Original title: Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand
Director/Writer: Bahman Ghobadi
Year: 2004
Running time: 97 minutes
Genre: Drama/ War
Production: Mij Film Co.
Characters:
Cast
Cast overview: | |||
Soran Ebrahim |
Satellite
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Avaz Latif |
Agrin
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Saddam Hossein Feysal |
Pashow
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Hiresh Feysal Rahman |
Hengov
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Abdol Rahman Karim |
Riga
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Ajil Zibari |
Shirkooh
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Satellite: main character. Young boy who has assumed the role of leader at a very young age. He tries to do the best for his village.
Agrin: she was raped when she was 12 and as a consecuence, she gave birth to her son, a blind little boy. She's always trying either to murder her son or either to kill herself.
Pashow: Satellite's best friend. He is always following him around. He lost a leg due to an antipersonnel mine.
Hengov: Agrin's brother. He has the "gift" of clairvoyance, which means he can see what is going to happen in the future and he's always trying to warn the others of this.
Riga: unwanted child. He is Agrin's son, the result of her rape experience. He is drowned by his mother at the end of the film.
Near the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children like 13-year-old Kak gauge and await their fate.
Plot:
The film is set in the Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq. Thirteen-year-old Satellite (Soran Ebrahim) is known for his installation of dishes and antennae for local villages who are looking for news of Saddam Hussein and for his limited knowledge of English. He is the dynamic, but manipulative leader of the children, organizing the dangerous but necessary sweeping and clearing of the minefields.
The industrious Satellite arranges trade-ins for un-detonated mines. He falls for an orphan named Agrin, a sad-faced girl traveling with her disabled, but smart brother Hengov, who appears to have the gift of clairvoyance, making people think he can predict the future. The siblings care for a blind toddler named Riga, who Agrin gave birth to after she was gang raped by Iraqi Arab soldiers. In Agrin and Hengov's village, the girls had been killed after being raped, while the boys and their families had been killed as well. Hengov's arms had been shot and soldiers attempted to drown both children. Because of these circumstances, Agrin is unable to reciprocate Satellite's feelings for her.
Agrin tries to kill the child on multiple occasions, then she ties him to a rock and throws him to the bottom of the lake. When her brother sees in his dream that Riga is drowning, he hurries out of the tent crying and tries to save him. Meanwhile, Agrin commits suicide.
Main topic:
The main topic of this film are the antipersonnel mines and how a simple group of children are given the hard and unfair task of picking them up in order to get some money for their families.
Anti-personnel mines are a form of land mine designed for use against humans, as opposed to anti-tank mines, which are designed for use against vehicles. Anti-personnel mines may be classified into blast mines or fragmentation mines, the latter may or may not be bounding mines.
The mines are often designed to injure, not kill, victims in order to increase the logistical (mostly medical) support required by enemy forces that encounter them. Some types of anti-personnel mines can also damage the tracks on armoured vehicles or the tires of wheeled vehicles.
Awards:
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences of Argentina 2006
Nominated Award of the Argentinean Academy | Best Foreign Film Bahman Ghobadi
Iran.
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Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards 2007
Nominated Silver Condor | Best Foreign Film, Not in the Spanish Language (Mejor Película Extranjera) Bahman Ghobadi
Iran/France/Iraq.
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Berlin International Film Festival 2005
Won Crystal Bear - Special Mention | 14plus: Best Feature Film Bahman Ghobadi |
Won Peace Film Award | Bahman Ghobadi |
Camerimage 2004
Nominated Golden Frog | Shahriar Assadi |
Chicago International Film Festival 2004
Won Silver Hugo | Jury Special Prize Bahman Ghobadi (director) |
Festróia - Tróia International Film Festival 2005
Won Golden Dolphin | Bahman Ghobadi |
Fribourg International Film Festival 2005
Won Audience Award | Bahman Ghobadi |
Won E-Changer Award | Bahman Ghobadi |
Nominated Grand Prix | Bahman Ghobadi |
Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival 2004
Won President Award | Humanitarian Award Bahman Ghobadi |
Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children & Young Adults 2004
Won Golden Butterfly | Best Film Bahman Ghobadi |
Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival 2005
Won Audience Award | Best Narrative Feature Bahman Ghobadi |
Won Festival Award | Best Film Bahman Ghobadi |
NatFilm Festival 2005
Won Audience Award | Bahman Ghobadi |
Rotterdam International Film Festival 2005
Won Audience Award | Bahman Ghobadi |
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival 2005
Won Audience Award | Best Narrative Bahman Ghobadi |
San Sebastián International Film Festival 2004
Won CEC Award for Best Film | Bahman Ghobadi |
Won Golden Seashell | Bahman Ghobadi |
Satellite Awards 2005
Nominated Satellite Award | Outstanding Motion Picture, Foreign Film |
São Paulo International Film Festival 2004
Won Audience Award | Best Fiction Film Bahman Ghobadi |
Won International Jury Award - Honorable Mention | Bahman Ghobadi |
Nominated International Jury Award | Bahman Ghobadi |
Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2005
Won Just Film Award - Special Mention | Youth Jury Bahman Ghobadi |
Tbilisi International Film Festival 2005
Won Golden Prometheus | Best Film Bahman Ghobadi |
Tokyo FILMeX 2004
Won Audience Award | Bahman Ghobadi |
Won Special Jury Prize | Bahman Ghobadi
A powerful and urgent vision of war and its effects on the people caught in its midst, especially ... More
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Nominated Grand Prize | Bahman Ghobadi |
Tromsø International Film Festival 2005
Won Aurora Award | Bahman Ghobadi |