern towns in Iran, but he can’t go on working due to his heart condition. Following his doctor’s advice, he goes to a big city and finds out that there is no cure but through surgery. His 12-year-old son, Maher, insists on going to the sea for pearl hunting despite his grandfather’s disapproval. Worried for the father and confronted with money problems, Maher and his little sister, Mahrokh, are forced grow up sooner than expected. “The Green Umbrella” tells the story of Mehran, whose parents are going to separate. This incident becomes the reason for him to take a journey to the north of Iran where his parents first met. “The Kitten” is an animated film about a little girl whose parents are not very receptive to her because they are constantly involved with their own problems. One day, she discovers that a cat has given birth to three kittens in their yard. Immersing herself in the lives of the cats, she dreams of becoming a kitten herself.