Turtles Can Fly
| Turtles Can Fly | |
|---|---|
| File:Turtles Can Fly movie.jpg Turtles Can Fly film poster | |
| Directed by | Bahman Ghobadi |
| Written by | Bahman Ghobadi |
| Produced by | Babak Amini, Hamid Ghobadi, Hamid Ghavami, Bahman Ghobadi |
| Starring | Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif |
| Distributed by | IFC Films (USA) |
Release dates | September 10, 2004 |
Running time | 95 min |
| Language | Kurdish |
Turtles Can Fly (Kurdish: Kûsiyan jî dikarin bifirin [1], Persian: لاک پشت ها هم پرواز می کنند) is a 2004 film written and directed by the Iranian director Bahman Ghobadi. It is the first film to be made in Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
Plot
The film is set in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of the US invasion of Iraq. Thirteen-year-old Kak (played by Soran Ebrahim) is known as "Satellite" for his installation of dishes and antennae for local villages looking for news of Saddam Hussein. He is the dynamic but also cowardly, bullying and manipulative leader of the children, organizing the dangerous but necessary sweeping and clearing of the minefields.
He then arranges trade-ins for the unexploded mines. The industrious Soran falls for an unlikely orphan named Agrin (Avaz Latif), a sad-faced girl traveling with her disabled but smart brother Henkov, who appears to have the gift of clairvoyance. The siblings are care-taking a three-year-old, whose connection to the pair is discovered as harsh truths are revealed.
The question is, what happened to these children? There are so many, will the occupation make their lives better or worse? How could it get worse? The movie begins with the refugee camp recovering from an attack by Turkish soldiers, then the occupation of US forces they hope will save them.
Awards
- Glass Bear, Best Feature Film and Peace Film Award, Berlin International Film Festival, 2005.
- Golden Seashell, Best Film, San Sebastián International Film Festival, 2004.
- Special Jury Award, Chicago International Film Festival, 2004.
- International Jury and Audience Awards, São Paulo International Film Festival, 2004.
- La Pieza Award, Best Film, Mexico City International Contemporary Film Festival, 2005.
- Audience Award, Rotterdam International Film Festival, 2005.
- Golden Prometheus, Best Film, Tbilisi International Film Festival, 2005.
- Aurora Award, Tromsø International Film Festival, 2005.
- Golden Butterfly, Isfahan International Festival of Films for Children, 2004.
External links
- Turtles Can Fly at IMDb
- Review by Robert Koehler, Variety.
- Review by Maria Garcia, Film Journal International.
- Review by Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
- Review by Anthony Lane, The New Yorker.
- Review by Carina Chocano, Los Angeles Times.
- Review by Nick Schager, Slant Magazine.
- Review by Jessica Winter, Village Voice.
- Review by Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian.
- Review by Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle.
