'Castle of Dreams' a favorite at Shanghai International Film Festival

The Iranian film Castle of Dreams was the big winner at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival, winning for best actor, best director and best feature film at the awards ceremony in Shanghai Grand Theatre on Sunday night.

Iranian director Reza Mirkarimi spoke in Persian of his gratitude for the audiences of Shanghai and the festival, chairman of the jury, Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan, and everyone who helped him in his film career.

Castle of Dreams tells the story of a father who comes back to his children after long years of absence. He has to take his son and daughter away from their mother who is terminally ill at the hospital. Though reluctant, he still tries every means to fulfill the children's fantasy of building a dream castle that was drawn by their mother.

The jury praised the film for its accurate and profound revealing of the truth of life and the description of details, without losing consistency or honesty.

Hamed Behdad shared the best actor award, playing the returning father in Castle of Dreams, with Chinese actor Chang Feng. The 96-year-old veteran played the leading role in The Return, the first direction project by actress-turned-director Qin Hailu.

The film Inhale-Exhale, a coproduction of Georgia, Russia and Sweden, won the Grand Jury Prize, with its leading actress Salome Demuria taking the best actress award.

The 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival, one of the largest celebrations of the film industry in Asia, was held from June 15 to 24. It showcased 522 films shown in 47 cinemas throughout the city.

The festival witnessed new and enhanced exchanges and connections between the Chinese film sector and those in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Belt and Road Film Week, a program of the festival, presented eight outstanding films. On June 19 the Belt and Road Film Night took place at the Walt Disney Grand Theatre.

Russian director Lyubov Borisova's The Sun Above Me Never Sets won the most beloved film of the Belt and Road Film Week, and Hungarian filmmaker Arpad Bogdan and Wang Lina from China took the award for attracting the most media attention during the Belt and Road Film Week.