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Hassan Nazer is a British-Iranian filmmaker known for his self-funded films. His other films include Utopia and Black Day. Winners is set to premiere at the Iranian Film Festival, running from 16th November to 13th December across Australia.

Winners explores and embodies Nazer’s childhood memories and his personal connection to cinema. The film tells the story of Yahya, whose life is transformed by a secret stash of DVDs that allow him to encounter different worlds outside of salvaging scrap materials. Yahya’s life changes when he stumbles upon a statuette meant for Asghar Farhadi who won the 2017 Oscar. Farhadi was unable to accept the award in person due to his protest of Donald Trump’s immigration ban at the time.

As an film with an Iranian director and cast, Winners serves as Nazer’s contribution to works by Iranian directors, representing the arts of the country for a worldwide audience. The film also represents the oversight of Iranian film by the worldwide audience.

Image retrieved from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Director_Hassan_Nazer_copy.jpg