Screened as part of NZIFF 2008

The Song of Sparrows 2008

Avaze gonjeshk-ha

Directed by Majid Majidi

In this gentle Iranian comedy an ostrich-wrangler is tempted by easy pickings in the city. Best Actor, Berlin Film Festival 2008. "Will raise plenty of charmed smiles." — Screendaily

Iran In Farsi with English subtitles
96 minutes 35mm

Director

Screenplay

Majid Majidi
,
Mehran Kashani

Photography

Tooraj Mansoouri

Editor

Hassan Hassandoost

Music

Hossein Alizadeh

With

Reza Naji
,
Maryam Akbari
,
Kamran Dehghan
,
Hamed Aghzai
,
Shabnam Aklaghi

Festivals

Berlin 2008

Elsewhere

"Majid Majidi, whose wonderful The Children of Heaven remains the only Academy Award-nominated Iranian film, returns in terrific form with this gentle, funny film about Karim (Reza Naji won Best Actor at Berlin), an ostrich-wrangler who loses his job at a rural ranch after one of the birds escapes. On a mission to Tehran to replace his daughter's broken hearing aid, he is mistaken for a motorcycle courier and discovers a way to make fast cash. As the metropolis feeds his hunger for money, so his moral order begins to unravel and conflict arises in his previously happy family. Beautiful to watch, with a fine eye for the charm of childhood (Karim's children are particularly spirited), Majidi's delicate, occasionally slapstick, dance between sentiment and social observation is perfectly honed." — Clare Stewart, Sydney Film Festival.