WHERE IS THE FRIEND'S HOUSE? / CHILDREN OF HEAVEN

ABOUT THE FILMS:

WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOUSE?, 1987, Dir. Abbas Kiarostami, 83 Mins, Janus Films, Iran

In Persian with English subtitles.

The first film in Abbas Kiarostami’s sublime, interlacing trilogy of films set in the northern Iranian village of Koker takes a premise of fable-like simplicity—a boy searches for the home of his classmate whose school notebook he has accidentally taken—and transforms it into a miraculous, child’s-eye adventure of the everyday. As our young hero zigzags determinedly across two towns aided (and sometimes misdirected) by those he encounters, his quest becomes both a revealing portrait of Iranian society in all its richness and complexity and a touching parable about the meaning of personal responsibility. Shot through with all the wonder, beauty, tension and mystery one day can contain, WHERE IS THE FRIEND’S HOUSE? established Kiarostami’s reputation as one cinema’s most sensitive and profound humanists.

FORMAT: DCP

CHILDREN OF HEAVEN, 1997, Dir. Majid Majidi, 89 Mins, Paramount Pictures, Iran

In Persian with English subtitles.

Ali is asked to repair the torn shoes of his sister, Zohra, while buying groceries. A garbageman takes them, and a guilt-ridden Ali apologetically offers to share his shoes with her. So Zohra ends up wearing his shoes to morning school, then must race back so that he can put them on to attend afternoon school. To placate her, he even gives her a pen that he received from his teacher after coming first in his class. With the birth of a third child, the family struggles to make ends meet. Their father, who is behind on his rent, does gardening chores and wants Ali to learn this trade. With the economic situation getting worse, it is only a matter of time when even Ali’s shoes will wear out – bringing out the question: what will the children wear to school then?

FORMAT: DCP