Festival Season:
October 2026
WHERE THE NETS WERE LEFT
Directors:
Writers:
Isa Babaei Rahim Abadi
Isa Babaei Rahim Abadi
Producers:
Isa Babaei Rahim Abadi, Tahereh Molaei Kandlous
Run Time:
0:11:36
Awarded for the following Category(s):
Awarded Category(s)
Submitter Statement
In this film, I employed an observational, minimalist approach to capture a profound and bitter reality. My goal was to transcend mere environmental reporting and create a visual experience of "contrast." Through rhythmic editing—juxtaposing the meditative daily rituals of the fishermen with the jarring imagery of urban waste and sewage—I sought to highlight the silent crime of human negligence against nature. Furthermore, the use of aerial cinematography was intended to emphasize the scale of this crisis, contrasting the vast, timeless majesty of the Caspian Sea with the intrusive and scarring marks of pollution. This film is an homage to the last remaining links between humanity and the primal essence of the sea.
Filmography
Issa Babaei Rahimabadi, born in 1970 in Rahimabad, Rudsar, Gilan Province, is a university lecturer with a PhD in Executive Management (DBA) and a graduate of the Iranian Youth Cinema Association. He is the author of more than 25 short and feature-length screenplays and has appeared and won awards in more than 70 domestic and foreign festivals.
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Films produced (writer, director, and producer)
1. Short film Tax
2. Short film Shamedani
3. Short film Pakban
4. Short film Qalb Mehraban
5. Short film Golrokh
6. Short film Mahi Cheshme Abii
7. Short film Wadi Moran
8. Film Rasm 21
9. Documentary film Yalman
10. Experimental film Rag
11. Film 4 April
12. Film Where the Nets Were Left
13. Film Between Light and Nothing
14. Film Kites Do Not Go with the Wind
15. Beyond Sound
16. Documentary film Scattered Lemon Gardens
Artistic honors
Present and won awards in more than 70 domestic and foreign festivals
-Tehran Short Film Festival
-Lemon Kazan Festival, Russia
-Razavi International Film Festival
-Tehran International Film Festival 100
- Third Eye Festival, India
- NAFA Film Festival, Portugal
-31st Ghent Festival, Belgium
-Greek Experimental Film Festival
- 23rd Spanish Film Festival
-Saint India Film Festival
-Cut Film Festival, USA
-Chesapeake Film Festival, USA
-Izmir Film Festival, Turkey
-Lift Film Festival, England
-South Korea Environmental Festival
-Film Festival in Italy
- One Hundred and Fifth Festival, Russia
- Five Continents International Film and Photo Festival (Venezuela)
-Panama Canal International Festival (Colombia) -Peace Film Festival (Bolivia)
-South Chile International Film and Art Festival
- Indian Children's Film Festival
- Ramsar Regional Festival
- Salamat Festival
- Pasargad Festival
- Tawan 120 Film Festival
- Art Academy Film Festival in Chile
- Meshkin Youth Cinema Regional Festival, Ardabil, Tasnim Festival, Mashhad
- Panama Canal Festival, Colombia
- Simorgh International Festival, Village Film Festival
-Mashhad Mehrushid Film Festival
-Yazd Life Film Festival
-Qoqnos Film Festival
-Green Road Film Festival
-Young Cinema Association-Busheh Regional Festival
-Colombia Future Narrative Festival
-Rasht Short Film Festival
-Lahijan Short Film Festival
-Tehran 25 Film Festival
-Tehran Amaj Film Festival
-Ninth Documentary Television Festival
-Tehran Iranian Lady Festival
-Simorgh Film Festival
-and other film festivals in Italy, America, South Korea, India, Poland, Australia, etc.
Key Cast
Other Credits
Cinematographer: Elyas Asghar pour, Mostafa Sam Daliri, Armin Ebrahimi
Color Correction: Davoud Rahmani
Sound Recordist: Mahmoud Sadegh Natery
Sound Editor: Mahyar Yavar
Editor: Abbas Farhadi