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A Time For Drunken Horses

Synopsis:

Ayoub is a young boy living in a village near the border of Iraq in Kurdistan Province. He works in the bazaar along with his little sister. When his father dies, he is obliged to protect his three sisters and sick brother, Madi. Madi needs surgery, without which, he is expected to live a maximum of seven to eight months. Ayoub tries to smuggle merchandise by mule into Iraq in an attempt to raise money for Madi’s operation. The owner of the mules refuses to pay Ayoub and his group after the job. Ayoub again looks for a job to pay for his brother's operation. He gets a second chance to smuggle goods using the mule his uncle lends him after breaking his arm. Rojin, Ayoub's sister, marries a suitor living in a village on the border of Iraq on the condition that he smuggles Madi into Iraq for his operation. Despite Ayoub's objections the wedding takes place and they all move to the border village, including Madi. The groom's mother prevents Madi from going with them and gives Ayoub a mule as a conciliatory gift. Ayoub and Madi along with the acquired mule return to their native village and sell it to get money for Madi's operation.




Crew

Produced, written and directed by Bahman Ghobadi.

Cinematographer: Saed Nikzat.

Editor: Samad Tavazoei.

Original Music: Hossein Alizadeh.

Production Manager: Behrouz Ghobadi.

Sound: Morteza Dehnavi , Mehdi Darabi.

Sound Mixer: Jahangir Mirshekari.

Assistant Director: Alireza Amiri.

Production Crew: Batin Ghobadi, Kaveh Moinfar.

Assistant Cinematographer: Saeed Khademi.

Cinematography Crew: Daryoush Taheri Masoud Salami Babak Amini.

Sound Assistant: Shahab Seyfouri.

Editing Assistant: Hassan Rashidghamat.

Photography: Jafar Baratimehr, Khosro Jalali.

Cast:
Ayoub Ahmadi
Rojin Ekhtiardini
Ameneh Ekhtiardini
Kolsoum Ekhtiardini
Karim Ekhtiardini
Rahman Salehi
Osman Karimi

Producer: Bahman Ghobadi.
Time: 75 minutes
World Sales: MK2 Company, France (www.MK2.Com).

Awards
1. Winner of Golden Camera (Camera D'or) as Best Film at Cannes Film Festival, France, 2000

2. Society of International Critics FIPRESCI Award at Cannes Film Festival, France,2000

3. 3-Winner Of C.I.C.A.E at Cannes Film Festival, France, 2000 (LA Confederation, International Des Cinemas Dart Et D'essai)

4. Winner of Silver Hugo, Special Jury Prize at Chicago International Film Festival, U.S.A, 2000

5. Winner of Best Feature at Santa Fe Film Festival, Fort Lauderdale, U.S.A, 2000

6. Winner of International Grand Jury Award from Sao Paulo International Film Festival, Brazil, 2000

7. Winner of Special Jury Award from Gijon International Film Festival and Nominated for Grand Prix at Gijon International Film Festival, Spain, 2000

8. Winner of Best Feature at Edinburgh Film Festival, Scotland, 2000

9. Winner of Best Feature from Children Film Festival, Esfahan, Iran, 2000

10. Winner of Best Feature at Banff International Film Festival, Canada, 2000

11. Winner of Best feature at Cervino Film Festival, Italy, 2000

12. Winner of D'Otran, France, 2000

Festivals A Time For Drunken Horses has participated in:

1. Toronto International Film Festival, 2000
2. Locarno International Film Festival, 2000
3. Chicago International Film Festival, 2000
4. Cannes International Film Festival, 2000
5. WOW! International Film Festival
6. Banff Mountain International Film Festival, 2001
7. NZ International Film Festival, 2001
8. The 48th Sydney International Film Festival, 2001
9. Muslim International Film Festival, 2001
10. The Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, 2001
11. Nashville Shakespeare International Film Festival, 2001
12. Tampa International Film Festival, 2001
13. Paul International Film Festival, April, 2001
14. 12th Philadelphia International Film Festival, 2001
15. Melbourne International Film Festival, 2001
16. Fukuoka International Film Festival, 2001
17. 1st Kurdish Film Festival
18. Adelaide International Film Festival, 2003
19. 15th annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
20. Tribeca International Film Festival, 2002
21. Kurdish Human Rights Conference and Film Festival
22. Woodstock International Film Festival, 2002
23. Austin International Film Festival, 2001
24. Fall Festival Frenzy, 2002
25. Montreal Wold International Film Festival, 2001
26. Clermont-Ferrand International Film Festival, 2002
27. JIFF International Film Festival, 2002
28. Sarajevo International Film Festival, 2002
29. SEATTLE International Film Festival, 2003
30. Dubrovnic International Film Festival, 2003
31. Flickerings International Film Festival, 2002
32. San Diego International film festival, 2001
33. Cervino International Film Festival, 2002
34. Bradford International Film Festival, 2003
35. Tromadance International Film Festival, 2003
36. 24th Kinder International Film Festival, Berlin, 2001
37. Santa Barbara International Film Festival, 2002
38. MEDI International Film Festival, 2001
39. Lupercian International Film Festival, 2003
40. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Spain, 2005
41. Reykjavik International Film FestivaL, Iceland, 2006. In 3x3: Spotlight on Bahman Ghobadi
42. Montreal Cinemateque, Canada, October 2007. In Retrospection
43) 15th Open Doek Film Festival 19th – 29th April, 2007, Belgium
44) 54th Flaherty International Film Seminar 21-27 June, 2008, NY
45) Musuem of Modern Art (Moma) 27-7 July,2008, NY
46) Pyongyang International Film festival, 17-26 September, 2008, North Korea

 Reviews

At the Head of His Class
By Philip French in the Observer
Movie Review by Alice Castle
Reviewed by Amazon
The Scotsman Review by Damien Love
Michael McLarney Review
By Gavin Collinson for BBC
By Deborah Young in Variety
Time for Drunken Horses Review
By Ed Gonzalez for Slant Magazine
By A.O. Scott in New York Times
Reviewed by Ferret
And Children Shall Lead Them
By Mick LaSalle in the San Francisco Chronicle
By Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian
Reviewed by Carole McDonnell
Reviewed by Gary Tooze
A SCENE ALL TOO REAL by Roger Ebert
Reviewed by Trinity

 Interviews

Children in the Mountains
IndieWIRE Interviews Bahman Ghobadi
Interview with Bahman Ghobadi from Ozgur Politika

 Galleries

A Time for Drunken Horses
A Time for Drunken Horses Awards