‘Women with Gunpowder Earrings’ gets best documentary award at Signes de Nuit
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Harper Lee’s renowned coming-of-age story about racism and injustice in the American south, was voted the US’S best-loved novel by millions of readers as part of a national poll.
The Pulitzer prize-winning book, first published in 1960, topped the US public service broadcaster PBS’S Great American Read survey. More than four million votes were cast in the six-month long poll.
The 100-book shortlist voted on by readers was based on an initial PBS/ Yougov survey of about 7,200 Americans who were invited to nominate their favorite novel. An advisory panel of experts from the literary industry culled the Iranian documentary ‘Women with Gunpowder Earrings’, directed by Reza Farahmand, won the best documentary award at 16th International Festival Signes de Nuit in Paris, France.
The documentary is about Nour, a journalist who covers the plight of Syrian and Iraqi women and children in the war against Daesh terrorist group and mercenaries, according to ISNA.
In December 2017, the film won the best feature-length list to 100 books. Authors were limited to one title or series. Provided the novel was written in English, authors could be from anywhere in the world, theguardian.com reported.
Seven out of the top 10 novels were written by women, with Diana Gabaldon’s ‘Outlander’ series coming in second, J.K. Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter’ taking third place, and Jane Austen’s ‘Pride and Prejudice’ coming in fourth. J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ rounded out the top five, and was the top ranking novel by a male writer.
‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide since documentary award at the 11th Cinema Vérité, Iran’s major international festival of documentary cinema organized by the DEFC.
Established in 2003, Signes de Nuit International Film Festival is an annual event in France which accepts documentary, fiction, experimental films and short films.
‘Women with Gunpowder Earrings’ will also be screened at 61st International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.
The 61st International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film will take place from October 29 to November 4, 2018 in Leipzig, Germany.