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

Director:

Bahman Ghobadi

Writer:

Bahman Ghobadi

Release Date:

17 February 2005 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

American | Landmine | Kurdistan | Refugee | Boy

Awards:

16 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

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

Directed by
Bahman Ghobadi

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Bahman Ghobadi

Produced by
Babak Amini	....	producer
Hamid Karim Batin Ghobadi	....	producer
Hamid Ghavami	....	producer
Abbas Ghazali	....	executive producer
Bahman Ghobadi	....	producer

Original Music by
Hossein Alizadeh

Cinematography by
Shahriar Assadi

Film Editing by
Mostafa Kherghehpoosh
Hayedeh Safiyari

Production Design by
Bahman Ghobadi

Production Management
Sheyk Mohammad	....	production manager
Sadegh Sourchi	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jalal Saed Panah	....	assistant director
Shah Hosseinie Shahram	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Bahman Ardalan	....	sound

Thanks
Amin Mahdavi	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Mij Film Co.
• Bac Films

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Alta Films (2005) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Bac Films (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Cinéart (2005) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• ICA (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• IFC Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Istituto Luce (2005) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Mitosfilm (2005) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Office Sanmarusan Inc. (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Palace Films (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Primer Plano Film Group (2006) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Seville Pictures (2005) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Four Films (2006) (Chile) (all media)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2006) (Argentina) (VHS)

Also Known As:

"Lakposhtha parvaz mikonand" - Iran (original title)

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

98 min | 95 min | Argentina:97 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival) | Turkey:92 min (TV version)

Country:

Iran | France | Iraq

Language:

Kurdish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Taiwan:R-12 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Zurich) | Singapore:PG | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-15 | Spain:13 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Brazil:14

Company:

Mij Film Co.

Trivia:

Selected as Iran's submission in the Best Foreign Film category for the 2004 Oscars.

Movie Connections:

References Titanic (1997)

Exquisite window on children's suffering of war

I am a movie fan who wades through a lot of alternative films in the hopes of finding the rare gem that does make it through once every few years. This film is one of them; I saw it Wednesday and turned around and saw it again on Saturday. If anything, the second time I felt like it was over FASTER, which I suppose is another sign of how exquisite this film is. It is one of the saddest films I have seen, and but it treats the pain of war in an unblinking way, recognizing that some of us simply are not equipped to carry that pain, for reasons that cannot be fathomed.

This film contains scenes framed and shot in a way you will never have seen before; the cinematography was creative and fresh. The perspectives of the children involved were haunting and wonderful. To elicit performances from these young actors (the youngest being three years old) is simply genius. I have not seen the director's previous work, but I am looking forward to exploring what I hope will be a fresh new star from a part of the world that the West desperately needs to learn about.