The White Balloon

Infobox Film | name = The White Balloon

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image_size = 125px
caption =
director = Jafar Panahi
producer = Kurosh Mazkouri
writer = Abbas Kiarostami
starring = Aida Mohammadkhani
Mohsen Kafili
Fereshteh Sadr Orfani
music =
cinematography = Farzad Jadat
editing = Jafar Panahi
distributor = October Films
released = 1995
runtime = 85 minutes
language =Persian
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:134796
imdb_id = 0112445

" The White Balloon" (PerB| بادکنک سفيد , "Badkonake sefid", 1995) is the debut feature film of Iranian director, Jafar Panahi, with a screenplay by Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami . The movie received many strong critical reviews and won numerous awards in the international film fairs around the world including the Prix de la Camera d'Or from Cannes Film Festival in 1995. The Guardian has listed this movie as one of the 50 best family films of all time. [cite web|title=The best family films of all time|url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,,1663635,00.html|publisher="The Guardian"|accessdate=2006-09-26]

Plot synopsis

Razieh wants a fat goldfish for the Iranian New Year celebration instead of the skinny ones in her family's pond at home, because the fat fish looks like it's dancing when it swims. After many attempts, she and her brother convince their mother to give them her last bit of money. Between their home and the fish store, Razieh loses the money. She finds it, but it is temptingly just out of her reach. The money has fallen through the grate of the entrance to a store which has been closed for the New Year celebration. Razieh and her brother make several attempts to retrieve the money and receive assistance from many people, including the owners of nearby shops and an Iranian soldier. The money, however, is always just out of reach. Finally, the siblings receive help from a street vendor selling balloons. He carries all of his balloons on a wooden stick, and has only one balloon, a white one, left. The group attaches a piece of gum to one end of the balloon stick, and with it, they reach down through the grate and pull the money up.

Awards and Honours

*Prix de la Camera d'Or, Cannes Film Festival, 1995
*Gold Award, Tokyo International Film Festival, 1995
*Best International Film, Sudbury Cinéfest, 1995
*International Jury Award, São Paulo International Film Festival, 1995

Notes

External link(s)

*imdb title | id=0112445 | title=Badkonake sefid