Award Winner

Festival Season:

July 2026

TAG THAT MAN

Directors:

Writers:

Kianoush Eslami

Producers:

Mohammad Reza Gholami

Run Time:

0:14:35

Awarded for the following Category(s):

Awarded Category(s)

A man applies to work as a guard at a factory, but they only hire guard dogs. The man, forced to claim that he is better than a dog, accepts the position.

Submitter Statement

Perhaps in a frightening world where we have lost everything, including our identity, in a frightening way, the moment of falling in love is still waiting for us.

**Kianoush Eslami - Writer, Director, and Producer**

* Born in 1976, Shahr-e Rey.

* Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tehran - Faculty of Engineering.

**Awards and Recognitions:**

* **Winner, Best True Story** at the **World Film Festival in Cannes 2025** for the short film "Two Slaps".

* **Winner, Best Director** at the **Soulplace Film Festival, Italy 2025** for directing "Two Slaps".

* **Winner, Best Short Drama Film** at the **Touchstone Independent Film Festival, USA 2025** for "Two Slaps".

* **Nominated for Best Film** at the **Ciputra Film Festival, Indonesia 2025** for "Two Slaps".

* **Finalist for Best Film** at the **Selma Cinema Festival, USA** for "Two Slaps" (2025).

* **Certificate of Appreciation** for "Two Slaps" from the **Various Artist Independent Film Festival, Chicago, USA 2025**.

* **Nominated for an Award** at the **Planet Frame Film Festival, USA** for producing the short film "Crossing" (2025).

* **Winner, Special Jury Prize** at the **Soulplace Film Festival, Italy 2025** for the short film "Staccato".

* Short film "Staccato" (Producer and Director) – **Finalist** at the **Kobani International Film Festival 2025, Germany**.

* Short film "Two Slaps" (Producer, Director, and Writer) – **Finalist** at the **Kobani International Film Festival 2025, Germany**.

* **Certificate of Appreciation for Best Film** from the **Cannes Short Film Festival** for the short film "An Understanding" (Writer and Director, 2023).

* **Certificate of Appreciation** for the film "Polluted Air" (Director) at the **Ceylon International Film Festival, USA 2022**.

* **Finalist** at the **Best Director Award Festival, London** for the film "Polluted Air" (2021).

* **Finalist** at the **European Film Festival Integration You and Me, Poland 2025** for the film "Staccato".

**Teaching Experience:**

* Teaching screenwriting and film directing courses at Rozaneh and Iran training centers.

* Teaching screenwriting and character analysis at the Art University - Tehran (University of Art of the Revolution Complex).

**Directing and Production (Selected Filmography - Feature & Short Films):**

* Writer, Director, and Producer of the feature video film "The Road of Termites" (2020).

* Writer, Director, and Producer of the feature video film "Maze" (2015).

* Writer and Director of the feature video film "The Gap", produced by Rahman Rezaei.

* Writer and Director of the feature video film "Side Curve", produced by Farid Valizadeh (2011).

* Writer and Director of the feature video film "The Beautiful Eyes of the Top Floor", produced by Ayoub Shams (2013).

* Writer, Director, and Producer of the medium-length film "Get Her Heart" (2011).

* Director of the short film "Polluted Air" (2020).

* Writer and Director of the short film "An Understanding" (2022).

* Writer and Director of the short film "Boy or Girl" (2022).

* Writer and Director of the short film "Copy Writer" (2022).

* Writer and Director of the short film "Tiger" (2023).

* Writer, Director, and Producer of the short film "Two Slaps" (2023).

* Writer and Director of the short film "Point Out That Man" (2023).

* Writer and Director of the short film "Insect" (2024).

* Director of the short film "Staccato" (2024).

* Director of the short film "The Last Will of a Clown" (2024).

**Screenwriting (Selected Works - Series, TV Films, Feature Films):**

* Writer of the series "Traveler of Time".

* Writer of the TV films "Tavakkol", "Tafakhor", and "Mojrem", produced by Dariush Babaian, broadcast on Tehran Network.

* Writer of the feature video film "Main Reasons", produced by Amirhossein Sharifi.

* Writer of the feature video film "Don't Think Bad", produced by Ali Sadeghi and directed by Bahram Kazemi.

* Writer of the feature video film "Lonelier Than Me", produced by Farid Valizadeh.

* Writer of the feature video film "The Beggars of Tehran", produced by Dariush Babaian.

* Writer of the feature video film "Honey Loan", produced by Farid Valizadeh.

* Writer of the feature video film "Black Stain", produced by Farhad Goli.

* Writer of the feature video film "The Torch", produced by Mehdi Raeisi, directed by Siamak Khajehvand.

* Writer of the feature video film "Slippage", produced by Dariush Babaian.

* Writer of the feature video film "Devil's Mirror", produced and directed by Farid Valizadeh.

* Writer of the feature film "Count to Ten", produced by Farid Valizadeh.

* Writer of the feature video film "Blackmail", directed by Amir Momeni Asl, produced by Parviz Ghadsi (2017).

* Writer of the feature video film "Come Beside Me", directed by Siamak Khajehvand, produced by Maryam Ebrahimvand (2022).

* Writer of the series "Ahan Parast" (Iron Lover/Worshipper), produced by Shiva Shokri (2024).

Key Cast

Mohammad Reza Gholami

Other Credits