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Destination Afghanistan
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Majid Majidi's Iranian film, `Baran', a coming-of-age tale told against the background of the Afghan refugee problem, will open the Seventh IFFK
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Majid Majidi's `Baran', the toast of many a major international festival, will open the Seventh International Film Festival of Kerala, to be held in the State capital from March 29 to April 5.
Majidi's 94-minute work is one of the three recent Iranian films that have focussed on Afghanistan, the others being Mohsen Makhmalbaf's `Khandahar' and Abolfazl Jalili's `Delbaran'.
Says Majidi: "The deeds of the Taliban regime are known to all. And the refugees are bearing the brunt of the rule. Official records put their number at a million and a half, but the actual number is much more. `Baran' depicts the lives of those not included in the official list. I wanted to show that, in spite of the tensions, the people of Iran have been quite hospitable to Afghanis, or to the refugees in general. With millions of refugees from Iraq, Iran has probably the largest refugee population in the world."
Baran (which means `rain') is the name of a young Afghan woman who disguises herself as a man, Rahmat, to find employment on a construction site, after her father is injured and is unable to work.
Latif, a lonely worker, is drawn to Rahmat. As he stumbles upon Rahmat's secret, his life is changed forever.
Majidi, described as Iran's Spielberg, started his career as an actor with amateur theatre groups.
After the Islamic revolution in 1978, he acted in films, including Mohsen Makhmalbaf's `Boycott' (1985). He made his debut as a director and sceenwriter with `Baduk' (1992), and this was presented at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight.
His later films have included `The Father' (1993), `The Children of Heaven' (1999) and `The Colour of Paradise' (1999).
According to The New York Times, Baran, Majidi's latest work, exemplifies the power of cinema.
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