Independent Cinema

Wednesday, May 9   
Dir. Vahid Jalilvand, 102 min, Iran, 2015  
Winner of the FIPRESCI Award, Venice Film Festival 2015 
In Selected Cinemas September 29          
Media contact: Coreen Haddad coreen@potentialfilms.com 03 9328 5000       
SYNOPSIS 
Why would someone give money away? What sort of consolation can that offer? On May 9, Jayal Ashtiyani, a teacher, has offered to provide a significant sum of money to a worthy person in need. His advertisement in the local newspaper has encouraged people to come to his office and make a convincing appeal. But how will he, and the police, deal with the throngs of needy candidates who assemble? How does he decide who’s actually the most worthy? Creating tension at every turn, Wednesday, May 9 draws its audience deep into the tangled web of the predicaments it raises. Stars Niki Karimi.  
DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY 
Vahid Jalilvand was born in Tehran in 1976. He is a graduate of Tehran University in Theater Directing. Jalilvand started his career as a theatre actor and made his stage debut when he was only 15. In 1996, he started working in the Iranian State TV Channels as an editor and then as a TV director. Later, he directed two home video series and more than 30 documentaries in social and industrial fields. He has been the director of and an actor in many television series and plays. Wednesday, May 9 is his first feature film as a director, and his second one as an actor.  
FILMOGRAPHY 
Documentaries (for the Iranian State TV Channels):  The Hands of the Crafts Creators  13 episodes     1998  The Statue     26 episodes     2000  The City of the Well-Known   13 episodes     2001  Nostrak: North-South Corridor               1episode     2004  Shahid Rajaei Port    1episode     2004  Amirabad Port     1 episode     2005  The Coquetry of the Sun   1 episode     2006  Ghadir Looking at Dawn                1 episode     2007  Naïve Like a Father    1 episode     2009  Dubai, 72 Hours    1 episode     2009  I Grow Green     1 episode     2013 
TV Program & Home Video Series:   An Eye Made of Love    8 episodes     2005  The Footprint of Rain    44 episodes     2006  Rain in A Different Version   26 episodes     2007  The Star is Out…Say Hello   26 episodes     2007  40 Minutes Without Judgment               26 episodes     2008  A Different Type Though   11 episodes     2008  A Frozen Heart                 6 episodes     2011 
Feature:  Wednesday, May 9    102 min     2015     
 OFFICIAL SELECTION 
- Venice Int’l Film Festival (2 – 12 Sept. 2015/Italy) – Winner of Fipresci Prize and Winner of the INTERFILM Award for Promoting Interreligious Dialogue - Zurich Int’l Film Festival (24 Sept.– 4 Oct. 2015/Switzerland) - Reykjavik Int’l Film Festival (24 Sept.– 4 Oct. 2015/Iceland)– Winner of the Golden Puffin - Vancouver Int’l Film Festival (24Sept.– 9 Oct. 2015/Canada) - Tbilisi Open Film Forum (5 Nov. 2015 / Georgia) - IFF Bratislava (12-17 Nov. 2015/Slovak Republic) Winner of the Best film and Best Actress - INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL OF INDIA (20 – 30 Nov. 2015 / India) - Dubai Int’l F.F (6 - 19 Dec.2015/ UAE) - Chennai Int’l FF (10 – 17 Dec. 2015 / India) - Vesoul Int’l Asian Film Festival (3 – 10 Feb. 2016 / France) - Competition - Prague Int’l Film Festival – Febiofest (17 – 25 March 2016 / Czech Republic) - Competition - The Royal Film Commission (10 – 14 Feb. 2016 / Jordan) - Gene Siskel Film Center (13 – 14 Feb. 2016/ USA) - Istanbul FF (7 – 17 April 2016 / Turkey) - UCLA Film & Television Archive (30 April – 22 May 2016 / USA) - Sydney Int’l Film Festival (8 – 19 June 2016 / Australia) 
CAST AND CREW
- Director: Vahid Jalilvand - Screenplay: Ali Zarnegar, Vahid Jalilvand, Hossein Mahkam - Director of Photography: Morteza Poursamadi - Music Composer: Karen Homayounfar - Sound: Yadollah Najafi - Sound Design & Mix: Seyyed Alireza Alavian - Set & Costume Designer: Babak Karimi Tari - Make-up Artist: Saeed Malekan - Editors: Vahid Jalilvand, Sepehr Vakili - AssistantDirector: Hassan Labbafi - Still Photographer: Satiyar Emami - Production Manager: Mohammad Sadegh Azin - Producers: Ali Jalilvand, Mohammad Hossein Latifi -  - Cast: Niki Karimi, Amir Aghaei, Shahrokh Forootanian, Vahid Jalilvand, Borzou Arjmand, Afarin Obeisi, Saeed Dākh, Kataneh Afsharinejad, Sahar Ahmadpour, Milad