SYNOPSIS
In a village in Afghanistan a woman sits by the bed where her badly injured husband lies in coma. The room is still, but outside the sounds of war is ring out in deathly serenade. The woman prays. After a while she starts to talk. She tells her husband things she could never have told him before. She tells him about her whole life, her suffering in their marriage, everything she never dared telling others.
DIRECTOR
Atiq Rahimi was born in 1962 in Kabul. Following the Soviet invasion, Rahimi fled Afghanistan, taking refuge in Pakistan for a year and then relocating to France after receiving political asylum.
On completion of his studies at the Sorbonne, Rahimi joined a Paris-based production company where he produced seven documentaries for French television, as well as several commercials.
Taking time off in the late 1990s, Rahimi embarked on his first writing project. His 2000 Dari/Persian book, Earth and Ashes, was an instant bestseller in Europe and South America. A movie based on this book, directed by Rahimi, was awarded the Prix du Regard vers l’Avenir at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The film was featured in over 50 festivals worldwide, winning a total of 25 awards.
In November 2008, Rahimi won France’s most prestigious literary prize, the 105-year-old Prix Goncourt, for his second book Syngue Sabour. Described as “sober and alive”, it was translated into English as The Patience Stone.
Returning to his native Afghanistan in 2002, Rahimi became involved with the nation’s largest media concern, Moby Group,as a senior creative advisor. He now divides his time between Kabul and Paris, still working closely with the Moby Group in developing programs and genres for its media outlets, as well as helping develop and train a new generation of Afghan filmmakers and directors.
CREDITS
CAST:
Woman: Golshifteh Farahani
Aunt: Hassina Burgan
Young soldier : Massi Mrowat
Man: Hamidreza Djavdan
CREW:
Director: Atiq Rahimi
Script: Jean-Claude Carrière and Atiq Rahimi
Director of Photography: Thierry Arbogast
Sound: Dana Farzaneh Pour
Production Design: Erwin Prib
Costume Design: Malak Djaham Khazai
Editor: Hervé de Luz
PRODUCTION:
The Film, Paris
Razor Film, Berlin
GERMAN FUNDS:
Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, FFA
BROADCASTER:
arte
PRESS & SALES
WORLD SALES:
AWARDS & FESTIVALS
AWARDS:
Abu Dhabi IFF 2012 – Winner: Best Actress: Golshifteh Farahani
Gijon 2012 – Young Jury Prize for Best Feature Film
Fipresci Award and for Best Actress: Golshifteh Farahani
FESTIVALS:
Toronto IFF 2012
Busan IFF 2012
London IFF (BFI) 2012
Didor IFF 2012
Thessaloniki IFF 201
Hong Kong 2013
Istanbul 2013