Post-revolution children’s films to be reviewed in Tehran

Iranian children’s films produced after the Islamic Revolution have been scheduled to be reviewed at the Film Museum of Iran.

The Ferdows Hall of the museum will play host to screening sessions for more than 20 films produced during the past four decades in the country.

One of the films selected for the program is ‘Thief of Dolls’ directed by Mohammadreza Honarmand and starring Akbar Abdi and Azita Hajian.

The movie is about Leila and Bahram’s mother who wants to get a loan to buy a house for her children to live in. But the villain, an old lady, sends her son Ganjo to steal the money.

The children decide to sell their dolls to gather the money for buying a house again but Ganjo this time steals the dolls too. They go after Ganjo chasing him to his house but he traps them. The dolls hurry to save the children and the police are coming too.

Another acclaimed title in the lineup is Fereydoun Hassanzadeh’s ‘When Everybody Was Asleep’.

It tells the story of Bibi, a lovable elderly midwife in a small village. When Bibi married, her husband promised to take her on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and, although he never forgot his promise, he passed away before he could keep it.

After years of waiting, Bibi finally has the chance to make the pilgrimage, but her advanced age makes the journey more difficult than it ever was before.

‘The Son of Maryam’ directed by Hamid Jebeli is another highlight of the program.

It follows Rahman, a milk delivery boy in a small village in Iran and the village’s mosque crier.

He befriends a priest who lives in a church on the outskirts of town. When the priest is seriously injured in an accident, Rahman cares for him and goes into the city to find the priest’s brother.

While in the city he observes a Christian service for the first time and learns of the similarities between Christianity and Islam. Upon his return to the village, Rahman discovers that the priest has died and the village mourners begin their pilgrimage for the Ashura rituals.

Some other prominent works are ‘Golnar’ by Kambozia Partovi, ‘Aunt Frog’ by Afshin Hashemi, ‘Once Upon a Time’ by Iraj Tahmasb and ‘Patal and Small Wishes’ by Masoud Keramati.

The program will begin on October 23 and is slated to come to an end on November 16.

MG/AG