Synopsis

In Northern Iran, close to the Iraki border, a small group of persons walks painfully, carrying big blackboards on their backs. They are schoolmasters looking for pupils.

Quite an utopian initiative in a war-torn region where people’s major concern is mere survival.

At a crossroad, the schoolmasters have to separate in order to take shelter from a heavy bombing.



Among them is Reeboir who soon meets a group of child smugglers. He tries to teach them who to read and write.

In another village, his colleague Saïd meets a group of elder people who try to return to their home village. He also meets a young widow.

He tries to teach her and to maker her understand his feelings… Samira Makhmalbaf’s second film (after her award-winning Sib, The Apple) shows the excdeptional talent of a very young director, trained by her father Mohsen Makhmalbaf. 

Cast: Said Mohamadi, Behnaz Jafari, Bahman Ghobadi, Rafat Moradi, Mohamad Karim Rahmati

Cannes (In Competition): Jury Prize, Toronto (Contemporary World Cinema), AFI FEST (International Competition): Grand Jury Prize, Rotterdam, London (Film on the Square)