The White balloon

This wonderful motion picture is the story of a young Iranian girl’s search for the perfect goldfish to release in her pond to encourage good luck in the New Year. However, when she loses the money her mother has given her, young Razieh and her brother seek their fortunes in modern day Tehran. This visually ravishing contemporary retelling of “The Red Balloon”, reveals much about the culture of the Muslim world. By filming through a child’s eyes, director Jafar Panahi reveals a world of incidental cruelty, a world which often rushes by too fast to listen to the desires of children. There is a darkness in “The White Balloon”, not explicit, but a sadness about the opportunities adults lose in understanding the world of their child. As in all the best fairy-tales, this is a profoundly humane story. The screenplay is by acclaimed director Abbas Kiarostami. Winner of the Camera D’Or at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.