FRI JUN 2, 2023 1:00 PM

BLACKBOARDS

$8.00 (member) ; $13.00 (general admission)

Los Feliz 3 | Introduction by Cindy Flores, Programming Assistant at American Cinematheque

Rare 35mm print

‘Bleak Week: Cinema of Despair – Year 2’

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  • RELEASED IN: 2000
  • 85 MINUTES
  • DIRECTED BY: Samira Makhmalbaf

ABOUT THE SERIES:

In Kurdish with English subtitles

In Samira Makhmalbaf’s BLACKBOARDS, a group of male teachers cross the mountainous paths of the remote Iranian Kurdistan region. Carrying large blackboards on their backs, they wander from village to village in search of students, but everyone is too busy struggling to survive and no one wants to learn. One teacher ventures away from the group and meets up with a group of boys carrying contraband across the border. Another teacher comes upon a group of old refugees who want to return to their village in Kurdistan which was chemically attacked by the Iraquis. The teachers face other hardships and obstacles including unseen enemy helicopters and gunfire.

FORMAT: 35mm

DISTRIBUTOR: Leisure Time Features

COUNTRY: Iran, Italy, Japan