Iranian actress Shabnam Qorbani received the Golden Crane award for Best Actress at the 4th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) International Film Festival for her role in the feature film “The Gambler.” The award was presented during the festival’s closing ceremony on Sunday evening. Unable to attend, Qorbani’s prize was accepted by the film’s director, Mohsen Bahari.

At the ceremony, Bahari wore a garment featuring the “Minab 168” design as a symbolic tribute to the children who lost their lives at Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab, Hormozgan province. In his acceptance speech, he dedicated the award to the memory of the schoolchildren and teachers killed during the initial missile strikes launched by the United States and Israel against Iran. Bahari recalled that two missiles directly struck the school, causing the deaths of 168 students and staff members, some as young as seven years old. He emphasized that the award was given in honor of their memory and called for justice on their behalf.

“The Gambler,” produced by the Farabi Cinema Foundation, competed in the official selection of the international festival. It follows a social-mystery thriller plot centered on a high-stakes cyber-attack targeting an Iranian bank during a 12-day conflict. The story focuses on an expert agent’s suspicion of one of the bank’s programmers amid efforts to protect national security. The film stars Kourosh Tahami, Armin Rahimian, Shabnam Qorbani, Amir Norouzi, Roshan Rostampour, and Emad Emami. It has previously earned awards at international festivals in North Macedonia and Kyrgyzstan. The Farabi Cinema Foundation’s International Affairs Department handles its global distribution.

The tragic attack on Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school occurred on February 28, during the early stages of the conflict between Iran, the United States, and Israel. As children between the ages of seven and twelve were attending lessons, the school was struck by missiles, causing the collapse of the building and trapping victims beneath the rubble. Iranian authorities reported a death toll of 168, including students and teachers, and at least 95 others were wounded.

International investigations, including detailed forensic and digital analyses, indicate that the school was a distinct civilian facility separated from military sites for more than a decade. Satellite imagery and witness accounts support that the school was struck deliberately three times by separate missile strikes. Several major global news organizations, including The New York Times, BBC Verify, CBC, and NPR, have concluded that the United States was responsible for the attack.

The incident has drawn significant international attention and condemnation, highlighting the human cost of the conflict and prompting calls for accountability regarding the targeting of civilian infrastructure in Minab.