Melody (2023 film)

Melody (Persian: ملودی; Tajik: Мелодия, romanized: Melodiya) is a 2023 Tajikistani-Iranian drama film written, directed, produced and edited by Behrouz Sebt Rasoul.^[1] The film follows a music teacher, Melody who wants to compose a heartfelt piece for children fighting cancer, using the sound of 30 birds.^[2]

Melody
Promotional release poster
Directed by	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul
Written by	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul
Produced by	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul
Starring	Diman Zandi
Cinematography	Ali Mohammad Ghasemi
Edited by	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul
Music by	Fouad Samiei
Production companies	NAMA Film Serafina TV
Distributed by	DreamLabFilms
Release date	November 24, 2023 (2023-11-24) (Goa)
Running time	85 minutes
Countries	Tajikistan Iran
Language	Tajik Persian

The film was twice selected as the Tajikistan entry for the Best International Feature Film, at the 96th and 97th Academy Awards.^[3][4] In 2023, the film did not appear on the final list because it was not submit on time;^[5][6] one year later the country officially submitted the film again, which was ultimately not nominated.^[7][8]

Behrouz Sebt Rasoul

Behrouz Sebt Rasoul

Dance scene

Plot

At a children's cancer center, Melody teaches music to 30 children. He wants to compose a piece of music using the sounds of 30 different birds. A simple task, but when they only find 20 birds, Melody accompanied by Mango, a mute housekeeper, will embark on an old singer who knows where the rest of the birds that are being hunted are.^[2]

A scene from "Mango" in the movie Melody

Cast

• Diman Zandi as Melody^[9]
• Alireza Ostadi as Old Singer
• Meghdad Eslami as Mango
• Safar Hakadodov as Groom's father
• Zulfiya Sadikova as Groom's mother

A scene of feeding a parrot in Melody

Melody

Press conference

Production

This is a collaborative effort of the state-owned Tajikistan broadcaster, TV Safina and directors's own film company in Tehran, Nama Film.^[10]

Release

The movie was selected to be screened at the 54th International Film Festival of India and had its first international screening in the Cinema of the World section.^[11][12] The film was also selected for the 21st Chennai Film Festival,^[13][14][15] the 24th Keswick Film Festival competition section,^[16][17][18] the 42th Fajr International Film Festival,^[19] the Competition section in 10th Iranian Film Festival Zurich 2024^[20]

the Panorama section of 11th the Silk Road Festival 2024.^[21][22] The film participated in the Competition section in the 23th ImagineIndia Int’l Film Festival, Madrid – Spain and won in three sections and was nominated in two sections.^{[23][24][25][26]}

The film was released in Tajikistan on December 25, 2023.^[27] International sales were managed by France's Dreamlab Films.^[28]

Director & Producer

Awards and nominations

Award	Date of ceremony	Recipient(s)	Result	Ref(s)
96th Academy Awards	2024 96th Academy Awards	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Tajikistan could not send that list on time	[29][6]
97th Academy Awards	2025 97th Academy Awards	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	pending	[30]
54th International Film Festival of India, GOA	24 November 2023	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	first international screen at Cinema of the World section	[31][11]
21st Chennai International Film Festival	21 December 2023	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	screen at World Cinema section	[32][33]
24th keswick film festival	1 March 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section	[34][35][36]
42th Fajr International Film Festival	3 February 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section	[37]
23th imagineindia Film Festival, Madrid – Spain	2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section: Won Best Director of Photography: Ali-Mohammad Ghasemi Best Set Designer: Payam Hossein Souri Best Original Music: Foad Samiei Nominated Best Actress: Diman Zandi Best Sound Design: Mahmoudreza Mousavinejad	[38][39][40][41]
Iranian Film Festival of Zurich (IFFZ)	11 September 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section	[42][43][44]
11th Silk Road International Film Festival, Xi'an, China	16 September 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Panorama section	[45][46]
Izmir film festival	30 October 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section: Won Best Original Music: Foad Samiei	[47][48][49][50]
11th Duhok film festival	9-16 december 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section	[51]
17th Eurasia International Film Festival	24-30 november 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section	[52]
6th Rain International Nature Film Festival(RINFF)	04-05 november 2024	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section	[53]
23th Dhaka Film Festival 2025	11 january 2025	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	Competitive section: Won Best Actress: Diman Zandi	[54]
screening in Australian cinematheque	19 Feb 2025	Behrouz Sebt Rasoul	screen	[55]

See also

• List of submissions to the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Tajikistani submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film