Iranian director Hadi Mohaghegh’s ‘Mamiro’ (Immortal) and ‘Walnut Tree’ from Kazakhstan’s Yerlan Nurmukhambetov wereSaturday morning named the winners of the New Currents award for first- and second-time filmmakers at the 20th Busan International Film Festival, each receiving US$30,000.

‘Immortal’, produced by Majid Barzegar and directed by Hadi Mohaghegh, chronicles the loneliness of an old suicidal man who lives with his grandson and blames himself for all the disastrous events that had happened in his life, while the grandson is determined to convince him he has many reasons to live. This moving tale was praised by New Currents jury president Sylvia Chang for its “extraordinary feat of visual storytelling, filled with emotion.”

Meanwhile “Walnut Tree”, narrates the story of a comic marriage in a small, close-knit community.

Hadi Mohaghegh’s feature film ‘Mamiro’ was Iran’s sole representative at the festival.

The 20th Busan International Film Festival which showcased 312 films from 79 countries took place from 1-10 October, 2015 in Busan, South Korea.

Iranian world-renowned Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi headed up the main competition jury at 2014 Busan International Film festival. In that year’s edition, the festival’s top prizes were shared between Iranian director Hooman Seyedi’s ’13’ and Korean Kim Daehwan’s ‘End of Winter’.