The Badger (Persian: گورکن, romanized: Goorkan) is a 2020 Iranian thriller drama film directed by Kazem Mollaie about of a 40-year-old woman called Soodeh Sharifzadegan who faces a strange incident, right before her second marriage. It premiered at the 2020 Shanghai International Film Festival,[1] and it was also screened at the Austin Film Festival in its North American premiere,[2][3] where it was nominated for the Audience Award and won the Best Narrative Jury Award.[4][5][6]

This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (September 2016)

The Badger
The Badger Movie Poster
Directed by	Kazem Mollaie
Written by	Kazem Mollaie
Produced by	Sina Saeidian
Starring	Vishka Asayesh Hassan Madjooni Mehraveh Sharifinia Gohar Kheirandish Behnoosh Bakhtiari Reza Behbudi Mehdi Hosseini Nia
Cinematography	Majid Gorjian
Edited by	Babak Ghaem
Music by	Mehdi Panahi
Release date	27 July 2020 (2020-07-27) (Shanghai International Film Festival)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	Iran
Language	Persian

Synopsis

Right before Soodeh Sharifzadegan's second marriage, her 11-year-old son, “Matiar” is kidnapped. After considerable effort, Soodeh is forced to ask for the ransom money from her ex-husband, “Peyman”. After Matiar's release, Soodeh, being curious, comes to the sudden realization that it was all her son's plan to provide the grounds for his father's return.

Cast

Credits

Festival & Awards

• NOMINATED FOR THE BEST FILM IN THE “23RD. Shanghai International Film Festival” [ASIAN NEW TALENT AWARD] IN CHINA / August 2020 [7]
• Best Narrative Feature Film & Nominated for the Audience Award in the “27th. Austin Film Festival” (USA) / October 2020 [8]
• Nominated for the Grand Prix in the “5th. KineNova International Film Festival” (MACEDONIA) / October 2020
• Best Fiction Feature Film in the “6th. BangkokThai International Film Festival” (THAILAND) / October 2020 [9]
• Best Foreign Feature & Audience Award in the “29th. Berkeley Film Festival” (USA) / November 2020 [10]
• Audience Award (Honorable Mention) & Nominated for the Best Narrative Feature in the “13th. The Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival” (USA) / November 2020
• Nominated for the Best Feature Film in the “15th. Hamilton Film Festival” (CANADA) / November 2020 [11]
• Best Foreign Language Film in the “10th. Weyauwega International Film Festival” (USA) / November 2020
• Nominated for the Best Feature Film in the “7th. Derby Film Festival” (UK) / November 2020
• “15th. Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival” [NETPAC Section] (INDONESIA) / November 2020 [12]
• Nominated for the Best Feature Film in the “9th. Persian International Film Festival” (AUSTRALIA) / December 2020
• Nominated for the Best Feature Film in the “74th. Salerno Film Festival” (ITALY) / December 2020
• Nominated for the Best Film in the “17th. Bahamas International Film Festival” [New Visions Competition] (BAHAMAS) / January 2021 [13]
• “13th. Sofia MENAR Film Festival” (BULGARIA) / January 2021 [14]
• “13th. Jaipur International Film Festival” (INDIA) / January 2021 [15]
• Nominated for the Audience Award in the “19th. Dhaka International Film Festival” [Cinema of the World Section] (BANGLADESH) / January 2021
• Honorable Mention of Best Narrative Feature in the “21st. Fargo Film Festival” (USA) / March 2021 [16]
• Best Feature Film, Best Actress (Vishka Asayesh), Best Ensemble Cast and Audience Best Feature in the “19th.Riverside International Film Festival” (USA) / April 2021 [17]
• “23rd. Maryland Film Festival” (USA) / May 2021 [18]
• Nominated for the Best Audience Award (Narrative Features) and Best Female Actor (Vishka Asayesh) in the “11th. Queens World Film Festival” (USA) / July 2021
• Official Selection in the Lineup of the “19th. Ischia Global Film Festival” (ITALY) / July 2021
• Nominated for the Best Trailer in Motion Prize (Kazem Mollaie) in the “25th. Avanca Film Festival” (PORTUGAL) / July 2021
• Nominated for the Best Audience Award in the INDEPENDENT CINEMA category in the “29th. Chichester International Film Festival” [+WORLD CINEMA SECTION] (UK) / Aug. 2021
• Nominated for the Best Film in the “15th. Five Lakes Film Festival 2021” (Fünf Seen Film Festival) [BEST OF FESTIVAL - PUBLIC AWARD SECTION] (GERMANY) / Aug. 2021 [19]
• Nominated for the Best Feature Film in the “18th. Salento International Film Festival” (ITALY) / Sept. 2021 [20]
• Forum section in the “26th. Split Film Festival” (CROATIA) / Sept. 2021 [21]
• Nominated for the Best Narrative Feature in the “14th. Arizona Underground Film Festival” (USA) / Sept. 2021
• Nominated for the Best Feature Film in the “14th. Annual Iranian Film Festival - San Francisco” (USA) / Sept. 2021 [22]
• Special Jury Award for Acting (Vishka Asayesh) and nominated for the Best Narrative Feature Film in the “37th. Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival” (USA) / Sept. 2021 [23]
• Best Indie Pix Award (best independent film), Best Actress (Vishka Asayesh) and nominated for the Best Picture and Best Director in the “10th. Winter Film Awards International Film Festival” (USA) / Oct. 2021 [24]
• Best Feature Film & Best Screenplay (Kazem Mollaie), in the “10th. Global Nonviolent Film Festival” (CANADA) / Sept. & Oct. 2021
• Best Screenwriter (Kazem Mollaie), Best Actress (Vishka Asayesh) & nominated for the Best Film in the “6th. Calella Film Festival” [Low Budget Section] (SPAIN) / Oct. 2021
• Official Selection in the “Pale blue Section” [Azzurro Pallido, Singolare Maschile] of the “28th. Sguardi Altrove International Women's Film Festival” {LOOKS ELSEWHERE FILM FESTIVAL} (ITALY) / Oct. 2021
• Nominated for the Best Film in the “9th. Asian Film Festival Barcelona” [OFFICIAL PANORAMA SECTION] (SPAIN) / Oct. & Nov. 2021
• Nominated for the Best Narrative Feature in the “22nd. Ojai Film Festival” (USA) / NOV. 2021
• Best Director Award Kazem Mollaie and nominated for the Best Feature Film in the “17th. People and Religions – Terni Film Festival" (ITALY) / Nov. 2021 [25]
• Nominated for the Best Feature Narrative in the “15th. Jacksonville Film Festival” (USA) / FEB. 2022
• Nominated for the Best Poster (Erfan Behkar Mehrabani) in the “40th. Fajr Film Festival” (IRAN) / FEB. 01 – 11, 2022

References

External links

• The Badger at IMDb
• Official website