Synopsis:
A couple of little kids (a brother and sister) living in Kabul of Afghanistan save a dog-said to be belonging to foreigners-from some children who want to harm him, and refer to the city’s prison. The prison guard tells them that visiting hours are over but they claim that they are not visitors but prisoners. The guard asks why they are outside the prison and the kids say: “We are night prisoners.” After a physical inspection they are taken to the cell and it becomes clear that in fact it is their mother who is a prisoner and since her kids have no place to stay they have been permitted to stay with their mother at nights.
The next day when the prison superintendent finds out, they are refused entry to the prison and beg in vain to be let in. They are told that the prison is not an orphanage or shelter for homeless people but it is where criminals are kept. So in order to have a shelter to live they try to commit a crime…
- Unicef Award, Venice, Italy, 2004
- The Silver Camera Award (for cultural and artistic communications) Venice, Italy, 2004
- Fipresci Prize, Singapore Film Festival, 2005
- Netpac Prize, Singapore Film Festival, 2005
- Best Actress Award, Paris International Film Festival, 2005
- Best Film Award, Bermuda International Film Festival, 2005
Last year I accompanied Samira Makhmalbaf to Afghanistan as assistant director. We looked everywhere to spot actors and locations.
One day in a women’s prison I met a woman who kept her children with herself in her cell because she had no one outside to take care of them. Her crime was that she had gotten married twice. Her first husband had one day disappeared and she had waited for years for him to return but all news were indicative of his death. The lonely woman without anyone to support her was forced to marry a second man to have someone take care of them. After one year the second husband had also been killed in the unsafe environment of Afghanistan and by then the woman’s first husband had returned and he had his wife imprisoned on charge of adultery…
Original Title: Saghaye Velgard
Written and Directed by: Marziyeh Meshkiny
Cast:
Gol Ghoti: Girl
Zahed: Boy
Twiggy: Dog
Agheleh Rezaii: Mother
Sohrab Akbari: Guard Atef
Jamil Ghanizadeh: Angry guard
Agheleh Shamsollah: Female guard
Razeddin Sayyar: Mad old man
Maydeh Gol: Grandmother
Ghomri Valad Amir: Woman with burka
Shah Mahmood Golbahari: Rosary seller
Emameddin Vakil: Movie ticket seller
Akhtar Abdolaziz: Cart owner
Assistants Director:
Kaveh Moeinfar
Hana Makhmalbaf
Set Designer: Akbar Meshkini
Script Supervisor: Zahra Kamalian
Director of Photography: Ebrahim Ghafouri
Camera assistants:
Reza Sheikhi
Mehdi Amiri
Sound: Farrokh Fadaei
Sound Assistant: Farid Pirayesh
Post production sound engineer: Hossein Mahdavi
Editor: Mastaneh Mohajer
Mix: Behrooz Shahamat
Music: Mohamad Reza Darvishi
Executive Manager:
Mohammad Ahmadi
Fakhruddin Ayyam
Still photography & Produced by: Maysam Makhmalbaf\
Production: Makhmalbaf Film House / Wild Bunch
International Sales:
Makhmalbaf Film House
Wild Bunch (France)
93 minutes, Colour, 35 mm, Afghanistan, 2003
- Venice Film Festival (in official Competion), Italy 2004
- Hamburg Film Festival,Germany 2004
- Toronto Film Festival, Canada 2004
- Chicago Film Festival, USA 2004
- London Film Festival, UK 2004
- Washington, National Gallery of Art, USA 2004
- Palm Springs Film Festival, USA 2005
- Bermuda Film Festival, Bermuda 2005
- Hong kong Film Festival, China 2005
-
Mexico Film Festival, Mexico 2005
- Mar del plada Film Festival, Argentina 2005
- Singapore Film Festival, Singapore 2005
- Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Czech Republic 2005
- Osian's Cine fan Film Festival, India 2005
- Miami Film Festival, USA 2005
- Terre des femmes Film Festival, Germany 2005
