KHORSHID / SUN CHILDREN

12-year-old Ali and his three friends do small jobs and petty crimes to survive and support their families. In a turn of events that seems miraculous, Ali is entrusted to find a hidden treasure underground. He recruits his gang, but first, to gain access to the tunnel, the children must enroll at the Sun School, a charitable institution that tries to educate street kids and child laborers, close to where the treausure is located.

MADŽID MADŽIDI / MAJID MAJIDI

Born in Tehran in 1959, Majid Majidi is the first Iranian director to receive an Academy Award® Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for Children Of Heaven (1996). Majidi worked as actor before beginning to direct short films. His debut feature, Baduk (1991), was presented at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, and his second effort Father (1995) secured Majidi’s first major prize, at the San Sebastian Film Festival. Majid is a triple winner of the Grand Prix des Amériques at the Montreal World Film Festival for Children Of Heaven, The Colour Of Paradise (1999) and Baran (2001). His movie The Song Of Sparrows (2008) won the Golden Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival. Since then he has directed Muhammad, The Messenger Of God (2017) and Beyond The Clouds (2019).

A Dickensian tale with a Disney feel set in Iran’s bustling metropolis.

Lee Marshall, Screen Daily