Turtles Can Fly (2004)
"Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand" (original title)

Near the Iraqi-Turkish border on the eve of an American invasion, refugee children like 13-year-old Kak (Ebrahim), gauge and await their fate.

Director:

Bahman Ghobadi

Writer:

Bahman Ghobadi

Stars:

Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Saddam Hossein Feysal

20 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Soran Ebrahim	...	Satellite
Avaz Latif	...	Agrin
Saddam Hossein Feysal	...	Pashow
Hiresh Feysal Rahman	...	Hengov
Abdol Rahman Karim	...	Riga
Ajil Zibari	...	Shirkooh

Storyline

Set in Ghobadi's native Kurdistan, close to the Turkey-Iran border. Soran is a 13-year-old boy who orders other children around as he installs an antenna for villagers keen to hear of Saddam's fall. Eventually, he falls for Agrin but is disturbed by her brother Henkov, who was left armless after he stepped on a landmine and who can now seemingly predict the future.

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Plot Keywords:

american | landmine | kurdistan | refugee | boy | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, disturbing images and mature thematic material, all involving children

Details

Country:

Iran France Iraq

Language:

Kurdish

Release Date:

23 February 2005 (France)

Also Known As:

Turtles Can Fly

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$29,107 (USA) (18 February 2005)

Gross:

$256,822 (USA) (24 June 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mij Film Co., Bac Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 97 min 92 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

All of the child actors in this movie were actual refugees.

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Connections

Featured in Cinema Iran (2005)

User Reviews

Moving story and amazing performances of a very young cast you will not lightly forget

Watching this movie is an incredibly absorbing (and even physical) experience. It is amazing how the young cast (non-professionals, some of them actually lived in refugee camps along the Iraq-Turkish border) deliver such powerful performances. This is also a huge compliment to the director Bahman Gohbadi who directed the children and teens. Although the film depicts the nightmare where these children live in, it has also some comic moments, making it even more believable and real life. And what's more: the film never gets sentimental.

For me it is one of the best movies I have seen in the last few years. Not uplifting (I really needed a drink after wards) and a film you will not easily forget. On the other hand the story does provide sparkles of hope and the main characters are true survivors. So don't miss it when it plays in a theater near you! "Turtles Can Fly" won the audience award of the International Filmfestival in Rotterdam 2005 (Netherlands).