Film festival in Montreal supporting female Iranian filmmakers

A one-day film festival in Montreal is putting the spotlight on female directors and producers from Iran.

The “Montreal Women Film Festival” screened five short films from five different Iranian women at Cinéma du Parc on Sunday.

The films, which included documentaries and animated films, were produced in Iran, Canada and the United States.

The event was organized by Minima Films, which founded the Montreal Independent Film Festival. It was scheduled three days before International Women’s Day.

Organizers say the festival supports female voices in Iran “who started the recent Iran’s revolution since last September, with the beautiful message of ‘Woman, Life, Freedom.’”

Iran protests continue in Montreal

That event was yet another in Montreal’s continued vocal support of anti-government demonstrators in Iran.

Large protests have been taking place in Iran since last September when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died at the hands of the country’s morality police, allegedly because her head scarf was too loose.

Montrealers were back on the street Saturday, in front of Concordia University, protesting the situation in Iran.

That protest came amid a recent crisis over suspected poisonings targeting Iranian schoolgirls. Authorities acknowledged Sunday more than 50 schools were struck in a wave of possible cases.

The poisonings have spread further fear as Iran has faced months of unrest.

“We are here today in solidarity with all the schoolgirls and young women who have been deprived of their right to education because they have been poisoned in their schools,” said a Montreal protester. “We think this is a deplorable act of taking education away from women.”