DIRECTOR/WRITER: Abbas Kiarostami
PRODUCER: Ali Reza Zarrin
PHOTOGRAPHY: Farhad Saba
EDITOR: Abbas Kiarostami
SET DESIGNER: Reza Nami
COSTUME DESIGNER: Hassan Zahidi
MUSIC: Amine Allah Hessine
WITH: Babek Ahmed Poor (Ahmed), Ahmed Ahmed Poor (Mohamed Reda Nematzadeh), Khodabakhsh Defaei (Teacher), Iran Outari (Mother), Ait Ansari (Father), Sadika Taohidi (Perzian Neighbour), Biman Mouafi (Ali, a neighbour), Ali Djamali (Grandfather's Friend)

REVIEWS

“Abbas Kiarostami had been making films, principally about children, since 1970. This sublime 1987 feature brought him to international attention. Inspired by a Sohrab Sepehri poem, and set in the northern village of Koker, the film has an eight-year-old named Ahmad discovering, to his dismay, that he has accidently taken home a school chum’s notebook. The pal faces expulsion for not doing his homework; Ahmad sets off to a nearby village in search of his friend’s house, only to encounter a labyrinthine maze of narrow alleys, winding streets, and identical-looking dwellings – and unhelpful adults who obstruct his progress at every turn. Ahmad’s odyssey, both comic mini-epic and parable of personal responsibility, achieves near-mythic proportions; the lyrical, neorealist style, convincing performances from non-professional actors, and sensitive portrayal of children’s lives showcase Kiarostami’s gifts at their finest.”

— The Cinematheque

“While the film is often funny, its also very moving. The repetitive structure of the boy’s quest, and the poetic evocation of the landscape he moves through, highlight his vulnerability, frustration and finally his sterling determination.”

— Geoff Andrew, Time Out

FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS

Auckland     
Tuesday 14 April, 6.30pm 
Open to the public – members free,
public tickets $10 (AFS only)

Wellington     
Monday 20 April, 6.15pm

Dunedin     
Wednesday 29 April, 7.30pm

Whanganui     
Monday 11 May, 7.00pm

Hamilton     
Monday 18 May, 8.00pm

Palmerston North     
Monday 25 May, 6.00pm
ABBAS KIAROSTAMI: LIFE AND NOTHING MORE >>