About the 2024 Festival
The Woman, Life, Freedom Film Festival, organized by AIFTAA, was held over six days in September 2024 across cities including Brisbane, Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Paris, and Uppsala. The festival focused on films addressing women’s rights, freedom of expression, and gender equality. It began on September 16 in Brisbane, Australia, coinciding with the anniversary of Mahsa Zhina Amini’s governmental death, and concluded on September 21 in Stockholm, Sweden, her birthday. Opening messages were delivered by festival director Hossein Khandan, jury president Marjane Satrapi, and AIFTAA chairperson Niloofar Beyzaie.
Alongside the screenings, AIFTAA produced a series of interviews, workshops, and six online discussions on independent filmmaking, featuring both Iranian and international artists. The festival jury included Marjane Satrapi, Mairi Cameron, Maryam Keshavarz, Maryam Palizban, Pooya Mohseni, Ashkan Khatibi, and Pegah Ahangarani, artists known for their work in cinema and their involvement in the Mahsa Zhina and women’s movement.
JURY MEMBERS
Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi is an acclaimed Iranian-French graphic novelist, filmmaker, and illustrator, best known for her autobiographical graphic novel “Persepolis”.
She grew up during the tumultuous period of the Iranian Revolution, experiences she vividly depicted in “Persepolis”, which was later adapted into an award-winning animated film co-directed by Satrapi herself.
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Maryam Palizban
Theatre scholar, writer, actress and director. The tensions between ‚religion and art‘, cultural theory of modern Islam‘ and ‚performativity and textuality‘ are among the major themes of her multilingual publications, lectures and teaching activities.
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MAIRI CAMERON
She is an AACTA nominated director of film and television and head of the Australian Directors Guild’s Queensland Chapter. Her psychological thriller The Second was the first Stan Originals feature film produced in Australia.
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Pooya Mohseni
Pooya Mohseni is a multi award-winning Iranian American actor, writer, filmmaker and transgender activist. Her stage credits include an obie win in the Pulitzer and Obie winning play English (Atlantic Theater Company, The Old Globe Theater), …
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Ashkan Khatibi
An award-winning Iranian artist and acting tutor, specializing in theatre, screen acting, and musical theatre, he has built a distinguished career in the performing arts. With a background in Theatre spans acting, directing, and producing.
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Pegah Ahangarani
Pegah Ahangarani is an Iranian Artist, known for her works as a Documentary filmmaker, Actress, and Musician. She has directed 10 movies and acted in over 40 feature films, which have been screened at renowned festivals worldwide.
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Maryam Keshavarz
Maryam Keshavarz is an internationally acclaimed Iranian-American writer, director, and producer. Her third feature, THE PERSIAN VERSION, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2023, where it won the U.S. Dramatic Competition Audience Award …
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AWARD WINNERS
Awards were given for the best works in each category, including:
Special Jury Award for the best film (Festival Honorary Award, and cash prize)
“The Shadow Yearning To Fly” Directed by Elham Ahmadi (Iran)
Best Documentary (Festival Honorary Award)
“SHURA”
Directed by David Damian Figueroa, Kayvon Derak Shanian (USA)
Best Experimental (Festival Honorary Award)
“Los Sueños – Videodanza ”
Directed by María Fernanda Vallejos (Argentina)
Best Animation (Festival Honorary Award)
“The Nature of the River”
Directed by Agnieszka Waszczeniuk (Poland)
2024 EVENTS
Paris
Paris hosted a full house screening of the Woman, Life, Freedom Film Festival, followed by a talk and Q&A session with jury head Marjane Satrapi. The event drew strong local interest and highlighted the festival’s focus on women’s rights and independent cinema.
Toronto
Toronto held Woman, Life, Freedom Film Festival screenings across two cinemas, both reaching full capacity. The events included a panel discussion featuring activists and filmmakers, engaging audiences in dialogue on women’s rights and artistic expression.
Brisbane
The Woman, Life, Freedom Film Festival opened with a live ceremony and a full house screening in Brisbane on September 16, marking the anniversary of Mahsa Zhina Amini’s death. The event featured recorded messages from key organizers and set the tone for the six-day international festival.
Stockholm
Stockholm hosted a full house screening for the Woman, Life, Freedom Film Festival, drawing significant local attendance. The event featured a compelling panel discussion with veteran filmmakers living in exile, reflecting on cinema and resistance.
Hossein Khandan
Festival Director
Helen Hemmati Hammarström
Executive Director
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