Winners

This screening is co-hosted with Mull Film Club.

In a small Iranian town, 9-year-old Yahya spends his days after school working to support his family. At night, he watches movies on DVDs, fostering a strong interest in cinema. One day, Yahya and his friend Leyla find a golden statue on the ground, unaware it is in fact a highly prized cinematic award. When people arrive looking for the statue, Yahya confides it to his employers, hoping they can help him return it to its owner, and in the process uproots old secrets and passions that his employers had since long forgotten.

Written and directed by the Aberdeen-based British-Iranian filmmaker Hassan Nazer, this drama won the Audience Award at the 2022 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Moving at a graceful pace, it is a delicate and whimsical ode to cinema.

In Farsi with English subtitles.

“has something of British classics such as Local Hero or Whisky Galore” The Guardian

“a refined love letter to cinema” Radio Times

“shows how, despite your backgrounds and circumstances, you should never let go of the wonder, joy and escapism that the silver screen can hold and its power to transport us somewhere else.” Film Inquiry

PG: infrequent mild bad language, sex references