Directed by Abbas Kiarostami • 2001 • Iran
Starring Abbas Kiarostami, Seifollah Samadian
In 2000, Abbas Kiarostami traveled to Africa at the request of the United Nations to document a humanitarian crisis unfolding in Uganda, where 1.5 million children had been orphaned by civil war and AIDS. Working outside of Iran and shooting on digital video for the first time, he returned with this disarmingly hopeful look at a country where death hovers ever-present, yet life—embodied by the playful spirit of the kids who peer curiously into his camera’s searching, humane lens—flows on undiminished. Part idiosyncratic travelogue, part ode to childhood wonder, ABC AFRICA is quintessential Kiarostami in its movingly philosophical reflection on human resilience in the face of adversity.
Up Next in 21st Century Cinema
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Masquerade
Directed by Olive Nwosu • United Kingdom, Nigeria • 2021
Starring Teniola Aladese, Sheila Chukwulozie, Loveth OnyemaobiSalewa (Sheila Chukwulozie), a young queer woman living with her wife in London, returns to her hometown in Nigeria for her mother’s funeral. There, she confronts her complex f...
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A New Year
Directed by George Sikharulidze • 2018 • Georgia
Starring Eka Demetradze, Giorgi Bandzeladze, Demetre GratiashviliIn this poignantly understated portrait of everyday resilience, a mother and son face a difficult holiday season when the patriarch of the household announces he is leaving to join ...
