The Mahsa Festival a Cultural Stand for Freedom Through Storytelling
Mahsa Festival Honors Artistic Resistance with Final Ceremony in Costa Mesa On April 19, 2025, the final award ceremony of the Mahsa Festival took place at The Palazzo by Khoshbin in Costa Mesa, California. Organized by the Institute of Voices for Liberty (iVOL) and directed by actor and activist Hamid Farrokhnezhad, the festival spotlighted playwriting and screenwriting as tools for artistic resistance and the defense of free expression.
Named in memory of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, whose death in the custody of Iran’s morality police in 2022 sparked global protests, the Mahsa Festival was created to support Iranian artists and writers, particularly those facing censorship or repression within Iran.
The evening began with a private reception, followed by a formal ceremony featuring live performances and announcing this year’s award recipients. Composer Hamid Saeidi and vocalist Ehsan Karami performed with Farci Band, with a standout violin solo by Navid Kandolusi, praised for its emotional depth and technical precision. The event also included unveiling a bronze bust of Mahsa Amini, sculpted by California-based artist Paula Slater.
Playwriting competition winners:
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1st Prize: Mahakemeh (Trial)
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2nd Prize: Golouleh Barfi (Snowball)
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3rd Prize: Shahrzad, Qaleh-ye Zohak (Shahrzad, The Castle of Zohak)
Screenwriting competition winners:
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1st Prize: Asemaneh Barf Bood (The Sky Was Snow)
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2nd Prize: Makan
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3rd Prize: Band 12 Alef (Section 12A)
Prizes included certificates, statuettes, and cash awards ranging from $2,000 to $5,000. Many of the finalists and winners, currently residing in Iran, were unable to attend in person. The Office of General Counsel, led by The Honorable Bijan Kian, Governor and President of iVOL, will oversee award distribution by U.S. legal protocols.
The festival jury featured leading voices from Iranian film and theater. The screenwriting panel was chaired by Dr. Bahman Maghsoudlou, joined by Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ghasem Ebrahimian, and Dr. Khatereh Shaybani. The playwriting jury included Borzo Arjmand, Ehsan Karami, Mahmoud Karimi-Hakkak, and Mohamad Omrani. Initial selections were overseen by Firouzeh Ghaffarpour, a member of iVOL’s Executive Committee.
In a closing statement, the organizers described the event as the first in a series of cultural efforts to amplify the voices of Iranians seeking democratic change. The Mahsa Festival aspires to become a recurring platform for artistic expression rooted in resistance, memory, and human rights.
Though modest in scale, the festival reflected a bold and deliberate commitment by members of the Iranian diaspora to preserve creative exchange—and to remind the world, through the enduring power of storytelling, theater, and film, that repression cannot silence the imagination.
