In a momentous event held at the Ministry of Interior Hall in Tehran on Saturday, the 23rd film and television ceremony of Picture World Magazine, also known as the Hafez Awards, announced the much-anticipated winners. This prestigious ceremony, launched in 1997, is an annual event dedicated to honoring cinematic achievements in Iranian cinema and is the largest such event organized by the private sector in the country. The award is named after the Iranian great poet Hafez and features a typographical statue resembling the Persian written form of the word "Hafez".

Honoring the Veterans and Pioneers

The event not only presented awards to the best in cinema and television but also honored the veteran actor and director Morteza Aghili. His contributions to the industry have left an indelible mark. After the sad passing of globally renowned filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami in 2016, a special prize was added to the ceremony awards in his honor. This was to be given to a young innovative filmmaker as Kiarostami was renowned for his creative works.In the film section, 14 awards were presented, showcasing the diverse talent in Iranian cinema. The addition of the Abbas Kiarostami Statuette this year to filmmaker Ahmad Bahrami for his film “The Wastetown” was a significant moment.

Best Director and Screenplay Awards

Soroush Sehhat won the best director award for “Breakfast with Giraffes”, demonstrating his exceptional directorial skills. Arman Khansarian grabbed the award for the best screenplay for “Orange Forest”, highlighting his talent in crafting engaging scripts.

Best Actress and Actor Awards

The best actress award went to two remarkable actresses - Elnaz Shakerdoost for “Bodiless” and Banafsheh Samadi for “The Sun of That Moon”. Their performances were truly outstanding. In the category of the best actor, Reza Attaran for “Bright House” and Milad Keymaram for “The West Sky” shared the award, each bringing their unique charisma to the screen.

TV Section Awards

In the TV section, 13 statuettes were presented to the winners. Mehran Modiri was recognized as the most popular TV figure for his reality TV competition series “Guess Which Hand” (also known as “Gol ya Pooch”). The special jury prize went to Ehsan Alikhani for the reality show/comedy contest “Joker 2”.The romance drama series “At the End of the Night” was a big winner, grabbing three awards, including the best series, the best script by Ida Panahandeh and Arsalan Amiri, and the best drama actor Parsa Pirouzfar.Saman Moghaddam won the best director award for “Viper of Tehran”, while Zhila Shahi won the best drama actress award for “Dariush”. Ghodratollah Izadi for “You Only Go Around Once” and Sogol Khaligh for “The Notebook” won the best male and female comedian awards respectively.This year’s ceremony was organized by Ali Moallem’s wife Azar Memarian and his son Omid, continuing a tradition that has been going on for the past six years. The event was a celebration of the rich talent and creativity in Iranian film and television.