Hafez Awards


Hafez Awards is an annual awards ceremony that honors achievements in Iranian cinema. The awards, first presented in 1997, are presented by Picture World Magazine which is why they are also known as Donyaye Tassvir Awards. It is the only non-governmental ceremony among the cinematic festivals and awards held in Iran. Mehran Modiri and Asghar Farhadi with 9 Hafez statues each have jointly been the most frequent recipients of this award.
The 20th Hafez Awards were held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

, Picture World founder and previous editor, established the awards in mid-'90s when Iranian cinema was under heavy governmental dominance. Watching Iranian cinema developing presence and success in international film festivals, he thought over creating an independent film award in order to honor filmmakers without political considerations and also to make a connection between film stars and the people. First ceremony was held in 1997 under the title "Hafez" after Iranian great poet Khwāja Shams-ud-Dīn Muḥammad Ḥāfeẓ-e Shīrāzi. The award is a typographical statue resembling Persian written form of the word "Hafez". as of 2016, sixteen Hafez Awards ceremonies has been held through the years.

Categories

Awards are a set of 24 statues and a medal as follows:

Motion picture awards

Television awards

  • Best Television Series
  • Best Director – Television Series
  • Best Screenplay – Television Series
  • Best Actor – Television Series Comedy
  • Best Actress – Television Series Comedy
  • Best Actor – Television Series Drama
  • Best Actress – Television Series Drama
  • Best Television Figure
Winners are chosen by a 9-membered jury including Picture World writers and critics. The nominees are selected from the movies and TV series which are screened in a single Iranian year.