The 15th edition of Belfast Film Festival ended in triumph for Danish documentary director Berit Madsen, as she took home the top honour, winning the Maysles Brothers Award for best documentary for "Sepideh."
"I'm very honoured to receive the Maysles Brothers Award and it's with pride that I receive it on behalf of our whole team – and also on behalf of Sepideh," Berit Madsen said upon receiving the award.
Since premiering at IDFA in Amsterdam last November, Berit Madsen's documentary about Sepideh, a teenage girl from Tehran who dreams of becoming an astronaut, has been a festival favourite around the world. The film has been selected for such different festivals as Sundance, Tehran Fajr International Film Festival, and Planete Doc Review.
In the coming months "Sepideh" will be screened at a number of other notable festivals, including Sheffield Doc/Fest, New York Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Seoul International Film Festival, and Message to Man.
So far, Berit Madsen's film has been sold to distributors in more than 30 countries, including the United States, Australia, France, and Germany.
Read more:
Reaching for the Stars
Interview with director Berit Madsen
See trailer:
Sepideh - Drømmen om stjernerne
Sepideh vil være astronaut. Hun bruger sine nætter på at udforske universets hemmeligheder, men hendes familie gør alt for at få hende ned på jorden igen. Der er helt andre krav til en ung iransk kvinde, og hendes planer om at komme på universitetet er i fare.
