The Iranian short film 'Breathing', directed by Farshid Ayoubinejad won the best film award at the 15th HAPPI film festival in Houston, Texas.

Ayoubinejad’s 'Breathing' is about workers of a stone factory who don't have healthcare coverage and have to hide in a dark and small room every month when the insurance agent arrives. This time, though, as they lie low there, something unexpected happens.

The short flick has so far attended a number of international film events, and won several awards at Human Rights International Film Festival in Italy, 41st UNICIPAR International Short Film Festival in Argentina, and 21st Cineculpable Film Festival in Spain.

The 15th edition of HAPPI Fest was held from June 20 through June 28, 2019, showcasing over 50 new AAPI shorts and feature films to Houston that highlight and celebrate the diversity of AAPI culture, food, and family, to support AAPI artists and filmmakers, according to the event’s website. 

The festival’s mission is to promote and develop “Asian and Asian American innovators in the film and entertainment industry, promote Houston as a cultural destination for the arts, and educate the AAPI and wider communities through the visual storytelling of Asians and Asian Americans,” according to the website.