Award Rationale

THRONE OF WOOD receives the Best Documentary award for creating an intimate relationship between the camera and its central character, drawing the audience directly into Granny’s daily life and her environment in an Iranian mountain village.

The film relies on the emotional and aesthetic force of image and sound rather than conventional explanatory commentary. Close views of Granny’s face, hands, and daily actions place her at the centre of the film, revealing her age, solitude, strength, and profound attachment to the place she inhabits.

Through patient observation and a finely judged visual sensitivity, Granny grows from a specific local figure into a human image of continuity, independence, and gentle resilience. The harmony of cinematography, sound, and rhythm gives the film both documentary immediacy and poetic depth.

Synopsis

Granny is the only woman in the village to have reached the age of one hundred. For years, she has piled firewood in front of her home. Although the village has long had access to natural gas, she continues to live independently and prepares her daily tea over a wood fire.

After a fire breaks out in the neighbouring house, the villagers pressure her to remove the woodpile. For Granny, however, giving it up is not an option.