Prince Claus Laureate of 2010 Mehrdad Oskoui has received the Blackberry IDFA DOC U Award during the 24th edition of IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam) 2011. The award is a €1,500 prize awarded by an independent youth jury.

His documentary, The Last Days of Winter,  is a portrait of seven Iranian boys in a youth detention center, who talk candidly about their lives. The living conditions are considerably good and the boys are on reasonably good terms with each other. They share bedrooms, play and eat together, and mediate in quarrels. They are separated from their families and dependent on each other. The boys talk to Oskoui about many topics, such as love, God, fears and dreams. All boys somehow struggle with having to be mature while still dealing with childish emotions.

In 2010 Mehrdad Oskouei was honoured for his moving, informative and evocative films, for his honest engagement with his subjects and his commitment to accurately representing their concerns, and for working in difficult contexts to break down prejudice and generate social justice.

You can find more information on the IDFA 2011 awards here (NL).