Bijan Zamanpira, Iranian young filmmaker, won the best film prize for his 2 short films in Ecocinema International Film Festival that was held in Athens, Greece, 2-7 June 2005.

Tehran, 14 June 2005 (CHN)-- Iranian director Bijan Zamanpira was awarded the best film prize last week at the 5th Ecocinema International Film Festival in Athens, Greece for his two short films, “Let’s Not Muddy the Water” and “A Window Facing the Sun”.

The 7000-euro prize, sponsored by the Organization of the Promotion of Hellenic Culture, was presented by the president of the organization, Mr. Mavros, who noted that Greece could become a center for spreading the message of ecology through cinema and trans-cultural networks.

Zamanpira surprised the jury with his minimalist cinematography in two short films on water. In “Let’s Not Muddy the Water”, nomads in northern Iran are looking for late snow in the desert to use for their water supply. In the second film, “A Window Facing the Sun”, a traditional ceremony for rain in Kurdistan is transformed into a masterpiece of image and sound with no words.

The festival under the title of “A World Panorama at the Dawn of the 21st Century” that ended on June 7 was held at the Athenian Multi-Purpose Conference and Culture Center, an old silk factory transformed into a state-of-the-art cultural center in the trend–setting part of the city.

In the prize award ceremony attended among others George Vernicos, President of Greenpeace Greece, Tonis Lykouressis of the Greek Directors’ Association, who participated as spokesman, as well as representatives from the state, NGO’s and the fans of Ecocinema.