Oct 15, 2026 7:26pm IST
Majid Majidi’s ‘Midday Meal’ Heads to Oscars After Winning Busan Best Film Award
Winning the Best Film Award at the closing ceremony of the Busan International Film Festival in South Korea, Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi’s latest project, “Midday Meal,” is now ready to head to the Academy Awards next. The win automatically makes it eligible for the Best International Feature category at the upcoming Oscars ceremony.
“Midday Meal” presents the plight of a teacher who struggles to provide meals to the students in his school and thereby fears the closure of the establishment following the death of a contributor. Mohammad Rahimi stars as the teacher Davoud Solan, alongside Kheyri Zakeri, Rahim Bakhsh Pira and Heybatmorad Damani in key roles. Interestingly, director Majid Majidi’s 1997 project “Children of Heaven” became the first Iranian production ever nominated for the Best International Feature Oscar
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Other winners at the BIFF include the Busan Award Special Jury Prize for “Ibuku” by Indonesian filmmaker Eddie Cahyono. Best Director went to Taiwan’s Lee Yun Chan (a.k.a. Robin Lee) for “To Be Ordinary,” while the Best Actor wins were awarded to China’s Zhou Xun for the Gu You directorial “The First Taste of Loneliness” and Japan’s Kashun Himeno for “Satoko Always,” directed by Shuichi Okita.
The New Currents Award was given to India’s “Birds In The Dark,” a Punjabi-language film that was screened as part of the Vision – Asia section. It was also awarded the Songwon Vision Audience Award for an Asian film at BIFF’s Vision Awards. South Korea’s Lim Hayeon won the New Currents Award Special Mention for “Beach Fictions”.
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At this year’s Busan International Film Festival, Michelle Yeoh was awarded the Asian Filmmaker of the Year title at the opening ceremony and Ann Hui was given the Camellia Award. The Asian Project Market winners include “A Chronicle Of Minor Things,” “Goldfish” and “Casparina”.
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