• 2003
• France/Iran
• 106 min
• U

• Directed by: Samira Makhmalbaf
• Cast: Agheleh Rezaie, Abolgani Yousefrazi, Razi Mohebi

The Taliban have fled and Kabul lies in ruins. A determined young woman, Noqreh (Rezaie), dreams of becoming president of Afghanistan and receives encouragement from a recently returned poet (Mohebi). But Noqreh's traditionalist father (Yousefrazi), does not even know that his daughter attends lessons at an all-female secular school. And it's this patriarch who insists that the family join him on trek out of the city and into the desert. Precocious Makhmalbaf's allegorical account of post-Taliban existence, providing a vivid portrait of a shattered country tentatively emerging from its collective nightmare. Ultimately less dramatically coherent and convincing than this filmmaker's previous work, 'Blackboards', despite ample tenderness and humour. Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival.