Iranian Auteur Majid Majidi Wins Top Prize at Busan Film Festival With ‘Midday Meal’
Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi won the top prize at the 31st Busan International Film Festival for his film 'Midday Meal.' During his acceptance speech, Majidi criticized the war in Iran and specifically condemned a U.S. military strike in Minab.
Why it matters
The win highlights the intersection of international cinema and geopolitical activism, potentially positioning the film for future Academy Award consideration.
Iranian Auteur Majid Majidi Wins Top Prize at Busan Film Festival With ‘Midday Meal’ Veteran Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi has won Best Film at the 31st Busan International Film Festival for "Midday Meal," his simple, starkly powerful contemporary parable about a rural schoolteacher making difficult moral choices to ensure his students continue to receive a free lunch in the face of government cuts.
Majidi received the prize from this year's Competition jury president, celebrated Chinese director Zhang Yimou, and proceeded to make an impassioned speech protesting the war in Iran — in particular decrying the Minab school attack in February this year, which saw 156 civilians (120 of them schoolchildren) killed by a U.S. military strike. "They will stand firm to the end and fight to get their independence back," Majidi said, before concluding: "I wish for a future with no war."
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