Iran’s ‘The Kites’ to fly over 0+ filmfest in Russia

Iranian short flick ‘The Kites’ has been scheduled to compete at the 8th edition of the Zero Plus International Festival of Films for Children and Youth in Russia.

Directed by Seyyed-Payam Hosseini, the short film tells the story of a girl whose kite flies away along the Iraqi-Iranian border. She calls three boys for help.

However, the children are not only separated by a river, but also by the explosive legacies of past wars. Then, they try to talk over the lost kite.

‘The Kites’ has previously been screened at some global events, including the Galway Film Fleadh in Ireland, the Motovun Film Festival in Croatia, the Kaohsiung Film Festival in Taiwan, the Festival Curtas Vila do Conde in Portugal, the Festival Curta Cinema - Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival in Brazil, the international short fiction film competition of the Lebu International Film Festival in Chile, the Busan International Kids and Youth Film Festival ‘BIKY’ in South Korea, and the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in Germany.

The Berlinale jury praised ‘The Kites’, writing it “tells us about borders, how they can be dizzying, terrifying and arbitrary. And because it’s a poetic tale that shows us that language can go beyond words and that empathy can be felt from afar.”

The Zero Plus Film Festival take on films that are value-oriented and integrate cinema and education. The fest has screenings programmed for schools and social institutions in Russia.

The 2021 edition of the event is slated to take place on September 27-October 03 in Tyumen in the Russian region of Siberia.

MG/MG