Iran Film Wins Top Tribeca Prize

Asghar Farhadi's "About Elly" Wins Top Tribeca Prize

New York . 2 May 2009

Asghar Farhadi's "About Elly (Darbareye Elly)" has won the Best Narrative Feature at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival. The film tells the story of college friends reuniting for a weekend by the Caspian Sea.

The competition judges -- producer Richard Fischoff, filmmaker Todd Haynes, and actors Bradley Cooper, Meg Ryan and Uma Thurman -- described "About Elly" as a "seamless piece of ensemble filmmaking" [Reuters, 2 May].

"The universality of the characters and themes, and the director's riveting grasp of this story make 'About Elly' a film that collapses barriers and deepens our understanding of the world we share," the judges said.